# Hard wiring a dashcam



## FinerThings (Aug 13, 2018)

Who do I have do this? Stereo person, Auto repair shop....?


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

Not a difficult procedure. Have it added to the work-order next time you take your vehicle in for an oil change.


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## FlashedBlaze (Sep 30, 2018)

For my Vantrue N2 Pro dashcam, I bought an OBD kit and it's connected to the OBD connector. Instant hardwire right there.


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## FinerThings (Aug 13, 2018)

I take my car to the Honda dealer for oil changes, do you think they'd do it? The wire just hangs over my screen and gets caught in some other stuff. I'd like to get rid of it.


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## theMezz (Sep 29, 2018)

What kind of car?


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## FinerThings (Aug 13, 2018)

2017 Honda CRV


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## Pax Collector (Feb 18, 2018)

FinerThings said:


> I take my car to the Honda dealer for oil changes, do you think they'd do it? The wire just hangs over my screen and gets caught in some other stuff. I'd like to get rid of it.


Why not just follow this simply DIY I attached for you? It'll save you some money.

http://www.roadlens.com/how-to-conceal-power-cord


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## FinerThings (Aug 13, 2018)

Cool! I will try that.


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## Iann (Oct 17, 2017)

It's simple. 

Find the rubber grommet in the engine bay on your fire wall.
It will likely have a bunch of wires going through it.
Push the smaller end of the hardwire in your kit through the grommet on your firewall. 

The red wire with the fuse on it will go to your Positive Red terminal on your battery. 
Black wire goes to your -Terminal.

Run the other wire in your car up the A-pillar and then up into your headliner. You just tuck them in is all.

Pretty simple job most people can do with just a pair of pliers in about 30 minutes.


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## FinerThings (Aug 13, 2018)

This actually doesn't sound impossible. lol


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## 911 Guy (Feb 8, 2018)

Pay the $60 to have it done professionally. Depending on make, they may need to remove and reinstall most of the dash. Or duct tape. There's always that.


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## FinerThings (Aug 13, 2018)

Well I suppose I could staple it....


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

Iann said:


> The red wire with the fuse on it will go to your Positive Red terminal on your battery. Black wire goes to your -Terminal.


Why do that? That's making the camera run hot at all times, and there are easier/less messy ways to do that.


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## Wraiththe (Nov 26, 2017)

Go to Best buy, it should cost you $40. You can get a hard wire kit on amazon for $15 and wire it directly into your fuse box so it is nice and neat.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QTJWRFW/?tag=ubne0c-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OXZ06I4/?tag=ubne0c-20

which also come with fairly simple instructions.


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## FlashedBlaze (Sep 30, 2018)

Just get an OBD cable for your dashcam and it should cost somewhere around $10-20 depending on what specific model you have.


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## Snowblind (Apr 14, 2017)

Iann said:


> It's simple.
> 
> Find the rubber grommet in the engine bay on your fire wall.
> It will likely have a bunch of wires going through it.
> ...


LOL!
If you do what Iann suggested, the Cam will record day and night, 24/7 because it now has Voltage all the Time.
Even if the Vehicle is off and parked. This may eventually lead to Battery problems.
I suggest running the Cable to a Fusebox, figure out which connector gives you power with the Ignition on only, and connect it there.
No Rocket-science.


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## theMezz (Sep 29, 2018)

Sometimes its easier than it looks. I surprised myself as well, the wire slid right under the windshield molding, then under the dash. I did not want to mess with the fuse box so I used a cable that plugs right into the OBD plug like FlashedBlaz did.
You cannot see the wire at all and it works great - took 10 minutes.
Would of been just as easy to plug it into cig lighter too, especially since the plug end not only powers the camera, but has a USB outlet too. 

All in all, it's easier than I ever thought.


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## Iann (Oct 17, 2017)

Uber's Guber said:


> Why do that? That's making the camera run hot at all times, and there are easier/less messy ways to do that.


Is called a hard wire kit. They're to be wired to your battery. 
The camera will be on all the time if you allow it to. 
If you use Parking feature you need it hardwired to the battery so the camera stays charged.

If you're thinking of a plug that goes to a cigarette lighter that will not keep a charge in most cases as they only have power while the car is on.

I would personally never use a OBD plug. 
That is the heart of your car. If it decides to fail who knows what it's going to take along with it leaving your vehicle unable to start.


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## 911 Guy (Feb 8, 2018)

Iann said:


> Is called a hard wire kit. They're to be wired to your battery.
> The camera will be on all the time if you allow it to.
> If you use Parking feature you need it hardwired to the battery so the camera stays charged.
> 
> If you're thinking of a plug that goes to a cigarette lighter that will not keep a charge in most cases as they only have power while the car is on.


