New to DIY - Am I hardwiring my VioFo A129 Plus Duo right?

[ilbass2309]

Honest admission at the outset, I am not someone who has done a lot of DIY - in many ways, hardwiring my dashcam is my first project simply because I want to be more handy/practical/DIYish and have to start somewhere. Sorry if this is long! I've been through loads of videos and guides online and feel that I think I know what to do. But I have a nagging self doubt, and thought I'd put past my way of hardwiring the dashcam across to you wizz kids on here. I have a Viofo hardwire kit and the Viofo fusetaps (they are appropriate for my car), and the car is a 09 i10. I've already stuck the dash-cams and they are running on the usb socket power now. Here is my plan for the hardwire:

1. Identify an ACC fuse, which switches on when the car switches on, and a Battery fuse, which is always on regardless. I'll use the multimeter to check for both - for the Battery or permanent one, I plan to switch off the car, lock myself in it for about 15 minutes, and then start checking. Is this fine? have some spare fuses, and I may actually try and piggyback on those connections for ACC/Battery if they are connected and working.
   
   
2. Get my hardwire kit and crimp the red and yellow wire to the fuse taps. Am I right in understand that this image is the correct way the fuse tap is - especially with the live side on the viewer's left? I've got a crimping tool, so I'll slide the wire in, press it hard, and add some insulation tape just to be sure.
3. For the ACC and Battery connections, take the existing fuse out and place it in the lower part of the fuse tap. SHOULD I DO THIS EVEN IF A "SPARE FUSE" IS OCCUPYING THAT EXISTING CONNECTION? Am I right in understanding that the fuse itself has no right or wrong way, it is the fuse tap that has a load and draw end?
4. If I understand correctly, the existing fuse should have a higher amperage than the dashcam fuse which is 5A. Then, ensuring that the live side is placed in the live connection, insert both the Battery and ACC fuse taps into their connections.
   
   
5. Take the ground connection and attach it to the closest bolt or peice of metal within the fuse box
   
   
6. I don't plan to use parking mode too much, and while i have a new battery in my car, I don't want to risk it running flat. So I'll set the voltage cutoff to 12.4V. I'll secure all the wires with cable ties and stick the voltage cut off module with some double side tape. If in the future, if I plan to leave the car unused for a month (I travel for work sometimes) and I need to ever ensure that the dashcam doesn't stay on, can I just pull the wire that goes into the front dashcam module? Will that ensure that no power is drawn from the battery?

Does this make sense to you? Am I missing something in this plan? Thanks so much for your time and patience

 

[mentadent]

I just did my first install this week.

Look in the user manual for a description of the fuses. In my car, I found a fuse for 'instrument cluster' which was ideal for ACC as the dashboard only lights up when the ignition is on.

I don't think it matters what direction the fuse taps go as a fuse does the same thing from right to left and left to right. Also, you put two fuses in them, one is your original fuse, and one is the dashcam fuse.

I failed at crimping. I guess my pliers didn't squash hard enough. So I soldered. That could be a useful option if crimping fails.

I don't know about the spare fuse part.

I think equal or higher than 5A is fine.

Test the ground bolt with continuity tester for resistance. I don't know the numbers but it checks if it is a good ground. I didn't test, it worked fine. There was a very handy bolt next to the fuse box.

I ended up with my hardwire kit box inside the glove compartment where the fuse box is. I intend to open the side trim of the car and see if I can put the box in there.

A plastic spudger thing is good for taking off trim and also for pushing wires into rubber bits to hide them.

I found it satisfying to install it, hope you do too.

 

[ilbass2309]

I just did my first install this week.

Look in the user manual for a description of the fuses. In my car, I found a fuse for 'instrument cluster' which was ideal for ACC as the dashboard only lights up when the ignition is on.

I don't think it matters what direction the fuse taps go as a fuse does the same thing from right to left and left to right. Also, you put two fuses in them, one is your original fuse, and one is the dashcam fuse.

I failed at crimping. I guess my pliers didn't squash hard enough. So I soldered. That could be a useful option if crimping fails.

I don't know about the spare fuse part.

I think equal or higher than 5A is fine.

Test the ground bolt with continuity tester for resistance. I don't know the numbers but it checks if it is a good ground. I didn't test, it worked fine. There was a very handy bolt next to the fuse box.

I ended up with my hardwire kit box inside the glove compartment where the fuse box is. I intend to open the side trim of the car and see if I can put the box in there.

A plastic spudger thing is good for taking off trim and also for pushing wires into rubber bits to hide them.

I found it satisfying to install it, hope you do too.

Thank you so much! Appreciate it

 

[rd08]

Direction of tap does matter, the tap should not supply current to dashcam directly, it should go via the fuse

 

[Mtrev]

Direction of tap does matter, the tap should not supply current to dashcam directly, it should go via the fuse

It will always go via the fuse, it’s impossible not to by design.
The only thing that changes is that one way the power comes through the original fuse then through the extra fuse or it will just go through the extra fuse. Arguments for both but personally I think it makes the most sense to have it go through both fuses to avoid overloading the supplying circuit, in reality for the little draw a dash cam takes it doesn’t matter.

 

[Mtrev]

OP, in relation to part 1 of your question. When you lock yourself in the car the interior sensors will arm so if you move around checking wires it will trigger the alarm. If your car has an option to deactivate the interior monitoring then that will be worth doing (sometimes there is a button for this, on some cars it can be a double press of the lock button or even a setting in the multimedia).