What do I need to hardwire 12v female socket?

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Mio NoVue

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I know this one will give you a giggle as I know it'll be something so simple but I've got to ask because I don't have a clue. I'm pretty much an electrical dummy.

So i hardwired my dash cam which sort of worked ... because it would get power and record but it also sort of didn't as randomly i would turn the key and the dash cam display would be white and it'd not record, i'd have to take the power cord out and put back in. Or throughout the journey i'd see the "start recording" message on the display, meaning it was constantly getting and losing power. Or it would look like it's recording - as in the display would be illuminated, but if i plug the SD card in to the PC to check something, it would turn out an entire 30 minute journey didn't record.

From asking here it was concluded that it was the power supply. A bad hardwire kit. So I bought another from a different seller and we'll see if that works out or not.

Thinking ahead though, especially if it doesn't work out, the car audio guy that i bought the camera off and who did the original hardwiring in to my old car used the power supply (12v male) that came with the camera and had this plugged in to a 12v female that he had hardwired behind the glovebox. He actually wired it in to the cars stereo wiring. I'm not about to go doing that but I was thinking of tapping a 12v female in to another fuse and then wiring the original power supply cable in to the 12v female i just installed.

wAGudrz.jpg


Problem is i don't actually know the terminology of what to search for. <insert giggles here>

I know i need one of these which i believe is a fuse tap

71i9GNo.jpg


With the positive wire from the 12v female plugging in to the blue end in that image.

G81UGs7.jpg


I need whatever is on the end of that red wire in the above image to attach it to the red wire on the end of the 12v female.

I also need to attach something to the end of the negative lead off the 12v female. Now many of these kits i see come with this crabs claw like end. I'm pretty sure the term isn't crabs claw but who knows :D
What i actually want is a ring as it's just much easier to thread a bolt through it somewhere behind the glovebox and voila job done, rather than finding your crabs claw doesn't quite grip the bolt as the bolt is a bit on the thick side.

I've seen videos where people are crimping these connections. I have no electrical crimp tool but I do have a computing crimp tool identical to https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00QRVG15Y which I used when making network cables for throughout the house. I'm guessing they're going to be no good for this job but i'll ask all the same? If I need a different tool specific for electrical wiring then which crimp tool for the job as i see some looking all different to each other with a wide range of pricing. I don't want to pay £20 for something i'm going to use once when i can buy something that'll tick the box for £5.

Thanks.
 
That's exactly what I've done with my Garmin PND. I hardwired in a female socket under the dash.

In my case though I found the vehicles fusebox 'accessories pins' and used that rather than a piggyback.
 
Kremmen said:
That's exactly what I've done with my Garmin PND. I hardwired in a female socket under the dash.
Click to expand...

I've done similar with one PS which has a 'piggyback' USB port so that it powers 2 cams. If you're doing this with no intention of unplugging things I would highly recommend you tape that connection together well so that it doesn't vibrate loose in driving ;) And you might also want to check the tape security now and then as well since heat, cold, and age will affect it adversely.

This has been working well for me for over 4 years now using high-quality electrical tape (I use Scotch "33" brand) with the tape being redone once for aging and once when I switched vehicles. Mine is encased entirely with tape from one wire across the socket and plug to the wire at the other end then back- very secure.

Forgot to add to be very sure the socket is wired properly as a reversed polarity will likely kill the PS and maybe the cam too :eek:

Phil
 
I positioned the finished connection so I could cable tie both the male and female bits securely. As they say .... they are going nowhere :)
 
Leonauto said:
You need a fuse holder / splitter like this: Mini Size Car Fuse Holder

And another round terminal M8, such as: Auto Car Splices Wire Ring Round Terminal Crimping Loose Pins
Click to expand...
Thanks for answering :)
So i need that fuse splitter
A ring terminal (duh. Why didn't i think of that name?) which will be for the negative. I'm assuming the 4/5/6/8/10/12B numbers in your link relate to the mm diameter of the ring? So i simply measure which bolt needs to come out and buy the relevant ring.
Or buy an assortment of ring terminals.
Ok good so that's that sorted. It still leaves me with some questions though.

