Take a look at that new fuse tap (hope you got two of them) and you'll notice there are two slots for fuses. One of those (the side that'll plug into the fuse box) will hold the OEM fuse you've removed from the fuse box. That way the circuit is still fused as designed by Acura. The other side (with the red wire) is for your accessory and should be fused appropriately (5 amp is plenty for the camera) and always less than the OEM fuse so, if there's an issue with your accessory, it won't blow the OEM fuse and take that circuit out of commission.

Cheers!

 

I buddy just had his brand new car keyed, all four corners sooo, just got the LG Innotek LGD521 2-chanel (smells real nice) dashcam. Easy install for front camera but really scratching my head how to wire rear camera. Right now i'm just running the wire to the front. Haven't seen anyone commenting about that so don't know if its either a duh! do it this way thing or, nobody has yet. I read somewhere that some shops fish the wire through existing wire bundles running from rear to front of the car. I'm thinking easier way would be to partially remove trim/headliner enough to run wire through that way. What has worked for you? TY

Oh, 2016 RDX (Technology package)

 

Has anybody tried hardwiring a dashcam to the rearview mirror power source? I've seen someone do this with their radar detector and wondering if there's any reason you wouldn't be able to do this with a dashcam? Any downsides?

 

TSB8M,

Twelve volts is 12v no matter where you source it...but. Many, maybe most dashcams also feature a 'parking' mode. That allows the camera to record anytime there's a bump against the vehicle or it senses motion within view of the camera. For that you need a source that's always powered. The mirror connection is generally only powered when the vehicle is in accessory mode or running. Bottom line, if your camera has a parking mode then there's no point powering it from the mirror if you have to run wire to the fuse box anyway. BTW, my radar detector pulls power from the mirror connection but my camera is hardwired to the fuse box.

Cheers!

 

Having front and rear cameras with parking mode came in handy when my wife ran to Walgreens at 9pm and a Ram truck side swiped the driver side rear quarter panel trying to park beside her when she was in the store. The Ram truck driver came and went before my wife left the store. She didn't notice the damage at the time because it was so dark and we didn't see the damage until the next morning. Walgreens didn't capture the incident on their parking lot cameras. I was able to provide the dashcam footage as evidence to my USAA insurance for repair.

 

OK, so I am confused with the wiring for my 2017 RDX Advance. I installed a dashcam that I only want powered-on when the car is running. I chose the Apeman from Amazon (APEMAN Dash Camera Covert Recorder Dual Car Cam LCD FHD 1080p 170 Wide Angle Dashboard with G-Sensor, WDR, Loop Recording). I plugged it's cig lighter plug into the front console power socket and everything worked great. After a few weeks of successful operation, I wanted to recover the front console socket for other electronics and move the camera to a hardwire connection into the fuse box using a 12V to USB adapter. I first used the center console fuse (#12), and was surprised to find that the fuse was powered at all times (not just when the car is running). Likewise when I tried the front center console fuse (#27) and the Audio Amp fuse (#26); they were powered at all times. I eventually settled on the ACC fuse (#19) and used that, as it is switched with the car running.

So, all is well now, but I am confused. Was I dreaming all this? Do the console power sockets have a "power-on" switching relay somewhere downstream from the fuse box before the console socket? Does anyone have the wiring diagrams to explain this? I would think the "power on" switching would be one big relay before the accessories, rather than each accessory having its own relay.

Thanks!

 

Quick question, After tapping on ACC fuse #19 (7.5A), did you add two 7.5A fuses (the one you took off and another for the dashcam)?

 

Use the same size as the OEM fuse or (suggested) smaller, like a 5A. That way if there's an issue with the camera wiring you'll blow the smaller camera fuse, not the car fuse.

Unless you've found it's powered all the time and will tap it for parking mode are you sure you really want to use that Acc fuse? There's not really a lot of head room for pulling additional power. You'd be better off using one of the 20A Accessory Power Socket (#12 or #27) fuses. They're both unpowered when the vehicle is off but powered in accessory or run modes (I just checked mine to be certain). You'd still use a 5 amp fuse for the camera side of the tap.

Cheers!

 

I used a 5A fuse on the fuse-tap for the dashcam's 12V-to-USB converter. That converter also had a 3A fuse in line with it on the 12V side.

So, on my 2017 Advance, fuse #12 and #27 were hot at all times, but the socket itself had power that was switched. Hence my confusion. Maybe I am misreading the numbering in the fuse panel?

 

Yes. You are correct. I just checked both #12 & #27 and they are hot at all times in my 2017 Advance.

 

I'm going to go with RR WIPER fuse #6 (10A) which is off when the vehicle is off.

 

I just want to say that those micro/mini/extra small/tiny fuses are EVIL!!! Good luck with your installs everybody.

 

I don't usually have trouble when utilizing a fuse puller.

