Warranties and Hard Wiring

[twodogron]

Hi,
Has anyone ever run into new car electrical warranty voided problems after hardwiring a dash cam ?
My car is approx. 6 months old, and yes I could ask the makers before I do so but I prefer not to for obvious reasons, hornets nest and all that type of thing.
I'm in the UK so that may have an impact,, or not.......as the case maybe !
Thanks............

 

[Ralph2]

Offhand.. I would like to think it would depend.. on how the damage (warranty issue) relates to the installation of the dash cam. A dash cam installation that causes the car to burn up obviously is going to have the warranty challenged.

 

[Jez]

Just make sure you do it yourself properly, or if you're not confident then ask a car stereo shop to install it for you (though you need to trust that they would do it properly).

It's very unlikely (or near impossible?) that powering an electrical device through the fuse box can cause any damage to your car's electrics. On this forum we just talk about hard wiring dash cameras, but on others I've seen people hardwire satnavs and camera detectors with no issues.

At the end of the day, if you're worried then you could always take it out if it needed to go into the garage for warranty work.

When hardwiring my dash cam I used two empty fuse slots, which makes absolutely sure that they are not interfering with the circuits of other components. However, this is probably over the top and not necessary but I just did it because I could.

 

[twodogron]

I've gone through the T&C's of the Warranty but can't find any specific mention of such modifications, as you imply, so long as there is no problems I'm sure it is perfectly OK............ isn't everything !!
On the other hand I'm sure there have been numerous instances out there in the past and it was those I am eager to hear about.........
I did raise this point with an auto electrician specialising in retro fitting Radios and DVD's but he didn't seem to know..........which surprised me.!!

 

[Ralph2]

Warranty issues deal with specifics. Any modification that causes an issue will NOT be covered by a warranty. Any issue covered by a warranty NOT related to a modification will be honored. If.. you are still concerned have the dealer install the camera with the understanding (in writing) that the warranty will not be adversely affected by the said installation.

 

[Jez]

I've fitted a lot of car audio equipment, but to be fair the amplifiers were wired directly to the battery and the aftermarket head units plugged into the original leads with adapters. Just make sure when you hardwire that you get a good connection on all the wires and use the correct amp fuse in the "add a circuit" fuse taps.

Unfortunately Ralph, it isn't quite that simple and a manufacturer is unlikely to produce anything in writing. My bmw is covered under warranty, however I have modified the suspension (springs and shocks). When I've been in the garage, I've spoken to the service advisor and since I'm the customer spending money there, they say they are willing to rectify any warranty claims which are not associated with the suspension.

However...the warranty Ts and Cs say the following:

"This BMW Warranty will not cover a vehicle that has been subject to alterations, has had experimental equipment fitted or has in any way been modified from BMW’s approved specification".

So if taken literally, my entire car is not covered. This is unlikely to be an issue though, unless the claim runs into the thousands of pounds (so needs further approval from the warranty company), or the failed component is "close to" the suspension. In these cases, I might have to fight for it.