ThinkWare F750 DIY Hardwire Possible?

[Green]

Your awesome RocketRancher, probably gonna go with the same third-party cable you did, kinda silly of them to charge $40 for a cable that isn't anything crazy special.

 

[kmarnes]

I don't know why they're so hard-over regarding hardwiring, but her color code is correct, and it follows car radio tradition:

Yellow = persistent +12v. (Memory)
Red = switched +12v. (Accessory)
Black = -12v. (Return/ground)

There's also a photo illustration earlier in this thread.

Right, but my photo link in my previous post is labeled "accessory yellow" and "battery red" -- so it's clearly backwards right and my conclusions are correct?

 

[RocketRancher]

Right, but my photo link in my previous post is labeled "accessory yellow" and "battery red" -- so it's clearly backwards right and my conclusions are correct?

Sorry; I missed the wire labels in the pic.
Yes. It appears that they are mislabeled, especially w/r/t the pic in the post of 26July.

To be on the safe side, and take colors out of the equation, check continuity of the cable and provide persistent power to the connector tip, switched power to the ring, and ground to the sleeve.

 

[RocketRancher]

kinda silly of them to charge $40 for a cable that isn't anything crazy special.

Totally agree. It is rather unique, and the smallest 3-pole, axial power connector I've seen, but really shouldn't be that pricey. I also think it's kinda sneaky of them to configure the cig.lighter cable so it can't be used for hardwiring.
Business model, I guess.

 

[kmarnes]

Sorry; I missed the wire labels in the pic.
Yes. It appears that they are mislabeled, especially w/r/t the pic in the post of 26July.

To be on the safe side, and take colors out of the equation, check continuity of the cable and provide persistent power to the connector tip, switched power to the ring, and ground to the sleeve.

I'm still assuming the red wire needs continuity because it has the extra capacitor or internal fuse on it -- the big bulky black piece that says "const. cable". I don't understand what you mean by your advice only because it's over my head.

Here's a new link to 4 pictures I've taken: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B2ZkVwVLFM1XanAxOWxLSlk3M0k&usp=sharing

1. Fuse Actual -- picture of my fuse box before modification. I am installing in a Honda Civic 2007.
2. Fuse Diagram -- from owner's manual
3. Fuse Splitters -- I bought two of these from Canadian Tire, and crimped the wiring into each one. For whatever reason I chose 5A to fuse the dashcam because I can't imagine the dash cam will use as much as a single headlight... but could be wrong there. I also chose 10A fuses to power 12V (also the limit of these particular fuse splitters)
4. Hardware Actual -- Pictures of the 3 wires of the Thinkware Dashcam Hardwiring piece that came inside my F750H.

But here's what I've done and how far I got:

1. Basic installation of front dashcam on windscreen, then plugged it into the regular 12V cigarette adapter with car on, and configured wifi / connected to my phone. Just to make sure it worked before attempting to hardwire it.
2. I attached the black grounding wire to the chassis under a bolt connected to metal near the fuse box.
3. Hooked up yellow and red wires to fuse splitters and used 5V fuses for each.
4. Hooked up red wire fuse splitter to 10A Fuse 3 (Alternator)
5. Hooked up yellow wire fuse splitter to 10A Fuse 16 (Right Headlight Low)
6. I observed that the unit powers on only when I turn on the headlights... ugh! Swapped red & yellow, same result.

So basically it seems I am failing to truly wire this thing up to continuous power. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

 

[kmarnes]

Totally agree. It is rather unique, and the smallest 3-pole, axial power connector I've seen, but really shouldn't be that pricey. I also think it's kinda sneaky of them to configure the cig.lighter cable so it can't be used for hardwiring.
Business model, I guess.

Btw, my hardwire cable kit came with the F750H -- and I accidentally purchased another one on the side which I will now return. bestbuy.ca didn't say it came with the hardwire kit, but apparently that's what the H in F750H means. I also imagine the cigarette lighter that it also comes with doesn't support continuous power. It also seems that virtually all dashcams out there, really only need one power hookup (to a fuse that gets power when the car is running). This one needs two -- one for when the power is turned on, and one continuous for recording parking lot incidents. At least this is the way I understand it so far.

 

[RocketRancher]

I'm still assuming the red wire needs continuity because it has the extra capacitor or internal fuse on it -- the big bulky black piece that says "const. cable". I don't understand what you mean by your advice only because it's over my head.

Can you send a pic of the second page of fuses? Maybe i can help you land on a good pair.

 

[kmarnes]

Can you send a pic of the second page of fuses? Maybe i can help you land on a good pair.

It's all there in the one page (38 fuses).

 

[RocketRancher]

It's all there in the one page (38 fuses).

