What's the recommended way to hardwire dashcams on Euro cars?

JeremyS

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I bought two A119 (One to use as front and another for the rear view) and upgraded the firmwares to v3.1 (To get the parking mode). I even bought the Spytec hardwire kit to run the parking mode when the car is off.

I just found out that I have one fuse box in the engine area (This fuse box has all the always-on fuses such as horn, etc). The other one in the rear. My problems are:

1) I don't have any always-on cigarette lighters
2) The rear fuse box doesn't seem to have any always-on fuses
3) The 10 foot hard wire kit from Spytec doesn't go all the way back to the trunk if I tuck it into the trim

I think the only option I have is to hardwire to the car battery (Which is also in the trunk) but can I hardwire 2 different cameras to the same car battery? Are there any kits with wires longer than 10 feet?

What would you recommend that I do?
 
What would you recommend that I do?
Besides buying an American car?:)
Use an add a fuse thing to your horn fuse (or another always on fuse) in the fuse box. Wiring directly to the battery is not normally recommended but if you do ensure it is fuse protected close to the battery and.. yes you can add multiple cameras to the battery.. or to any fuse.
 
What car is it?? wont it have a fuse box in the dash? there's every possibility it'll have a permanent live fuse in there
 
What car is it?? wont it have a fuse box in the dash? there's every possibility it'll have a permanent live fuse in there

Its a 2015 F30. I'm not sure if there is a fusebox near the dashboard but according to the fusebox chart, there are 2 main fuse boxes (Engine and Trunk). The chart in my car looks like this:
attachment.php
 
Its a 2015 F30. I'm not sure if there is a fusebox near the dashboard but according to the fusebox chart, there are 2 main fuse boxes (Engine and Trunk). The chart in my car looks like this:
attachment.php

It looks like many of the fuses in my in-dash panel are the ones BMW put in the engine bay panel, not the trunk... doesn't exactly make it too easy to hardwire a dashcam compared to my audi where the fuses are right by the steering wheel!
 
It looks like many of the fuses in my in-dash panel are the ones BMW put in the engine bay panel, not the trunk... doesn't exactly make it too easy to hardwire a dashcam compared to my audi where the fuses are right by the steering wheel!

Lucky you. I was under the assumption that hardwiring on all Euro cars would be difficult as they are always said to be "over-engineered" but you have it quite easy compared to my case. BMW just had to complicate this stuff, ugh.

By the way, do you know of any good hardwiring kits that can travel all the way back to the trunk (starting from the rearview mirror)? The spytecs 10 foot hard wire doesn't go all the way into the trunk when I start tucking it into the trim.
 
By the way, do you know of any good hardwiring kits that can travel all the way back to the trunk (starting from the rearview mirror)? The spytecs 10 foot hard wire doesn't go all the way into the trunk when I start tucking it into the trim.

I really don't, I have a nextbase one but I think it's either the same length or maybe even shorter. I've never had the headlining down from a car so I don't know if there's any obstructions but if you got the whole headlining down, could you run it "direct line of site" from the rear view mirror and down the C-pillar into the trunk?
 
What about the fuse for the seats and the trunk? If they have power when the car is off, it's possible that those fuses have 12V. But be careful as you may drain the battery.

Have you tried contacting the retailer/ manufacturer to ask if they have longer wire replacement?
 
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