It is really simpler than it is being made out to be. It should be wired to your ignition circuit rather than the battery. Car on, cam on. The internal battery handles parking mode time and there is no risk of killing your battery because you forget to turn it off. $55 and a couple hours at Best Buy and done. Shouldn't take that long on most vehicles, but my make and model was a bit of a challenge. Plus they will uninstall it for free if I ever want to remove it.


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## Iann (Oct 17, 2017)

911 Guy said:


> It is really simpler than it is being made out to be. It should be wired to your ignition circuit rather than the battery. Car on, cam on. The internal battery handles parking mode time and there is no risk of killing your battery because you forget to turn it off. $55 and a couple hours at Best Buy and done. Shouldn't take that long on most vehicles, but my make and model was a bit of a challenge. Plus they will uninstall it for free if I ever want to remove it.


Wrong info you're telling.

You might as well plug it into a cigarette lighter if you're paying someone to wire it to your ignition on power. Which is the same thing you're saying to do. 
The internal battery will only last a few hours. And will not affect your cars battery by charging the camera battery.


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## 911 Guy (Feb 8, 2018)

Iann said:


> Wrong info you're telling.
> 
> You might as well plug it into a cigarette lighter if you're paying someone to wire it to your ignition on power. Which is the same thing you're saying to do.
> The internal battery will only last a few hours. And will not affect your cars battery by charging the camera battery.


It really isn't though. Maybe both methods work, I don't know. I do know the method I employed works because I've had it installed and recording for months as described. Another important point regardless of how it is installed is to archive videos. Pax can make false claims days, weeks, months, after the ride.


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

Depending on the model of dash cam they may have an extended battery for the camera like this one for blackvue










And for installations, any basic car audio/video shop should be able to knock it out for you


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## Snowblind (Apr 14, 2017)

That is very cool, Kodyhead . I didn't even know such device exists.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

You guys need better cameras.

I have 2 power wires coming from my camera, one for constant power and one for ignition switched power. When the ignition is on, it does normal recording. When the ignition is powered off, the camera senses it and gets power from the constant on power. It goes into parking mode. In parking mode, it will sense motion or a shock (g-sensors) and record. The real nifty thing is it records 30 seconds before the motion or shock. Parking mode is most useful if you don't park in a private garage. 

A selectable voltage cutoff prevents battery damage.


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## 911 Guy (Feb 8, 2018)

bsliv said:


> You guys need better cameras.
> 
> I have 2 power wires coming from my camera, one for constant power and one for ignition switched power. When the ignition is on, it does normal recording. When the ignition is powered off, the camera senses it and gets power from the constant on power. It goes into parking mode. In parking mode, it will sense motion or a shock (g-sensors) and record. The real nifty thing is it records 30 seconds before the motion or shock. Parking mode is most useful if you don't park in a private garage.
> 
> A selectable voltage cutoff prevents battery damage.


I have a Vantrue Pro N2 installed. How long are the parking mode options on your camera? They record and require power all night?


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## FlashedBlaze (Sep 30, 2018)

911 Guy said:


> I have a Vantrue Pro N2 installed. How long are the parking mode options on your camera? They record and require power all night?


My N2 Pro ran on parking mode for two days straight and showed no signs of low battery on the car when I used the car to drive to school.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

911 Guy said:


> How long are the parking mode options on your camera? They record and require power all night?


My camera doesn't have a battery. Batteries do not like heat. Mine has a capacitor to supply power during brief power interruptions when switching from one source to another. With a selectable voltage, the camera will stop if the battery's voltage drops below the preset. I can preset mine in .1 volt increments from 12.4 to 11.5. So, how long it can record in parking mode depends on the state of the car's battery.

I can also tell it to stop after a preset certain amount of time (between 3 and 48 hours for me).


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## 911 Guy (Feb 8, 2018)

FlashedBlaze said:


> My N2 Pro ran on parking mode for two days straight and showed no signs of low battery on the car when I used the car to drive to school.


I only want to record when I am actually driving or parking actively. I have cameras at home to record. I also archive every pax trip on a HD. I may be a cynic, but I have myself covered.


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## Sodium101 (May 23, 2018)

Do not bring it to the dealership unless you wanna pay over $100 an hour. Bring it to a stereo shop. This is what they do all day, work on car Electronics.


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## Wraiththe (Nov 26, 2017)

Most cameras these days have a battery. They are designed so that when you turn the car off and it is not charging, it goes into a sensor mode that only snaps shots if it is shocked. So yes, you want to wire it to a source that goes off with the ignition off.


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