1) I need a connector on the red positive end of the 12v female socket to insert in to that connection in the first link you provided. What is this called that I need to buy also?
2) Do I need to buy a specific electrical crimp tool or will the computer networking crimp tool I have do the job? I am guessing I need to buy specific electrical crimp tool. If the answer to that is yes then what kind? As I see £3.49 crimp tool but also £31.77 crimp tool. I don't want to spend more than I have to as I wont be using it a lot but at the same time I want something that will do the job well.

Kremmen said:
That's exactly what I've done with my Garmin PND. I hardwired in a female socket under the dash.

In my case though I found the vehicles fusebox 'accessories pins' and used that rather than a piggyback.
Click to expand...
What are these accessories pins? And why would you do whatever that is vs piggybacking?
I'm not saying you're wrong - as i said earlier, i'm an electrical dummy. I'm actually trying to learn here.

Garmin PND? I'm assuming that's a sat nav? This will bring me on to a question at the end...
SawMaster said:
I've done similar with one PS which has a 'piggyback' USB port so that it powers 2 cams. If you're doing this with no intention of unplugging things I would highly recommend you tape that connection together well so that it doesn't vibrate loose in driving ;) And you might also want to check the tape security now and then as well since heat, cold, and age will affect it adversely.

This has been working well for me for over 4 years now using high-quality electrical tape (I use Scotch "33" brand) with the tape being redone once for aging and once when I switched vehicles. Mine is encased entirely with tape from one wire across the socket and plug to the wire at the other end then back- very secure.

Forgot to add to be very sure the socket is wired properly as a reversed polarity will likely kill the PS and maybe the cam too :eek:

Phil
Click to expand...
A) what's PS? I'm assuming it doesn't stand for PlayStation
B) Yep - the guy who did the install in my last car wrapped the hell out of it. It didn't shift at all. Weirdly though, the camera would not always record in 3min clips as per the setting. It's as though it was losing and gaining power but it would gain immediately.
Basically I may do a 30 min drive made up of 10x3min clips one day but then the next day what would be a 3min clip may be broken down in to a number of 1 second clips, a 5 second clip, a 14 second clip, a half second clip. Where if you piece them all together in a video editor, it would play a full 3 minute clip but they'd just be in so many individual clips on the memory card.
I thought it was perhaps the dash cam that was buggy. I had already sent it back to Mio who had replaced the motherboard.
But it turned out it must've been something with my cars electrics because when i brought it all over to my new car, even when i used the supplied power cord, it recorded in 3min clips all the time.
C) How do you check and in what way would it be reverse polarity?
I just connected everything up, took out the fuse for the 12v socket and tapped in to that. Maybe i got lucky?


Question at the end....

3) I've asked about hardwiring a 12v socket in so that the manufacturer supplied power cord can be used.
What about hardwiring in a double 12v female socket so that a permanent sat nav can be installed?

Would you tap in to 1 fuse (for example, the 12v socket fuse which would be fused for the 12v socket, the dash cam and the sat nav, or would that be too many things running out of 1 fuse location and rather than hardwire in a double 12v female you would hardwire in 2 12v females to 2 different locations?
 
"PS" = power supply which can either be a device plugged into the cigarette lighter socket or a hardwire kit (HWK). They are both power supplies ;) Most auto parts stores will have electrical terminals for sale, often a small assortment is as cheap as buying one single connector of the size you need.

"reverse polarity" means you have wired the + and - to the wrong sides of the socket or device. For what you're doing the outer shell of the socket is - and should go to a good car chassis ground point. The small terminal at the center bottom of the socket is + and that goes to wherever you're taking power from. You need a test light or meter to check which wire is which although some of these sockets can be disassembled where you can follow the wires manually. Often one of the paired wires will be ribbed and the other smooth. The ribbed one is usually - but don't just stick the ribbed wire to ground; verify that.

And yes, you can use a dual-port USB power supply but make sure that it's capable of the job. I'd want no less than 2A (same as 2000mA) available from each USB socket. You'll need to read the advertised specs for that. Go with a quality brand like Scosche or Anker and use pure copper USB cables, not the cheap "CCA" types. If the cable specs do not clearly say it's copper then it is CCA which will fail over tine. Keep the cable length as short as is practical for your installation.

Can't answer your questions about that cam as I'm not familiar with it but dashcam PS systems are similar so I can speak knowledgeably about them,

Phil
 
Thanks for the reply.
We don't really have an auto parts store here. All those kinds of shops have long since been shut down and moved out to other areas. Plus I don't like looking lost in a store or not really having a clue what i'm asking about, which is why i happily feel like a fool asking online :)

I'm not sure why you mention USB as i was talking about 12v female.

