[TopG42]

I have a dashcam powered by the cigarette lighter and was wondering how some of you run it? I run mine through the panels on the passenger side into the footwell then back up to the door then the roof. Its a clean look except for the center console not being able to close. Was wondering if anyone else here has the same setup and maybe found an extension or something that would allpw for the center console to close again?
(Car is currently at the dealership so I can't show pics until I get it back)

[sacowich]

I have it hardwired and that would be my recommendation. Just run it to fuse box.

[BokTroy]

I have a Viofo A229 Pro that I’m planning to hardwire to fuse box using a helpful G80 thread someone has done before. You should be Ok as long as you set the parking mode short enough/turn off parking mode so that Infotainment system won’t yell at you draining the battery.
I like parking mode and my original plan is to route an external battery to connect to fuse and power the dash cam that way, unfortunately I can’t find a good spot to place the battery since under both seats it’s already packed with lots of stuff and I don’t really want to go thru the hassle to place that in my trunk…for now I’m just gonna hardwire with parking mode set to max 2 hours.

[Ginster6]

i use ring cam... power off the OBD port

[Ojala]

I wired my race-keeper camera into the rear view power. I used posi-taps to tee off the ign+ and ground wires of the black plug. The race-keeper is 5v so I used a small 12vdc to 5vdc converter. I heat shrieked the converter and it tucked nicely into the rear view cover.

[Fastfwd]

Originally Posted by BokTroy

I have a Viofo A229 Pro that I’m planning to hardwire to fuse box using a helpful G80 thread someone has done before. You should be Ok as long as you set the parking mode short enough/turn off parking mode so that Infotainment system won’t yell at you draining the battery.
I like parking mode and my original plan is to route an external battery to connect to fuse and power the dash cam that way, unfortunately I can’t find a good spot to place the battery since under both seats it’s already packed with lots of stuff and I don’t really want to go thru the hassle to place that in my trunk…for now I’m just gonna hardwire with parking mode set to max 2 hours.

I picked up the A139Pro last fall during Black Friday sales. I was also able to pick up a Blackvue B-130X external battery on sale at the same time.

I watched a few Youtube videos and found some guy who actually measured the electrical draw for this particular dashcam along with others he was testing. In his opinion the draw was too high to just place that burden on an existing fuse. I can't remember now the exact numbers.

Anyway, so, as recommended by this guy who seemed to know more about this stuff than I did I picked up a BOSCH Relay (0332019157 Normal Open Mini Relay - 4 Pins). A relay takes the burden off of whatever fuse you choose. All the tapped fuse has to do is supply enough juice to trigger the relay that is wired to the battery directly (even if they don't recommend doing so). The benefits outweigh whatever pitfalls there may be imo.

I placed the external battery on that passenger side cubby next to the trunk fuse box with some double sided Gorilla tape and it hasn't moved. It all turned out pretty nice. I took my time wiring it up and getting everything neat. It was a project. It took some time, but I've been pleased with it so far.

I was just not comfortable with putting that parking mode draw on the electrical system. I had issues with my Mustang and parking mode that ended up causing bizarre seemingly unrelated 'malfunctions' like the passenger door no longer unlocking to open with the key-less fob, etc.

The freakin Ford Dealership replaced the door handle (and didn't exactly paint it to perfection) and dismantled the car looking for a culprit. They did also disconnect my dashcam when I got the car back. Honestly, I think I had the power and accessory wires confused (easy to do with the Viofo dashcam wiring).

It ended up just being a simple normal operation of the Mustang to shut down certain functions when the vehicle battery was weak. Replaced the vehicle battery (on my own) and everything was fixed.

I didn't want anything to interfere with the BMW electrical system. I heard it can be very finicky.

IMG_3643

[BokTroy]

Originally Posted by Fastfwd

I picked up the A139Pro last fall during Black Friday sales. I was also able to pick up a Blackvue B-130X external battery on sale at the same time.

I watched a few Youtube videos and found some guy who actually measured the electrical draw for this particular dashcam along with others he was testing. In his opinion the draw was too high to just place that burden on an existing fuse. I can't remember now the exact numbers.

Anyway, so, as recommended by this guy who seemed to know more about this stuff than I did I picked up a BOSCH Relay (0332019157 Normal Open Mini Relay - 4 Pins). A relay takes the burden off of whatever fuse you choose. All the tapped fuse has to do is supply enough juice to trigger the relay that is wired to the battery directly (even if they don't recommend doing so). The benefits outweigh whatever pitfalls there may be imo.

