What to do when power is always on

[Evan55]

Id like to put a rear-facing camera in my suv, and conveniently there is a 12v socket in the back. Unfortunately this socket is always powered on, even when the car is shut off.
Ive spent way too much time trying to find a good,easy solution, but I havent seemed to find it yet so Id LOVE to hear if anyone has any better solutions. As far as I can tell these are my options:

1. Run a wire from the front fusebox all the way to the back. REALLY dont want to do this, would involve removal of way too many trim peices, seats, broken clips everywhere, ill fitting panels after reinstallation etc etc. This is the problem that Im trying to solve to begin with.

2. Just leave the camera on always. Probably (maybe?) will not drain my battery in 24-48 hours, but if I go on a trip, drive another car for a few days etc, I dont want to come back to a dead battery. And I dont want to remember to unplug or switch anything. Set and forget is the key to dashcams IMO. Can easily cause overheating in the summer and probably not good for the memory card either

3. Use a "power magic" voltage cutoff device. Is built for this purpose. Unfortunately they dont cut power until it hits 11.8v, at which point your battery is well on its way to being dead. What a joke, the company that markets these should be ashamed.

4. Buy a camera with some kind of parking or auto-off feature? Not sure about this one, if its adequate even if it works. No idea if 'parking mode' slows current draw enough to eliminate battery drain concern. An accelerometer based idle solution would be the most elegant, but I have no idea if any cameras have implemented this (and again if it is even enough).

5. DIY. Found a writeup for a DIY voltage cutoff switch. Im decent with a soldering iron, but the instructions were sketchy, and Im not sure if I would be able to tweak it well enough to shut off precisely at battery voltage, and turn on at alternator voltage.

6. ?????????????????????


so what do you guys do to solve this problem?

 

[niko]

Power Magic Pro is not the only one out there. There are many dozens others where you can set voltage cut off much higher / or lower than on PowerMagic. Also you can select a timer cut off function on those devices.

 

[cheap_newbie]

get information from/about your car manufacturer... on some cars you can configure through software whether specific functions are enabled or disabled(or maybe through changing something in the cars fuse configuration)...
like coming home lighting default on/off... or power supply behaviour for 12v sockets
maybe youre lucky and can solve it this way

 

[BobDiaz]

Some circuits in the fuse box may power off when the car is turned off. IF you can find the proper fuse circuit, you may be able to tap into that circuit.

For example, in my Car, the power windows turned off when the car is turned off.

 

[Evan55]

Power Magic Pro is not the only one out there. There are many dozens others where you can set voltage cut off much higher / or lower than on PowerMagic. Also you can select a timer cut off function on those devices.

I looked at some others, and the voltage ranges were the same or even worse than the power magic. Do you have links to any other similar products that have more functional voltage ranges?

 

[Evan55]

Some circuits in the fuse box may power off when the car is turned off. IF you can find the proper fuse circuit, you may be able to tap into that circuit.

For example, in my Car, the power windows turned off when the car is turned off.

Yes, there are switched circuits in the car, I use it for the front camera. But ripping up trim and running a wire through the car is exactly the problem Im trying to avoid. (see #1)

 

[AllStrobedUp]

Just pop the plug out.

 

[Lowen]

I

Yes, there are switched circuits in the car, I use it for the front camera. But ripping up trim and running a wire through the car is exactly the problem Im trying to avoid. (see #1)

I had the same problem with 2 of my vehicles (Skoda Yeti and Roomster) but I found an easy way to run the wire from the front to the back by pulling up the rubber seal that runs round the 2 door openings and was able to lay the cable in the gap between the sill and the internal trim.

 

[Mtz]

Another solution: in the fusebox you can connect also the rear socket to the front socket using a fuse holder bypass.

For sure you can find them in any sore with cars equipment and don't need to buy from some online store and wait 2 months for it.

You have very small chances to burn the fuses because you will not use the read socket as cigarette lighter and a dashcam use a little power.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Evan55]

Just pop the plug out.

Please read the post before responding.

Another solution: in the fusebox you can connect also the rear socket to the front socket using a fuse holder bypass.

interesting idea! I like where that is headed. So basically that would be to unplug the wire for the rear socket from the back of the fusebox, and wire it in to the switched power circuit using a fuse tap. How is the wire secured in the back of the fusebox, and would it be reversible? (i would assume not)

concerns/risks would be: what else is on that circuit that might need constant power (cant think of anything that should need constant power so probably not a big concern)
and, what would the warranty implications be, say if my ECU or other electrical component were to go out.