Something like:
1) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B086ZMK84R - though you'd have to snip the male end off to wire it in to something behind the dash.
2) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B07Q4P1VS1 Has exposed wiring ready to be connected up
3) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B07R6K79SM this one is interesting, but also over twice the price.

Although perhaps your comment about USB still applies?

And what of the crimp tool?

A) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B08LWYXXQ5 this looks pretty basic and dirt cheap
B) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B000R9Y1A4 this is around 6 times the price.
And probably some in between.
 
I misunderstood you where you mentioned powering the GPS and the cam too. I had thought you were going to use a 2-port PS and one female socket, but after reading the massage again I see where I erred. But if the GPS also takes USB power it could be done the way I explained.

You can use any of those multiple-socket devices- just cut the plug off and wire it in. I'm running two 3-way versions of these in my van done like that.

In most places there will be at least one source for goods normally carried by other types of stores when there are none of those in the area. Being in the US I don't know much of there but your local ironmongers might have what you need and anyone whose business involves working with wiring or repairing such might know local sources they could share. Otherwise it's an online search and I'm equally useless with that as I buy these kinds of thing locally and always have. I do know they make small kits with terminals and a crimper tool; not great stuff but usable and adequate for this kind of thing. Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B000WTNFBK but in a smaller size would be perfect.
Wherever that comes from should also have cheap 12V LED test-lights which will also make this job easier and prove useful should repairs ever need to be made.

Phil
 
Either I have bought yet another bad power supply / dashcam kit or there's something else going on.

I wired in the brand new kit at the weekend. Turned the ignition on - powered up, turned it off, powered down. Great.

Today was maybe - 1c, perhaps 0c at the warmest. I turned the ignition on and the dash cam stayed black. Once again I had to pull the power cord and reinsert. This is becoming a common theme on cold days.

So I'm not actually sure that wiring in a 12v female and using the supplied cord will work because I'm still tapping in to an existing fuse the same way I am now. I know its not impossible but I don't believe I've bought another bad kit.

But at the same time I don't believe it's the dash cam either because I had it in my last car on some really really cold days and it would always power up every time.
 
It sound to me like either you're not tapping into a good circuit for this use or that your car battery may not be delivering adequate voltage when it's cold. When something has worked before but is not doing that now, the first diagnostic step is to ask yourself what has changed since then. If you can;'t identify it then deeper testing is necessary.

All HWK's have a minimum (threshold) voltage below which they will not produce output. I've never seen this spec listed but I know from experience that this varies from one HWK to another because of how mine behave. It's entirely possible that battery wear has caused the voltage to become so low that the HWK isn't getting enough power when the ignition is turned on and car circuits draw power from the battery.

Some cams have a "boot delay" or "startup delay" setting in the menu which gives the car time to get started and producing enough voltage for the cam. Look for that option with yours and set it to something like 10 or 15 seconds if that's available as a choice. If that's not there for you we're going to have to go deeper into iagnosis to find what has changed and address that.

Phil
 
Question: Could it be related in any way at all in me tapping in to the 12v socket fuse? To put it another way, it it possible I would get a different result by tapping in to say, the rear wiper fuse?

I should add that when I start the car after i have finished work, the dash cam powers up perfectly fine. For the past two mornings though, when the temperature has been perhaps a little colder, the dash cam didn't power up at all (yesterday) or ended up looking like this today:
b1kKYS3.jpg


So i had to pull the cord out of the top and then re-insert.

I have set it up so that the supplied power cable is plugged direct in to the 12v socket ready for tomorrow morning. The only issue is i think it's supposed to be a bit warmer so if it powers up fine, it may have powered up fine with the current hardwire kit anyway - i'll never know as i can only do 1 thing at once. Once the cam gets power it's good to go.

The only things that are different, which are pretty major i guess, are 1) the car and therefore 2) the battery.

Curious what you mean about a good circuit though. In what way could it be not good and how do i find whether it is good or not? (or is that partly answered by my opening question?)
 
