No power to cam

rh71

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I purchased the following install kit because it has a right-angle micro USB connector but after hooking it up to a 10 amp fuse, the B1W is not powering on. It does power on via the cig lighter so I know the cam is functioning. I'm an electrical newbie but used a multimeter and there's 12V at the add-a-fuse and some power also going to the micro USB connector - I set the multimeter to 2000m (DCV) and it read as 0.1 volts. Back to 0 when I turn the car off, so that means it's getting power to the micro USB connector when the car is on. Is it not powering the cam because it's not passing enough voltage? This is the kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076F9TQ8L

I know the recommended install kit is this but was hoping to get away with the right-angle connector kit above instead: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B075WPSZYH

Would it make a difference if I used a larger fuse slot like a 30 amp? My kit doesn't come with that size housing so I couldn't try.
 
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Some photos might help, I don't understand what you are doing with the multimeter (2000m does not sound right) and with a photo we could check how you have connected the red and black wires...
 
I will get pics later when possible, but for right now, I'll just say that the red wire is crimped into the pigtail of the add-a-fuse and the black wire is grounded into a metal screw/plate near the fuse box (under passenger footwell). I mentioned 2000m setting on the multimeter because when I had it set at 20, it read 0 when I touched the micro USB connector to see if it was getting power. Only 2000m or 200m were getting readings. This is all DCV. Should I be reading with DCA instead?
 
I will get pics later when possible, but for right now, I'll just say that the red wire is crimped into the pigtail of the add-a-fuse and the black wire is grounded into a metal screw/plate near the fuse box (under passenger footwell). I mentioned 2000m setting on the multimeter because when I had it set at 20, it read 0 when I touched the micro USB connector to see if it was getting power. Only 2000m or 200m were getting readings. This is all DCV. Should I be reading with DCA instead?
The USB connector should have 5 volts on it, so if you use the 2000 millivolts range then it should go over the maximum.

Maybe your ground is not connected? You should be able to measure around 12 volts between your ground screw/bolt and the power at the fuse panel. It's normal to connect to an M6 bolt rather than a screw, most screws just go into plastic.
 
black wire is grounded into a metal screw/plate near the fuse box (under passenger footwell).
Find a 12v always-on socket for red wire, and grounded into this metal screw which is a case screw on the car!
 
The USB connector should have 5 volts on it, so if you use the 2000 millivolts range then it should go over the maximum.

Maybe your ground is not connected? You should be able to measure around 12 volts between your ground screw/bolt and the power at the fuse panel. It's normal to connect to an M6 bolt rather than a screw, most screws just go into plastic.

You were right about the ground not being properly connected and now it is. So the camera powers on fine now but the new issue is my BMW X5 is programmed to leave the power on for 15 minutes after it is shut off / locked and I don't really want it draining the battery (it will produce a screen warning if it senses any drain over 80 mA).

The above post also says to use an always-on socket, but do you mean constant power even without the ignition on? Wouldn't that kill the battery eventually? I'm curious how the parking mode functions if it's a switched fuse (ignition only) instead of constant fuse. In short, not only am I confused about the requirement for parking mode, the 15-minute delay for shut-off also complicates things.
 
You were right about the ground not being properly connected and now it is. So the camera powers on fine now but the new issue is my BMW X5 is programmed to leave the power on for 15 minutes after it is shut off / locked and I don't really want it draining the battery (it will produce a screen warning if it senses any drain over 80 mA).

The above post also says to use an always-on socket, but do you mean constant power even without the ignition on? Wouldn't that kill the battery eventually? I'm curious how the parking mode functions if it's a switched fuse (ignition only) instead of constant fuse. In short, not only am I confused about the requirement for parking mode, the 15-minute delay for shut-off also complicates things.
It won't drain the battery in 15 minutes. If you want the parking mode to work 24/7 then you will need to provide constant power, but if you are happy with just 15 minutes parking guard then it is fine as it is. It should use a little more than 80 mA of 12volt power, but presumably the car allows more than that for the 15 minutes since it is deliberately leaving it on for that time?

I don't know how you deal with BMWs if you want 24/7 cover, I'd replace the car but there are probably some BMW owners that can help!
 
The newer BMW's use a fully-computer-controlled power scheme. Adding anything the factory did not put there will get you that warning and there's no solution. If you do an OBD reset, the warning goes away but it will come right back the next time you use the added device. I've heard that the only way to get constant power is at the battery terminal, but I could be wrong on that point.

Phil
 
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