Got it now. I was out on-foot earlier, trying to read them on my phone, and couldn't scroll past the second "No." column, as if the page was cut-off. Back on "real" browser now and can see all.

For the switched power, maybe #29 or #35. It's possible that fuse #3 may just be enabling the voltage regulator when the key is in "run". Fuse #25 "sounds like" a persistent source.
If you have (or can obtain cheaply from parts house) a test light, you can probe the little contacts on the fuses, either side of the value marking, to see if/when the circuit is live.
<edit: forgot you had a multimeter; you can probe with that, too>

<another edit: something bugged be about the process I described earlier, and I neglected a need for both wires to be connected. I have a second camera for wife's car and put it on the bench to confirm the following….>

To determine or verify the function of the two colored leads, connect the black wire to ground and then connect both colored wires to +12v. The unit should power-up into continuous recording mode. It will not enter parking mode until it is enabled in the camera settings, but you can identify the lead function by lifting one at a time while the camera is in continuous mode and observing the response. If you lift a wire and the camera shuts-down quickly (~5 sec.) then you have lifted the wire that should connect to persistent power. If you lift a wire and the camera continues to run for a longer period (~30 sec.) then the wire belongs to switched power.

 

[RocketRancher]

I'm still assuming the red wire needs continuity because it has the extra capacitor or internal fuse on it -- the big bulky black piece that says "const. cable".

May be. Hopefully we can get around the color coding by verifying functionality, and then landing the wires where they belong.
The black capsule looks like an inline fuse holder. Should snap open like a clam and you can ensure there's a good fuse inside.

 

[kmarnes]

Okay, I'll give it a try a little later today. The weather today is quite rainy, so I'll just wait for it to clear up first.

 

[Green]

Where did you buy your hardwire kit Kmarnes?

 

[kmarnes]

I ordered the F750H from Bestbuy.ca (it came with the hardwire kit). I also bought an extra stand-alone one by accident which I have to return now. The Bestbuy description didn't say it came with a hardwire kit!

 

[kmarnes]

I hooked up the accessory yellow cable to #29 (acc) and kept continuous power on #3 -- now it powers on when the car does, but I don't think continuous power works yet. I actually don't think any of those fuses have power when the car is off. My brother is a mechanic, so when I go see him over Xmas, I'll get him to tell me what I'm doing wrong.

 

[Dippy]

That documentation seems bad. For example what is "small (main)"?
I'd agree with RocketRancher - it is likely that #25 needs to be unswitched and so its suitable for the red wire.
The black object on the red wire is indeed a fuse holder.

 

[RocketRancher]

I hooked up the accessory yellow cable to #29 (acc) and kept continuous power on #3 -- now it powers on when the car does, but I don't think continuous power works yet. I actually don't think any of those fuses have power when the car is off. My brother is a mechanic, so when I go see him over Xmas, I'll get him to tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I think you're getting very close.
If you notice the unit shutting off within ~5 seconds of turning the key, then I would say that the leads are reversed. If it continues to run for a noticeably longer period, ~30sec, then they're on the right supplies. Once you have it on and can connect via wifi, you can enable the parking mode and see the mode change if supplies are correctly routed. ~30sec after turning-off the switch, it will enter parking mode (if enabled; else it will just shut off).

 

[TurBIce]

I have my "on when car is on" cable linked to my cig lighter fuse. the cam has been restarting itself lately. and i was wondering if it was because i have plugged in the iPhone charger. .

but also we have just put in a 64gb card. so not sure if rebooting itself because of the card or cig lighter fuse.

what do you guys think ?

When i get the time i will try just using my original 32gb. and also test if its cos of the cig lighter. but in the mean time. I'll ask here

 

[RocketRancher]

I have my "on when car is on" cable linked to my cig lighter fuse. the cam has been restarting itself lately. and i was wondering if it was because i have plugged in the iPhone charger. .

but also we have just put in a 64gb card. so not sure if rebooting itself because of the card or cig lighter fuse.

what do you guys think ?

When i get the time i will try just using my original 32gb. and also test if its cos of the cig lighter. but in the mean time. I'll ask here

I don't think a phone charger would significantly drop the voltage and cause the cam to cut out, unless there's an awful connection upstream of it all. Also have read of others who have seen misbehavior trying hi-cap media, so I would lean that-a-way.

 

[TurBIce]

Thanks man. ill experiment

 

[canadianelbow]

So any updates on the red vs yellow wiring? I just bought the f750h from bestbuy also, and my wiring kit is the same as the picture above. The red is marked battery, and has a glass inline fuse to it. The yellow is marked accessory and has no fuse in line. Is it still the opinion that these are mis labelled or should I go with logic, and assume that the manufacturer got it right?