Many cars drop power to certain circuits when the starter is engaged, then power returns when you rel;ease the key. Many newer cars use computer controlled power schemes that may shut circuits down when the car thinks they're unused. It's not always what it may seem to be anymore, and only by testing and observing with a voltmeter or trial-and-error that you can know what's going on for sure. Any drop in power below the HWK threshold can lead to what you're seeing: the cam isn't booting up for a lack of power so it stops until the next power cycle.

But in your case I'm inclined to think it's the car battery showing age and not producing enough voltage for the cam to start when you switch the ignition on. And you need a voltmeter or DMM (digital multimeter) to check that. Even a cheap DMM should be accurate enough for this; those start around $10 on sale, sometimes less. Car batteries lose capacity in the cold so if yours is weak, it may be OK when it's warmer but not when cold. Could be good enough to start the car but not quite enough for the cam. Without checking the voltages it's only a guess but the symptoms match.

Phil
 
What I've been posting for ages.

Some circuits lose power when the starter is cranked.

Cam starts to power up - circuit loses power so it goes into shutdown mode - power restored but the cam is still in shutdown mode.
 
Tbh I wouldn't have the first clue on how to test. I know you mention voltmeters and multimeters but having never used either what I'm saying is I could buy one but then wouldn't know what to then do with it.

For the record my last car I refer to was a 2001 plate car. For the UK folk it was a MK4 Astra. This 'new' (to me) car is only a 2006 car. Again for the UK folk it's a Ford Mondeo.

I don't k ow if this next bit of info helps you diagnose any...

So last night I unplugged the hardwire kit I bought off Amazon from the camera. I plugged in the original supplied power cable that came with the camera. The other end is a 12v male which I plugged direct in to the cars 12v socket. The socket on this car is ignition-live.
The hardwire kit was taped in to the fuse box in to the 12v socket fuse location.

Anyway it turned out that it was another frosty one. Although it didn't feel as bad as the past 2 nights my car actually said it was - 1c whereas past 2 days have been 0c. Either way the weather on my phone was to within 1c so pretty consistent.
I turn the key as normal and start the car as normal.

The camera powered up perfectly fine no problem whatsoever.
As I say, the past 2 mornings in the cold it has not powered up at all (Monday) and shown the display I attached above (yesterday) to which I've then had to pull the USB cable from the top, re-insert and then it powered up.

So although I'm an electrical dummy, this says to me it must be surely something to do with that hardwire kit or the way it's connected up. I just don't know enough to say what.

Over to you guys.
 
Have a look at this fuse:

Fuse.jpg

Either side of the "15" are 2 metal 'dots'

This is what you can see without removing the fuse.

With a multimeter you attach the negative probe to any car metal and then touch the positive probe to one of the 2 metal dots.

If it has power then that is a permanent power fuse.
Then turn the ignition key one 'click' (accessory position). If it was previously dead but now has a reading ................. I'm sure you can take it from here.
 
OK I'm risking sounding completely stupid now but what does that do?
I know you're talking about determining whether something is perm-live or ignition-live.

But what I mean is, the fuse for the 12v socket/ciggy socket/whatever it's called (that socket that's between the handbrake and gear stick on the mk3 mondeo) is switched-live.

If I plug something in without the key in its dead, no power at all. As soon as I turn the key as you say, it gets power. Start the car it obviously gets power.

Though this isn't default on the mk3 mondeo I believe. I think the default is perm-live, but I don't like that for the 12v socket. I don't k ow if you can do this in all cars but in the Mondeo you just move the fuse up 1 slot and that makes it ignition live.

So I don't mean this in an awkward sense but what will testing as you say show that I can't see already by just inserting something in to the socket with the key out and then with the key turned? I feel like I've missed something but I don't get what.
 
The fuse supplying the socket may not be powering it directly- it could be going through a computer before it reaches the socket, and that computer may be altering the way the circuit behaves. It may be sensing something plugged into the socket then powering it up, but if it doesn't sense a load at the socket the circuit power may be turned off or delayed. This is why it much be tested at the fuse or another circuit tried.

If we can't get that done here there's not anything more I can suggest. Either you or someone else needs to do this.

Phil
 
OK no problem. I will try to get that sorted.

So if I can get this done I shall test the reading with no key on, key in to pos1 and car started and then see what you make of the results.
 
You don't need to actually start the car but put the key into position 2 which is just before the final turn that is the spring loaded turn to start the car, known as IGN pos 2.
 
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