Trying to hardwire dashcam/12V outlet strip

[DocHudson]

I am trying to hardware the front and the rear dashcam. Until now, I would just plug into the USB ports but I am considering installing seat warmers for winter days. So my options are either hardwire either of them or install a 12V outlet strip.

I don't know yet which way I should go, but I would like to understand hardwire basics. Let me be super honest, I know absolutely nothing about electrical, so please feed me from the basics. I have watched a few Youtube tutorials and tried to replicate them but ended up blowing the fuse.

My fusebox (2006 Sentra) looks like the below and I will be tapping into the accessory fuse (marked). Mine is 15A, not 10A.



I don't know which side is live, the bottom one or the top one. I tried to figure out using a multimeter but when I touched either side, it flew tiny sparkles, blew the fuse, and the multimeter wire turned HOT. The negative was connected to the door bolt.

This is how I set the multimeter. Clearly, something is wrong.




This is the fuse tap, I will try to use.



Can anyone please guide me on how I should orient the fuse tap? Plus, how do I make sure that the bolt I am tapping into is indeed ground?

I do not want to blow the dashcam or the 12V accessory strip.

Appreciate all the guidance. Thanks in advance.

 

[Willie deKatt]

The red lead should plug into the other red jack on your meter. As you have it now, it is set up to measure current, meaning the meter presents a very low resistance, which is why the fuse blew and the leads got hot. It was almost like placing a wire directly between the fuse terminal and the ground. Put the red lead into the V_mA jack.

 

[LateralNW]

I am trying to hardware the front and the rear dashcam. Until now, I would just plug into the USB ports but I am considering installing seat warmers for winter days. So my options are either hardwire either of them or install a 12V outlet strip.

I don't know yet which way I should go, but I would like to understand hardwire basics. Let me be super honest, I know absolutely nothing about electrical, so please feed me from the basics. I have watched a few Youtube tutorials and tried to replicate them but ended up blowing the fuse.

My fusebox (2006 Sentra) looks like the below and I will be tapping into the accessory fuse (marked). Mine is 15A, not 10A.

View attachment 61373

I don't know which side is live, the bottom one or the top one. I tried to figure out using a multimeter but when I touched either side, it flew tiny sparkles, blew the fuse, and the multimeter wire turned HOT. The negative was connected to the door bolt.

This is how I set the multimeter. Clearly, something is wrong.
View attachment 61374



This is the fuse tap, I will try to use.

View attachment 61375

Can anyone please guide me on how I should orient the fuse tap? Plus, how do I make sure that the bolt I am tapping into is indeed ground?

I do not want to blow the dashcam or the 12V accessory strip.

Appreciate all the guidance. Thanks in advance.

As @Willie deKatt has already said, you have the lead in the wrong connector basically causing a dead short!

To identify which side of the fuse is live, pull out and then measure the both sides of the fuse holder. Only one side will give a reading of approx 12 volts.

Once you identify which side place the fuse holder adaptor so power has to go through the fuses.

With your multimeter I'm surprised it didn't blow an internal fuse.

 

[thomas-dash]

Put the fuse for your dash cam in the top slot (the one in line with the wire) and crimp the cable to your hardwire kit. Leave the other fuse unplugged.

Plug in the add-a-circuit to the fuse box. If your dash cam doesn’t power up, then flip the orientation of the add-a-circuit. If your dash cam still doesn’t power up, then you probably have a bad crimp. Everything I mentioned above assumes you have wired your ground cable and any ACC cable as well.

Once you have the correct orientation you can plug the original fuse into the bottom slot.

 

[Mtrev]

Put the fuse for your dash cam in the top slot (the one in line with the wire) and crimp the cable to your hardwire kit. Leave the other fuse unplugged.

Plug in the add-a-circuit to the fuse box. If your dash cam doesn’t power up, then flip the orientation of the add-a-circuit. If your dash cam still doesn’t power up, then you probably have a bad crimp. Everything I mentioned above assumes you have wired your ground cable and any ACC cable as well.

Once you have the correct orientation you can plug the original fuse into the bottom slot.

In parallel like this is fine for a small current device like a dash cam, the op doesn’t say if they are also going to use add a fuse kits for the seat warmers?
Actual seat heating kits often use 20-30A fuses, you don’t want those connected in parallel otherwise there is a huge risk of overloading the cabling/ecu supplying the fuse. Much better to connect the other way around, in series, so the power out goes through both fuses, maintaining the original fused protection designed.

 

[DocHudson]

Thank you, everyone. I will follow the instructions over the weekend and get back to you folks about what new fcuk up I ended up with.

@Mtrev I am still looking for seat warmer kits, so I am not exactly sure how that would work. I will first wire the dashcam successfully and only then I will consider a seat warmer. I don't want to cause extra headaches due to my lack of understanding in/about this process.

 

[Nigel]

@Mtrev I am still looking for seat warmer kits, so I am not exactly sure how that would work. I will first wire the dashcam successfully and only then I will consider a seat warmer. I don't want to cause extra headaches due to my lack of understanding in/about this process.

If your car already has a fuse for seat heaters, or an unused fuse location wired for them then you want to use that. As Mtrev says, do not add an extra 20A load to a 20A fuse that is already providing 20A to something else, 40A total is likely to cause a big problem. Adding an extra 0.2A for a dashcam isn't an issue, so most people here don't worry about calculating the total and making sure there is enough capacity, or that it is safe. (0.2A at 12V is approximately what a typical dashcam uses.) If you don't already have a fuse for seat heaters, you should be thinking of installing an extra circuit with 20A cable and switched by a relay.

 

[DocHudson]

@Nigel Copy that. As I said, I am still searching for an option that is easiest to install. I will definitely be posting here before I even try to install it.