 

[AllStrobedUp]

Please read the post before responding.


interesting idea! I like where that is headed. So basically that would be to unplug the wire for the rear socket from the back of the fusebox, and wire it in to the switched power circuit using a fuse tap. How is the wire secured in the back of the fusebox, and would it be reversible? (i would assume not)

concerns/risks would be: what else is on that circuit that might need constant power (cant think of anything that should need constant power so probably not a big concern)
and, what would the warranty implications be, say if my ECU or other electrical component were to go out.

It is a valid solution. Don't call out.

 

[Evan55]

It is a valid solution. Don't call out.

No. It isnt. Like I said, please read the original post.

Id like to put a rear-facing camera in my suv, and conveniently there is a 12v socket in the back.....
....
And I dont want to remember to unplug or switch anything. Set and forget is the key to dashcams IMO.

Im not going to go in the rear hatch of the car and plug/unplug something EVERY time I drive it.

 

[cheap_newbie]

concerns/risks would be: what else is on that circuit that might need constant power (cant think of anything that should need constant power so probably not a big concern)
and, what would the warranty implications be, say if my ECU or other electrical component were to go out.

if you choose the circuits/fuse dimension wisely and prevent it this way from being overloaded, you can eliminate this risk, if something would try to draw too much power, the fuse would burn and thats it....preventing any damage

 

[AllStrobedUp]

No. It isnt. Like I said, please read the original post.



Im not going to go in the rear hatch of the car and plug/unplug something EVERY time I drive it.

I can easily reach my rear power point from driver seat of my vehicle. Still valid point.

 

[Quick]

I believe all the Lukas power management products are settable for either voltage or timer.
Cut off voltages can be set at 11.8, 12.0, 12.2, 12.4 (or 12.3 in some of them?)

 

[Evan55]

I believe all the Lukas power management products are settable for either voltage or timer.
Cut off voltages can be set at 11.8, 12.0, 12.2, 12.4 (or 12.3 in some of them?)

Do you have a link to that? 12.4 is a lot better, and definitely workable in most scenarios. It still going to let the battery run down a little further than I prefer in warmer temperatures. You want to keep the battery to 90% max voltage or so to prevent deep cycling, but its close enough really.

I found this on ebay, and it has some potential
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251099600246
Since alternator voltage is high 13s to low 14s, and battery voltage is mid to high 12s (when warm)
I could set it to 13v, which should cut power to the dashcam when I shut the car off.

I bought one, so will report back how it works

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I ran a wire from the back, up to the front so both Front and Rear DashCams are on using the "Always On" Accessory light power source. (this one turns off after 5 minutes if the engine isn't running
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/wire-dashcam-interior-lights-live-feed-longer-recordings.2363/

 

[irononreverse]

I use a four port adapter which has an on/off switch. I switch it on/off whenever I start/stop the car

 

[Evan55]

problem solved.

used the box from ebay I linked to above. You set the cutoff voltage under which the box will cut all power to the outputs. Since alternator voltage is right at about 14v, and battery voltage (depending on battery condition and temperature) is around 13, its pretty easy to tweak to get a setting thats on when the car is on, and turns off when the car shuts off. (the voltage setting may need retweaking a couple times a year though when the weather changes)


here it is wired up. note that I could have significantly reduced/eliminated its footprint by hardwiring it in, and hiding the box in the ample space behind trim panels. but i like this flexibility and it sits out of the way in that cubby

 

[Gabolinche]

You set the cutoff voltage under which the box will cut all power to the outputs. Since alternator voltage is right at about 14v, and battery voltage (depending on battery condition and temperature) is around 13, its pretty easy to tweak to get a setting thats on when the car is on, and turns off when the car shuts off. (the voltage setting may need retweaking a couple times a year though when the weather changes)

Awesome, thanks for sharing. I've been looking for a configurable device with more options than those available in the Power Magic Pros and that sort of products...

So just, to get things straight, you connect that Kemo thing to your always-on power source and then turn the yellow knob to configure the cutoff voltage, right? From the product pictures I see you can choose anywhere between 10.4V and 13.3V. The only problem I see is with the configuration being analog I would have no idea exactly what voltage I've chosen. How did you test to see the exact voltage where it would cut the power? Did you just do it by trial and error? I'm worried about trial and error since I want mine to be always on even with the car off, but cutoff the voltage at around 12.4V.