Hard wiring a DashCam

[soup]

I am tired of all the wires running from my cigarette lighter socket in the car, so want to hard wire the cam in.

Was wondering what was the group's opinion on three-wire systems as opposed to two wire ones.

AIUI the three-wire systems allow the cars battery to run the "parked" function rather than using the camera's in-built battery. There is a low voltage box on the three-wire to stop the camera completely draining the car's main battery. Whereas the two-wire set-up turns the camera on and off with the ignition so any "parked" function must run from the cameras battery.

So what to go for ?

I realise that with three-wire I will need to find a fuse in the fuse box that is ignition switched and one that is constantly on.

[Bob Eager]

I have a two wire system. It is connected to an 'always on' fuseway.

There is a bix, but its primary function is to drop the voltage from the car battery.

That is when the feed is from a switched fuseway.

[Brian]

I run a number of things ( inc a dash cam) in our MH from a supply wired to the ignition. Being a Fiat, it doesn?t have an ACC position on the ignition so I just tapped into the supply to the cigarette lighter / 12 V socket. It is only live when the ignition is on.

I fused each one and run the cables under the dash to a hole already in the top of the dashboard used for an option not used on my model.

I?ve done something similar in my wife?s new AYGO. It has one of those systems you connect your phone to so you use Google Maps but she prefers a Garmin Sat nav we have. She didn?t want wires draped across the dash board.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

It happens that soup formulated :

I just run mine from a permanent 12v, at the back of the ICE system. I installed a hidden ciggy lighter socket at the back of the ICE, so I could plug it's 12v adaptor in the plug, straight in. Camera itself is windscreen fitted, hidden behind the sun visor, quite compact and includes a rear cam and battery backup for the car being interferred with whilst parked. No one who has been near my car, has ever spotted that it is fitted with cams, apart from the reversing cam, which feeds into the ice system when ever reverse is selected - difficult to miss.

[Steve Walker]

For a permanent supply that is up near the mirror, the interior light, map lights or an illuminated sun-visor lamp may be useful - as long as it is not a car using PWM control of the light and driving it from a unit behind the dash!

[Roland Perry]

In message <so2ill$58u$ [e-mail], at 12:56:26 on Mon, 29 Nov

2021, soup [e-mail] remarked:

I inherited a cable in my car which emerges around the base of the rear-view mirror, with a mini (not micro) USB connector on it. It powers my dashcam (which like most I've seen fortuitously has the older mini-USB power feed) whenever the "ignition is on", which being a push-button start/stop is approximately correlated with "engine running".

It does what I would have painted on the tin.

[R D S]

Where's your socket? Ours is near the gear stick and i've managed to do a fairly decent job of ramming the wire behind windscreen trim, down the door trim and under mats such that there's only a few inch showing and none of it snaggable.

[Bob Eager]

I hard wired mine. Fuse box under the glove box, passenger side. Wire goes under windscreen rubber, then down inside the A-pillar trim ten continues back behind the footwell trim.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

How much longer will that lighter device annd socket be used? I heard they were phasing these out on new cars to put in some kind oof digital cabling for hands free phones etc. Brian

[Andy Burns]

You still get lighter sockets, and USB sockets on most new cars, but you don't typically get the actual cigar lighter unless you order the smokers pack.

[ARW]

I did that in the van - and when I got to HMP Lindholme they made me take it out.

[Steve Walker]

The sockets are still needed, as they are used for the compressors in emergency puncture repair kits amongst other things.

It would actually make a lot of sense to come up with a new and better standard) and provide an adaptor for using the old style plugs, as the existing sockets are prone to failure, corrosion, things falling in them when the plug is removed, etc.

[R D S]

That had been my plan but I decided to do a quick and temporary job (management was moaning at the wire trailing across the car), but I think it's good enough to be permanent.

[R D S]

Yes, we do have a nearby USB socket too.

[R D S]

Probably for the best! I presume you had a load of other cable though?

[Bob Eager]

I did get some proper trim spudgers, which helped a lot.

[soup]

Thanks all. Well I have done it. Went three wire in the end (son likes the idea of the camera recording anyone that hits the car). After a false start (couldn't find the interior fuse box). Only took about twenty minutes and that includes stuffing the wires behind the roof lining, behind trim etc

[Bob Eager]

Glad it worked.

Still a bit puzzled. My NextBase uses only two wires even with the above functionality!

[soup]

Yes so would mine but the battery in the camera is too small to do multi days of (possible) recordings. So it runs of the car's battery whilst ignition is off.

[Bob Eager]

So does my two wire system!