Ok, I'm going to be hard-wiring a dash cam soon and need very specific power sources - Firstly I need a genuine switched acc supply (i.e. one that switches off with the ignition, not one that goes to sleep a number of minutes later) and secondly I need either a permanent live or a 'sleep timer' switched supply. I think for the second one a 'sleep timer' supply would actually be best as this won't throw any battery drain errors and it'll work fine for what I need.
My dash cam has a power supply box that uses the switched feed to trigger a 10 second timer which allows a graceful shutdown - hence why I need a genuine acc switched input and any other input which will supply power for >10s after ignition off.
Ideally I'd like the feeds up the front, but not in the roof, as the DVR for the camera is going to be mounted somewhere around the dash/glovebox/centre console area. That being said, I'm happy to run wires from anywhere in the car if needed.
So, anyone have any ideas? A couple of questions spring to mind:
1. Are the cig lighters acc switched or on a sleep timer?
2. Is the phone snap-in switched, on a sleep timer or permanent (I've removed mine so the wiring is easy to tap into)?
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Dash Cam power sources
Re: Dash Cam power sources
I have the same sort of system on mine and it is powered from the back of the front 12V accessory socket. To get to it you need to remove the trim from above the pedals, and then the right transmission tunnel trim. There is a screw at the front of this and it then slides forward (seat all the way to the rear). This is alleged to be the 'standard' connection point Dealers use hence my looking for it. It is only active with the ignition on and shuts down immediately upon switch off.
I tapped into it and my camera runs just fine
I ran the power lead across the top of the pedal trim cover, up around where the dash/A-pillar meet, behind the A-pillar trim (pushed in gently with a trim tool to avoid any airbag issues, gently pushed behind the roof trim and around the mirror trim.
I tapped into it and my camera runs just fine
I ran the power lead across the top of the pedal trim cover, up around where the dash/A-pillar meet, behind the A-pillar trim (pushed in gently with a trim tool to avoid any airbag issues, gently pushed behind the roof trim and around the mirror trim.
Last edited by X5Sport on Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.
Re: Dash Cam power sources
I fitted a double usb socket where the sunroof switch would have gone if my car had one.
Took power from the vanity mirror and that works with the ignition.
Took power from the vanity mirror and that works with the ignition.
Re: Dash Cam power sources
[quote="X5Sport"]
I have the same sort of system on mine and it is powered from the back of the front 12V accessory socket. To get to it you need to remove the trim from above the pedals, and then the right transmission tunnel trim. There is a screw at the front of this and it then slides forward (seat all the way to the rear). This is alleged to be the 'standard' connection point Dealers use hence my looking for it. It is only active with the ignition on and shuts down immediately upon switch off.[/quote]Brilliant, that sounds perfect for the acc switched feed. Now I need a 'permanent' live (although as I said, this doesn't have to really be permanent, it just needs to be live for more than 10s after ignition off, so a 'sleep mode' switched feed would be fine as I think that sleeps after 10 mins).
I have the same sort of system on mine and it is powered from the back of the front 12V accessory socket. To get to it you need to remove the trim from above the pedals, and then the right transmission tunnel trim. There is a screw at the front of this and it then slides forward (seat all the way to the rear). This is alleged to be the 'standard' connection point Dealers use hence my looking for it. It is only active with the ignition on and shuts down immediately upon switch off.[/quote]Brilliant, that sounds perfect for the acc switched feed. Now I need a 'permanent' live (although as I said, this doesn't have to really be permanent, it just needs to be live for more than 10s after ignition off, so a 'sleep mode' switched feed would be fine as I think that sleeps after 10 mins).
Re: Dash Cam power sources
[quote="Alan Gunn"]
I fitted a double usb socket where the sunroof switch would have gone if my car had one.
Took power from the vanity mirror and that works with the ignition.
[/quote]
Thanks. My system has a separate DVR which I want to mount in the glove box (possibly hidden behind the removable trim at the back, as there's space next to the iPod adaptor and it has wifi so I don't need to physically access it regularly. Because of this I'd rather find a power source lower down.
I fitted a double usb socket where the sunroof switch would have gone if my car had one.
Took power from the vanity mirror and that works with the ignition.
[/quote]
Thanks. My system has a separate DVR which I want to mount in the glove box (possibly hidden behind the removable trim at the back, as there's space next to the iPod adaptor and it has wifi so I don't need to physically access it regularly. Because of this I'd rather find a power source lower down.
Re: Dash Cam power sources
I forgot to add that the camera runs for about 10 secs after power off (it has a capacitor built into the manufacturer's - Roadhawk - dedicated power supply) that does an orderly closedown. My other car has a Nextbase 512G and it's dedicated hard wired supply sends a 'power off' signal to the camera - which has a built in supply source - to command the same orderly shut down.
Neither camera dies the moment the 12V supply goes off.
Neither camera dies the moment the 12V supply goes off.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.Re: Dash Cam power sources
Mine works differently, in that it has an external psu that manages the 10s shutdown, but the more I think about it, the more I'm sure i can just connect both inputs to a switched feed without an issue. The 10s is there for a very specific reason, but I don't think it's relevant for my install.
Ironically, hard-wiring the power and running cables will be the easy part of this install... :blink:
Ironically, hard-wiring the power and running cables will be the easy part of this install... :blink: