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The cigarette lighter near the shifter turns off when the ignition is off and you lock the doors (there may also be a time component, I'm not sure). Is that good enough, or does it literally need to go off when the ignition is off?
I thought about doing something like that myself, but I don't want to attempt it until I have a battery maintainer!
I would run the power leads for your camera into the fuse box. Find a terminal that is powered when the ignition is on and tap into there. This is how I used to wire all my radar detectors. I know you said you did not want to "hardwire" it,..so maybe this is not an option. But, aside from you cigarette lighter, I don't know of too many other options.
I just used some electrical blade connectors to do the job, but you could use a fuse tap product like this one.
Yeah, I run several things off the cigarette lighter, using a 4-way expander, and it definitely turns off when you lock the doors & thus take the car out of 'convenience' mode.
I would run the power leads for your camera into the fuse box. Find a terminal that is powered when the ignition is on and tap into there. This is how I used to wire all my radar detectors. I know you said you did not want to "hardwire" it,..so maybe this is not an option. But, aside from you cigarette lighter, I don't know of too many other options.
I just used some electrical blade connectors to do the job, but you could use a fuse tap product like this one.
I like this idea and have never seen these before. Thanks so much for making us aware of this product and thanks so much for the photo.
Adding links and photos to a post really helps other members and saves time when researching products or ideas.
Yeah, I run several things off the cigarette lighter, using a 4-way expander, and it definitely turns off when you lock the doors & thus take the car out of 'convenience' mode.
Jeeze!!! What else are you running off of your cigarette lighter? A beer cooler?
I have an MI Witness fitted. I had it done professionally as I did not want wires showing from rear camera. I also only wanted it working only with ignition on. He used a piggy back fuse in the fuse box in the passenger footwell ( right hand drive).
I am convinced that a dashcam is a no brainer given insurance deductible, the increase in distracted driving, and the potential for 'he said / she said.' I bought and installed the Spy Tech A-118 for $80 and love it (link below; no affiliation). The 1080p video is amazing, small and very low profile (out of my line of sight on the passenger side, high), 20 min to mount and hide the wire behind headliner and trim, with no visible wire. I have it running off the glovebox power socket - when the car is on, the cam is on. If you get this one, a) set motion detection to 'off' unless you have it permanently wired (not switched) on; and b) put or use the black side of the double-sided mounting tape toward the windshield.
Dash Cam in XKR
