RedTiger Hard Wire Is Senseless

[jaddy]

Okay, I went cheap. Despite that, the RedTiger F7NP seems decent. Crisp footage, always records, locks files with ease and seems decent with low-light footage, too. I have it connected to my 2022 Skoda Superb Wagon.

I got the F7NP on sale on Amazon, with the Redtiger Hardwire Kit for the F7N / F7NP. I did a heap of research, read blogs, watched videos and studied and played around with which fuses to connect the ACC and BATT cables. I have two major concerns.

The Hardwire Kit from RedTiger doesn't come with a varied selection of fuse adaptors, and isn't just bare wire connections that need crimping to easily add-a-fuse, which is what I expected from my research. Instead, it already has standard fuse connections hardwired to the end of the two fuse inputs, not allowing me to use the original fuses that I've removed. Is this safe?

Secondly, the camera doesn't kick into parking mode at all. I have grounded the black ground lead to a metal bolt to the left of the fusebox. I have entered my ACC lead into the rear window wiper fuse (15 amp), and my BATT lead into the interior lighting fuse. When I turn on the car ignition, the cameras function normally, but when I turn the car off, the camera says it will enter parking mode, but no time lapse is ever recorded. I have tried switching the leads, flipping the inputs in the fuse and tried entering the BATT lead into the central locking fuse, tow hitch fuse, heated seat fuse, and some others. When I test the fuses power when the car is off, because the key fob is present, most fuses have power. I have heard that this is an issue with newer cars.

Can anyone with technical experience help me out with figuring this one out?

 

[kentix]

The only thing I'm wondering is if they are being recorded but you're looking in the wrong place. I was surprised to find they were filed in the locked files folder.

 

[skidsteer226]

Using the hardwired fuse on the end of the hardwire kit is absolutely safe. I do not have the same vehicle as you but my fuse block has some unused spaces like yours. What you need to make sure of is that you know which empty space is constant power and ACC power. You can do this with a multi-meter and test for voltage. It is easy to find the constant power slots. The ACC is easier found when you have a helper to turn the vehicle on to accessory while you run the meter.

The first time I attempted this I did it by myself and thought I had an ACC slot. After I killed my battery 3 times and froze it and had to replace it, I found I had both plugged into a constant power slot. This is not an easy task by yourself during a Canadian winter outside in the driveway with bare hands. This now made sense as parking mode was working, but the camera did not seem to turn itself off when the vehicle was turned off. I did not know exactly what it was supposed to do as the instructions are not clear on this. Once my battery was replaced I got a helper and did some checking and properly found a ACC slot to use. However, I found that the camera was telling me to use ACC power for parking mode. I reversed the wires and all worked good. I did find on Amazon reviews for the hardwire kit that some were found to be labeled wrong and wrong coloured wires. Now all appears to be working good.

RedTiger does offer a hardwire kit on their website that includes an add-a-fuse tap with all 4 different size fuse types. This will allow you to use an existing fused circuit and add a line to your camera. They also offer one with a longer cable which I recommend as the standard one seems a little short for a lot of people.

https://www.redtigercam.com/products/redtiger-f7n-dash-cam-hardwire-kit