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Hardwiring dashcam

33K views 40 replies 10 participants last post by  Wgo 
#1 ·
Hi,

I am planning to hardwire a dashcam on my Q3. Just started poking around and doing some research yesterday. I am considering to use the add-a-fuse thingy to tap into the fuse box.

But looking at the fuse box (the one behind the small storage box below the steering wheel), seems like the space is a bit tight, I am not sure if it can even fit the add-a-fuse thingy (ie the storage bin cover might not able to close).

And apparently, there are 2 different sizes of fuses being used. I think they are the standard ATO and Mini. Since the minis are probably slightly shorter in height, I think I will try to tap on the mini fuses.

Anyone has experience on hardwiring in a Q3 and would like to share some information?

Thanks,
 
#3 ·
There aren't usually problems with this, but the normal "be careful" about stacking too much current on the line you tap. Remember that the upstream wiring that you tap has to take BOTH loads not just one or the other ... current is simply cumulative unlike resistance.
 
#6 ·
Please give us the details (and pics too) of your camera choice and results - many thanks !!
 
#8 ·
Finally sort of got it done last week. "Sort of" because I still haven't finalized where to mount the camera itself (as my dashcam is a bit big), but at least the circuit part (with Power Magic Pro) is done and it is working as expected.

I have taken a few pictures & notes and will post them when I have more time during the holidays. Hope it might help some of you.
 
#9 ·
That would be great since my dashcam is on its way. I purchased Blacksys CH-100B, which has a built in voltage shut-off.

It would really help me to see which fuses you tapped into and how you hid the wires.
 
#10 ·
Finally I have a chance to write this up. I hope it can help out some members or at least speed up the installation a little bit. By no means this is the only way, and in fact it may not be the proper way even though it works for me. So use it at your own risk!

I have a Vicovation dashcam which has the parking mode feature. In general if you are interested in using the parking mode (or want to leave the dashcam on even when ignition is off) you probably want some kind of controller. I got the Power Magic Pro as the controller. There are 2 modes:

1) On and off with ignition - Controller will cut off power to the dashcam when ignition is off.

2) Always On - Controller will cut off power based on the car's battery voltage and timer (whichever comes first). This is to prevent the dashcam draining the car's battery.

Basically the controller needs to hook up 2 wires to the fuse box. One for always on, one goes with the ignition. And of course one for ground. It provides a 12V socket for connecting to the dashcam.

I also bought 2 "add a fuse" wires for tapping into the fuse box.



Instead of crimping the wires directly to the "add a fuse" wires, I hooked them up through some connectors. I thought it will be easier in the future in case I change to another controller.



Here is the ground, just below the fuse box compartment (btw, the fuse box is behind the little compartment, lower left of the steering wheel).



I was tapping to fuse #5 and #18 . #5 for the ignition wire and #18 for the always on wire. According to the manual, #5 is the left headlight and #18 is the TV Tuner. I don't think I have any TV Tuner related features at all, so I am not exactly sure, but it does sound like a non critical component to tap on.



Here are all the wires. Basically connect the ignition and always on wires to the corresponding "add a fuse" wires. The black ground wire and the white connector will be routed behind the compartment and come back out near the ground screw.



To hide the big batch of wires, I tied them up above the fuse box.



When it's all done, only the 12V socket will be left in the compartment.



The ground and the connector for the controller.



Last step is to hook up the controller. The controller is very light, I just use a double side tape and put it near the ground screw.

Once the circuit is working, it's really up to you where to mount the dashcam. Depending on the size/form factor of your dashcam, you might not have many choices. My dashcam isn't very small, I find it a bit large if mount on the windshield. For now I just mount it on the dash besides the MMI screen.

Hope it helps!
 
#13 ·
I tried hard wiring my dash cam Blacksys-100B which came with a hard wiring kit (not power magic pro, but the dash cam has voltage cut off built-in and a hard wiring wires came with it).

I tapped into always on fuse such as "keyless entry" for ACC (yellow wire) and ignition on fuse such as "front 12-volt outlet" for B+ (red wire) and ground wire to a metal bolt under the fuse box, but the dash cam does not come on, with and without ignition.

When I use the regular cigarette jack to power the dash cam, it works.

So I'm guessing the hard wiring wire is defective or I'm using work fuses (20 amp fuses) for the add a fuse wires to power the dash cam.

Should I be using 30 amp fuses like Edward?

I even tried to wrap the hard wiring wires directly to the fuses in the fuse box but still no power...

What should I try next?
 
#15 ·
Tanqueray,

1) The max amp rating for the fuses shouldn't be matter too much as long as it's enough for the dashcam (but you don't want it to be too big either, otherwise it won't able to protect the circuit). I am actually using 3A fuses for the camera circuit, the pictures were taken before I replaced them with 3A fuses. The camera should be using very little current, 3A should be enough.

2) Sounds like you are hooking up the wires correctly. I would recommend to make sure the ground wire is attached tightly. I had similar issue initially, turns out the ground wire wasn't attached tightly to the screw. If it still doesn't work, you can also try temporary touching the ground wire to the door hinge as the ground (I used the door hinge as ground when checking out the fuses with my voltmeter). If it works this way, that means it's the ground connection issue.

Good luck!
 
#14 ·
Nice write-up and pics - thanks for this - I may using it as a guide soon ...
 
#18 ·
Glad that it's working out for you!

Same as you, initially I was trying to use some of the screws/nuts inside the glove box as ground but none of them worked. So at the end I used the torx screw outside instead (as seen in one of the pictures).

Where did you mount your dashcam? Currently I am just mounting it on the dash near the MMI screen. I would like to mount it near the rear view mirror, but my dashcam is a little big for that.
 