I placed the external battery on that passenger side cubby next to the trunk fuse box with some double sided Gorilla tape and it hasn't moved. It all turned out pretty nice. I took my time wiring it up and getting everything neat. It was a project. It took some time, but I've been pleased with it so far.

I was just not comfortable with putting that parking mode draw on the electrical system. I had issues with my Mustang and parking mode that ended up causing bizarre seemingly unrelated 'malfunctions' like the passenger door no longer unlocking to open with the key-less fob, etc.

The freakin Ford Dealership replaced the door handle (and didn't exactly paint it to perfection) and dismantled the car looking [...]

Thank you for your detailed post I really appreciate it because the situation you mentioned is the predicament I’m struggling right now. I think I saw the similar YT videos (the guys with a blue shirt and dedicated for DashCam reviews and comparisons) stating A229Pro has lots of current draws from fuse and it’s taking a toll on hardwire route without an external battery in between. Do you mean we also need that relay even when you hardwire the external battery? My understanding is when the ignition is cut, all the power draw needed for dash cam will be supplied only from battery and hard wiring to fuse from battery is only going to recharge it once you turn the car back on?
Btw, great job and looks very clean on your project. That place seems to be a perfect location to have the battery, how did you fish thru the wire into the cabin though? Just from the back seat slack to C pillar and all?

[Fastfwd]

Originally Posted by BokTroy

Thank you for your detailed post I really appreciate it because the situation you mentioned is the predicament I’m struggling right now. I think I saw the similar YT videos (the guys with a blue shirt and dedicated for DashCam reviews and comparisons) stating A229Pro has lots of current draws from fuse and it’s taking a toll on hardwire route without an external battery in between. Do you mean we also need that relay even when you hardwire the external battery? My understanding is when the ignition is cut, all the power draw needed for dash cam will be supplied only from battery and hard wiring to fuse from battery is only going to recharge it once you turn the car back on?
Btw, great job and looks very clean on your project. That place seems to be a perfect location to have the battery, how did you fish thru the wire into the cabin though? Just from the back seat slack to C pillar and all?

The Blackvue Battery itself has an app for your phone that reports current draw to it and outflow current, etc. If I'm not mistaken the current draw was ballpark of the reported draw of the dash-cam.

So, in a sense you are correct that the dash-cam is drawing current from the battery, but the battery is also drawing current to recharge itself and/or maintain charge while the vehicle is running. If the vehicle is turned off and everything shuts down (it takes a while before the accessory power actually shuts off) then the only current draw will be from the Blackvue Battery. In fact, the car battery will start recharging the Blackvue and continue charging it after the car is shut off while the accessory power is on. I believe the Blackvue itself has a cutoff current that can be adjusted when the car battery gets below a certain voltage too just like most of these dashcams do. I can't remember off the top of my head.

In fact, the battery has no problem recharging while the car is on so you might assume that the current draw is in excess of the dash-cam alone. It has to provide both dash-cam power and recharge itself at the same time. It usually takes less than an hour of driving to get it fully charged. I honestly can't recall the exact numbers. I'll try to look next time I drive the car.

These batteries don't last forever. They work great for something like an overnight stay at a hotel, etc. You can wire them in parallel (?) to extend your reserve, but it's not going to last a week.

There are dash-cams with parking modes that will go into a super low power draw state that will last for a week or more. Unfortunately, they don't have the best video quality on the market. I like to use my dashcam video as a sort of action camera while driving. So, the video quality was more important to me.

Oh, and yes, I removed the back seats and passed the wiring through the trunk. It was a struggle to get the probably higher gauge wire than necessary to tuck under all of the interior trim, but I used a trim tool and mostly got it tucked without a trace. There are one or two spots where the wires were too thick to get tucked as nicely as I would have liked.

[JWdrives]

Anyone using the BMW car eye 3.0? Any feedback please.

[BokTroy]

Originally Posted by Fastfwd

The Blackvue Battery itself has an app for your phone that reports current draw to it and outflow current, etc. If I'm not mistaken the current draw was ballpark of the reported draw of the dash-cam.