 

Interesting, I honestly thought no way would they make a tool to pull these things. And forgot to say before, thanks for the info and thanks to this site, I definitely used the info to get my front and rear camera installed.

 

Not only do they make a tool, one is included on the underside of the engine fuse box. Next to the spares.

 

Thanks for checking for me. I still would love to see a schematic of how they wired the fuse box and accessories. Anyone have a service manual?

 

I went with a blackvue 650S for front and rear as well as a DR3500FHD for 'in cabin'. hardwired via powermagic into the fusebox.

This is an old video when i had the 380 for the INCABIN - since replaced with the D3500FHD.

 

Quick question: Where did you ground the wire? Thanks in advance.

 

I grounded the wire under the nut that holds the emergency brake pedal bracket to the firewall. I just loosened the nut a little and slid the 12V-to-USB converter's ground wire's spade terminal under the nut and re-tightened.

 

I use the Vantrue N2. I can't say enough good things about this dash camera. Price to value ratio is high, and you get great front coverage and decent back coverage all on one device.

 

Hi All,

New to the forum, love it, it's a great resource! Just hardwired my VanTru N2 Pro. Nice clean install, used #28 on the fuse block.

Question has anyone wired theirs to an "always on/hot" port? The adapter I used has low voltage protection and my cam can record in parking mode (never tried it though).

Thanks!

 

I've been thinking about a dash cam, one that has a front and rear camera.

So far from what I have seen on Youtube, in many cases, I could make out the plate number and that is with something like a top-of-the-line 4K Blackvue dash cam. If that is the case, not that useful.

Plus, do cops and insurance companies care to see evidence?

 

If your camera doesn't have a three wire cable (always hot/switched hot/ground) you're pretty much stuck connecting to a switched hot fuse (as you've apparently done) BUT always hot is possible if you use a timer. They're inexpensive, easy to connect and you can set them to leave your camera on (so you can use parking mode without worry) from seconds to days (or when your camera detects a low battery condition). I have two of them pictured and described on my 'mods' page here.

If I've misunderstood your post and you 'do' have a third wire for 'always hot' to run your camera in parking mode then, by all means, use that. There's probably a timer setting built into the camera.

Cheers!

 

I think that a dash cam is a must. I have Lukas 1080P 2 channel dash cams in all my cars since 2011. They are expensive but worth every penny.
I have parking mode on all my dash cams and on the RDX I use fuse 40 for hot battery. It is a blank not used slot

About 2 years ago, I was driving my Nissan and made a right turn onto a highway from a stop sign. Right after I turned onto the highway, there was a State street sweeper stopped. As soon as I stopped, his reverse lights came on. I was on the horn and looked in the rear view mirror to see if I can back up and he backed into me. He driver said that the damage to my vehicle looks like previous and that there was no damage. He was not happy to see me download the dash cam video to my laptop. When the police arrived, he shook hands with the sweeper driver and talked for 10 minutes, I figured that they knew each other because the sweeper was a State DOT vehicle. When the police looked at my vehicle he said that the damage to my vehicle looks like previous damage. I told the officer that I had dash cam footage of the accident and he refused to look at the video and asked me for my papers. My insurance company was ecstatic that I had a video of the accident and I sent them a copy. When I got the police report, the driver of the sweeper states that he didn't see me and backed into me on the highway. The report also states that I had a dash cam video of the accident. Since all parties involved knew that there was a video, it kept the sweeper driver and the officer honest because if they lied about the accident, it would be considered a felony. If I didn't have a dash cam, how would I prove that someone backed into me on a highway in the right lane and all he had to say that I rear ended him and I would be automatically at fault. My insurance never went up and the other driver was charged 100 percent for the accident. The damage to my vehicle was $3500 and needed a new fender, headlights, front grille and a bumper cover.

Being able to read the license plate only helps when the other vehicle is a hit and run or in the parking lot. I can read the license plates clearly in day and night with my cameras.

 

Can you read the plates while they are stopped or also while they are whipping by you on the highway? Day or night?

 

You can read the the license plates when stopped day and night. When driving you can see the other vehicle plates going the same direction in daytime. At night, it is limited to your illumination of your headlights. With on coming traffic at 40 mph, I am able to read the plates.

When I first got the dash cam, I was very worried about reading license plates. Now all I am concerned about is showing who is at fault and liable. If you show the video your insurance company and police that it was a hit and run, I don't think your insurance company will increase your rates.

There are too many people out there that use their cell phones and with a dash cam you can prove they were at fault. With the rear camera, you can clearly see people using their phones.

 

I wonder how long will it take to car manufacturers to include 360 camera's along with the DVR option in their offering of accessories (not an after-thought type of accessory, but nice designed looking cameras that work nicely and look well hidden...

 

Well if a manufacturer installed them as standard equipment, everyone would know where they are.

That is why I disable my vehicle even when it comes with a factory security system. Everybody knows about the latter and can over ride them.