#20 ·
I like the flat form factor of your dashcam. It makes it a lot easier to mount without blocking the view too much.

My Power Magic Pro is set to shut down at 12V. But it is set to Ignition On for my regular daily routines. The idea is when park in more "dangerous" area, then I will switch to Always On by flipping the on/off switch. Then it will shutdown either at 12V or 6 hours (configurable), whichever comes first.
 
#22 ·
I think we are on the same page, but I would say they are in the "off" position instead. One side of the switches are marked "On". For my current configuration, all the switches are *not* on the "On" side.

Once you got the unit, it should be very obvious to you. It also comes with a piece of paper explaining the switches.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Hey Edward, is your dashcam and power magic pro "on" when you close the doors. lock up and walk away?

My dashcam and power magic pro stays on when I turn off the ignition and sit in the car but they all turn off when I exit the car and lock up the car. So I can't use my dashcam as surveillance when it's parked.

I'm tapping into "interior light" for my constant power.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

p.s. I tried to use TV tuner as my constant power tap but there was no fuse in that position and looks like the fuse holder is not connected to the battery because the add-fuse is very loose when I use that position. That's why I'm using "interior light" fuse which is position 3.
 
#24 · (Edited)
So I just switched constant wire from interior light (position 3) to keyless entry (position 8). Now parking mode works!

Here are some important/useful tips on installing a dashcam through hardwire kits.

1. Connect constant power wire to keyless entry fuse (DO NOT use interior light because although fuse checking tool shows it remains to get power even after ignition has been off for awhile, the fuse no longer receives power after the door is locked from outside)
2. Turn on "external power supply" on Blacksys or other dashcam app.
3. Set "time until park mode" for 5 minutes or more on Blacksys other dashcam app.
4. Connect ground wire to a metal bolt (first time, I used a bolt right next to fuse box but that was not a ground and the dashcam refused to be powered through hard wire kit)

I hope this and Edward's DIY write-up helps.
 
#25 ·
You're right, the interior light power is only on for a "convenience" time after you exit the car (and perhaps 15-20 minutes if you don't - same as radio), so your new tap is a prolly good one, although hope that between the original line and your new tap, the supply wire is big enough for both. What I would be thinking here is if the original line has say a 1 amp fuse in it and your new tap upstream of it has a 2-3 amp fuse, then the original wire needs to carry up to 3-4 amps and may simply be too small for this continuously and could melt/catch fire...

I'd feel much better if you tap your new line into a line that already carries a larger fuse than your new one by at least 200% - So, say the tap line (to the camera) has a 1a fuse in it, I'd only want to tap it into an original line that has say a 2a or greater fuse going to wherever ...
 
#26 · (Edited)
I'm not sure if I follow you Roger. So, previously, "interior light" position had 5 amp fuse in it and where I'm tapping into now "keyless entry" has 7.5 amp fuse in it. I'm using add-a-fuse wire from autozone.

Are you saying that "keyless entry" position may experience too much amp drawn due to the dashcam and may cause melt/fire?
 
#27 ·
Probably due to MY and/or package differences, yours didn't have the TV Tuner fuse and mine didn't have the Interior Light fuse at position #3 (probably name differently under another position). Anyways, glad that it's all working for you now!

Good point regarding the wire gauge Roger. I didn't measure the current, but from my educated guess it shouldn't draw more than 1A at the fuse box (at least for my specific dashcam). I am currently tapping into the 5A slots.
 
#28 ·
I looked into this through the dash cam's manufacturer's website and I found that my particular dashcam draws 0.38A. Also the Bussman add-a-fuse wire is rated up to 10A.

Am I safe to think this is all good?
 
#29 ·
I think you are good, especially it's only 0.38A.

Roger reminded us to be careful when picking which fuse slot to tap into. In general, lower Amp rating will have thinner wires. Let's say the existing slot is rated 1A (and assuming it's actually drawing close to 1A) and if the new dash cam circuit is drawing additional 1A, then effectively the existing wire (in the fuse box) is now carrying 100% extra load, which may cause the wire to heat up.

Roger is suggesting us to tap into a higher Amp rating slot if possible, so that the extra load won't heat up the wire as easily. But since it's only 0.38A, I would say even the 5A slot is safe enough.
 
#30 ·
Thanks and you're right - I might drop the fuse in the add-a-fuse wire down to 1a then (to the camera), since the normal load is so low. I wouldn't want a short to try and draw the full 7.5a while the fuse holds but the wires don't ...
 
#31 ·
I too have a dash cam and wondered if there was anything I need to know about running the cables.
Is it straightforward enough to run them under the headlining, what about the A-pillar?

looking to uncover any 'gotchas' before I start

Thanks
 
#33 ·
Cables fit under the headliner and A pillar very nicely using a plastic pry tool. There is no need to remove or even pry up anything to fit the cables. You simply need to give the cable a good push with the round edge of the pry tool. When you are running the cable down the A pillar, push the cable under the black weather strip.

As for hardwiring the dashcam, DO NOT use interior light fuse because the power to this fuse shuts off once you lock the vehicle. So this is NOT CONSTANT power.

Good luck!
 
#32 ·
First, welcome to the forum - second, it looks like you're already seeking knowledge from here - a good thing - and lastly I hope you find what you want. Hope you've read the install notes here and can get some insight towards your work. Please follow-up with pics and notes of your own. We all want to learn from each other -
 
#35 ·
Thanks Tanqueray.
That is indeed good news, I had visions of disassembling the vehicle to achieve a nice finish.

Thanks for the welcome Roger.
I will endeavour to take some piccies along the way
 
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