I intend to fit a dashcam in a 2010 mk3.5 , 1.8. It’s powered via cig lighter. Where is the simplest place to hard wire it to so it is permanent ?. Thanks.
Pick a feed from the fuse box in the passenger footwell, I use the piggyback mini fuse to get 12v
They start at 99p on eBay you will only want 5v for the USB feed to the dashcam, 12v would not be good
Edited: previous post revised with same advice…
Electrics are not my thing, I struggle with them, im more nuts and bolts. The piggy back fuses I’ve looked at only have 1 wire coming from them. I know the cig lighter must have at least 2 wires going to it to power the dash cam. Forgive my ignorance , but if anyone had the time to give a detailed step by step description of how to wire it, I would be very grateful. I am getting very old ??
Do you know the model/make that you’re getting?
Agree with this - Pick a feed from the fuse box in the passenger footwell, I use the piggyback mini fuse to get 12v. They start at 99p on eBay you will only want 5v for the USB feed to the dashcam, 12v would not be good
You can get a 12V to 5v converter Hard Wire Kit from Nextbase on Amazon, this feeds into the fuse box mentioned by others. but check out the connectors on the dash cam end dependant upon the model you get.
Check out YouTube for some ideas on how to wire. Make sure you don’t use a permanently on circuit unless the cam has an auto off feature - some have a parking camera feature that can drain the battery if left on. Some of the hard wire kits use a voltage drop sensor that turns of the cam once the battery drains to a certain level.
Good luck!
Thanks for all the advice. It’s obviously a little more involved than I thought to hardwire it. I haven’t decided on a particular model yet, but I fancy one that fits onto the rearview mirror that won’t look obvious to miscreants when the vehicle is parked in public.
If using a generic 12V to 5V converter it is a good idea to fit the converter near to the camera to minimise the length of wire carrying the 5V.
Several I have come across (for other uses - phone chargers, etc) were dropping a volt or more at the (supposedly 5V) outlet because there was simply not enough copper in the cheap thin wires, and electronic surgery was required.
Also check to see if it interferes with the radio or puts patterning on the camera picture. Again this can sometimes be cured with the aid of a soldering iron and electronic knowledge.