Power choices for dash cams?

[Graeme]

Are most of you using the cigarette lighter to power your dash cam?

After receiving the Livue LB100, it's really tempting to run a small power wire from the dome light to the rear view mirror so there are very few wires showing. Are there generally any power filters in the included cigarette lighter adapter included with cash cams, or would they be helpful?

 

[cloudyseas]

isnt your dome light 12v and most cameras around 5v? thats what the chunky cigarette lighter adapter is for

i got a cigarette lighter socket from a car parts recycler for $5 and soldered that to a connector i found under the dash that was taped up and had 12v and acc 12v on it (it wasnt an OBD connector) so then you can run the cable up the unside of drivers pillar under the trim and behind the sun visor.

someone has probably said this before but you can actually buy OBD connectors that you can wire yourself so you wouldnt have to cut or solder any important parts of the car and void warranty

 

[Graeme]

For a different project, I added power wires from the dome light to the visor. It needed to be 5V, so I put the converter and all the connectors above the headliner so nothing was visible. To plug in the device, I pulled the connected from underneath the visor and that was it.

I like the idea of adding a cigarette adapter near the visor, as that would be handle for many projects.

Update: Just ordered a spare cigarette adapter for this. I could cut the power cable in half and connect it directly to the dash cam, as this one takes 12V. However, if I ever moved the dash cam, I'd have to remove the cables and do the same kind of modifications. Adding another adapter near the visor sounds best. If I get a different dash cam for the same car, the power connection will be easy.

 

[dahur1]

Hi, this is my first post here. I recently ordered a mirror dash cam based on the review of techmoan, and it should be here next week. I just received a 12,000 mAh lithium battery that I plan on using with this camera. The battery has 4 USB out ports, all 5v, from .5A, 1.3A, 1.0A, and 2.1A. The mirror stats say the car charger is 5v with no more than 1.5A output. Do you think if I plug it into the 2.1A USB that would be ok..?

The plans are to use the battery for parking mode. Maybe put it up behind the visor.

 

[SuperAman]

Hi, this is my first post here. I recently ordered a mirror dash cam based on the review of techmoan, and it should be here next week. I just received a 12,000 mAh lithium battery that I plan on using with this camera. The battery has 4 USB out ports, all 5v, from .5A, 1.3A, 1.0A, and 2.1A. The mirror stats say the car charger is 5v with no more than 1.5A output. Do you think if I plug it into the 2.1A USB that would be ok..?

The plans are to use the battery for parking mode. Maybe put it up behind the visor.

Good Idea, I was thinking about the same thing, use a portable battery source. I guess you would have to use adapters?

 

[dahur1]

This battery came with a slew of adapters. A regular USB is all I need to go from the mirror cam to the battery.

 

[dahur1]

Further research has revealed that the Amp part isn't important. It's the 5v that's important. Apparently, the camera will pull the amperage it needs to function @ 5v. The battery won't "push" the amps, the device "pulls" the amps it requires.

 

[jokiin]

Further research has revealed that the Amp part isn't important. It's the 5v that's important. Apparently, the camera will pull the amperage it needs to function @ 5v. The battery won't "push" the amps, the device "pulls" the amps it requires.

you need to check the power supply, most of these are really designed for recharging not powering devices and have automated switching to sense that, you might find when you use these that they power off once the battery in the camera is full, most USB powered cams won't auto record when connected via a regular USB cable either, another thing to consider

on top of all that some of these batteries have quite long charge times so depending on usage needs you could find yourself not being able to keep it sufficiently charged

 

[dahur1]

Further research has revealed that the Amp part isn't important. It's the 5v that's important. Apparently, the camera will pull the amperage it needs to function @ 5v. The battery won't "push" the amps, the device "pulls" the amps it requires.

you need to check the power supply, most of these are really designed for recharging not powering devices and have automated switching to sense that, you might find when you use these that they power off once the battery in the camera is full, most USB powered cams won't auto record when connected via a regular USB cable either, another thing to consider

on top of all that some of these batteries have quite long charge times so depending on usage needs you could find yourself not being able to keep it sufficiently charged

Thanks for the information.

 

[Bluerose]

The Lead Batteries would read at least 12.6V before starting the engine, and 13.5 - 14.5 with the running engine. When the alternator is on, the voltage regulator keeps the system at 13.5 - 14.5 volts. If a relay remain ON, or a diode is burned or something else goes wrong the battery is drained constantly and this is called Battery Leakage. This is measured connecting the amp meter in serial with the battery terminal. If you disconnect the battery, all the history of the computer is deleted, and you needs to drive at least for one weak to rewrite it. In some cars disconnection of the battery wipes out codes (not the firmware) but you have to set it up again. So playing with the car battery isn't a good idea. Normally if a car has a battery leak, (0.5A is considered a bad one), the solution is to connect the car with a battery charger, till we fix the problem. One of my cars has a leak of around 0.2A.The area is located but might be a crack in a soldering in a component and I decided to i keep the car under the tender when not driving. So before starting the engine battery reading is >12.9 Volts. I don't think anybody wants a weak battery, especially in the winter time.

 

[dahur1]

I got my mirror cam a few days ago, and I've been playing around with it. The battery solution has worked out great, and I'm using it all the time.
It looks like this battery is going to last a long time before needing a recharge. I'm very happy with this set up.

Mirror dash cam $61 + free shipping
Battery, about $39 + free shipping.

 

[dahur1]

Update: I've used the battery for 12 days now, and it still shows a full charge. (approx. 7 hours of use)

 

[Ipaq]

Nice. Only USB out though? Won't really work with some AC plug like mine.
How much was it

 

[dahur1]

Nice. Only USB out though? Won't really work with some AC plug like mine.
How much was it

I got it off Amazon for $39. I see it's gone up three bucks since then.