So, in a sense you are correct that the dash-cam is drawing current from the battery, but the battery is also drawing current to recharge itself and/or maintain charge while the vehicle is running. If the vehicle is turned off and everything shuts down (it takes a while before the accessory power actually shuts off) then the only current draw will be from the Blackvue Battery. In fact, the car battery will start recharging the Blackvue and continue charging it after the car is shut off while the accessory power is on. I believe the Blackvue itself has a cutoff current that can be adjusted when the car battery gets below a certain voltage too just like most of these dashcams do. I can't remember off the top of my head.

In fact, the battery has no problem recharging while the car is on so you might assume that the current draw is in excess of the dash-cam alone. It has to provide both dash-cam power and recharge itself at the same time. It usually takes less than an hour of driving to get it fully charged. I honestly can't recall the exact numbers. I'll try to look next time I drive the car.

These batteries don't last forever. They work great for something like an overnight stay at a hotel, etc. You can wire them in parallel (?) to extend your reserve, but it's not going to last a week.

There are dash-cams with parking modes that will go into a super low [...]

Thank you sir for your yet another detailed and informative reply. I appreciate all the tips and tricks. And yes these days dash cam with modern car tech can be super finicky and I don’t really want to mess up something major. And I agree that picture quality and clarity is top priority for me as well, that’s why I chose Viofo in the first place.

[X3M40iHODGY]

Posted on another thread but Nextbase do an OBD power adapter, that way you don't have to dip into the fuse box.

[TopG42]

Originally Posted by JWdrives

Anyone using the BMW car eye 3.0? Any feedback please.

I heard of it but no I use the vantrue n4 pro. I might research the bmw car eye though as my n4 pro was pricey and I am not that fond of which dash cams are that good I just went for something with the Starvis 2 in it

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by X3M40iHODGY

Posted on another thread but Nextbase do an OBD power adapter, that way you don't have to dip into the fuse box.

Be careful with this. OBD ports aren't meant to supply power over extended periods of time. This can ultimately end in $$$$ repair costs.

[Ginster6]

Ring car cam

[DarkNight707]

Originally Posted by TopG42

I heard of it but no I use the vantrue n4 pro. I might research the bmw car eye though as my n4 pro was pricey and I am not that fond of which dash cams are that good I just went for something with the Starvis 2 in it

Did you hardwire the vantrue n4 pro? If so, which fuse you used and what’s your experience with parking mode? I got mine a few weeks ago and still playing with it but have not had the time nor courage to do the hardwiring.

[Ryan_gamage]

Hey guys need little help here. Which fuse do you recommend me using for a dash cam battery ? Check my fuse diagram and advice please

[BlueLEDz]

Originally Posted by Ryan_gamage

Hey guys need little help here. Which fuse do you recommend me using for a dash cam battery ? Check my fuse diagram and advice please

When I wired up my dashcam, I used the fuse for the 12v socket.

The car turns off power to the 12v after about 10 minutes, this way I don’t have to worry about draining the battery.

Here’s the link for the fuse panel look up
https://www.bmw.cc/en/topics/offers-.../fusecard.html

[BlueLEDz]

Originally Posted by Ryan_gamage

Hey guys need little help here. Which fuse do you recommend me using for a dash cam battery ? Check my fuse diagram and advice please

Sorry didn’t click on your link.
F46 is listed at the 12v socket. That’s the one I used.

[Ryan_gamage]

Originally Posted by BlueLEDz

Sorry didn’t click on your link.
F46 is listed at the 12v socket. That’s the one I used.

Thank you so much!

[DarkNight707]

Originally Posted by BlueLEDz

Sorry didn’t click on your link.
F46 is listed at the 12v socket. That’s the one I used.

How did you fit the fuse tap? There was no room in my car to fit the fuse tap properly in the F46 slot.

[BlueLEDz]

Originally Posted by DarkNight707

How did you fit the fuse tap? There was no room in my car to fit the fuse tap properly in the F46 slot.

I pulled the fuse out and placed the wired on to one side of the fused holder. And jammed the fuse back in place. I didn’t add another fuse.

It sounds easy but you have to lay upside down in the footwell to be able to see anything.

[DarkNight707]

Originally Posted by BlueLEDz

I pulled the fuse out and placed the wired on to one side of the fused holder. And jammed the fuse back in place. I didn’t add another fuse.

It sounds easy but you have to lay upside down in the footwell to be able to see anything.

Yeah, my back still hurts form all the upside down…

Still, I could not plug my fuse tap in the right orientation because of the limited space. Ended up using F71 & F74.