Anyone here knowledgeable about car electronics?

[MosinVirus]

Specifically a dash cam install using both ignition and constant-on connection.
I am super new to it and super annoyed that I cannot get it working.

[jviz4u]

Specifically a dash cam install using both ignition and constant-on connection.
I am super new to it and super annoyed that I cannot get it working.

You can connect directly to fuse box with fuse adapter from Pepboy or Autozone. Do you have fuse box drawing?

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[67Cuda]

What brand and model do you have?

You don't need to tap in to the fuse box, just something that has constant on.
Like an overhead light.

[MosinVirus]

Camera: 2 channel Thinkware f800 pro. Driving and parking modes.

Car: 2013 mercedes benz GL 450.

Desired method: Add-a-circuit/tap-a-fuse.

Story: took the car to Al & Ed Autosound. Told the guy not to splice any wiring. The guy spliced wires, connected Constant wire to a fuse under the hood, damaged trim. Camera would start parking mode with ignition off but only record for 10 minutes.

I fixed the trim and disconnected the camera from the wires and that fuse.

Result so far: camera starts on ignition, and even though the constant wire is connected to a fuse that stays on, the camera instantly shuts off when the car is off.

The camera, when connected to another car setup for the same F800 works as designed. Goes into parking mode when the car is off.

Using a multimeter I know 12.38 volts are going to the very tip of the power cable plug for the camera, yet it shuts off when the ignition is killed.

I will post the diagram of the fuses and their description tomorrow. They are not identified as ignition/constant-on. But I tested the non-essential ones to find out which to use.

[bool1tholz]

You are probably on the original car battery from 2013 and you need a new one.
I see you posted the voltage as 12.38v. That is low voltage. When the car is off and you have a "full" charge you should be getting 12.7v or better.

The Thinkware manual I found online talks about a "Battery Protection" setting and a low voltage disconnect.
The manual doesn't say what the default low voltage setting or if the battery protection is enabled by default but my guess it is enabled and is set to something like 12.4v.

[MosinVirus]

You are probably on the original car battery from 2013 and you need a new one.
I see you posted the voltage as 12.38v. That is low voltage. When the car is off and you have a "full" charge you should be getting 12.7v or better.

The Thinkware manual I found online talks about a "Battery Protection" setting and a low voltage disconnect.
The manual doesn't say what the default low voltage setting or if the battery protection is enabled by default but my guess it is enabled and is set to something like 12.4v.

Definitely on the original battery.
Weird thing is that when the dude connected it to something that stayed on for 10 min it worked. Now that I am connecting it to something that stays on always it doesn't work.

I went into settings and disabled battery protection for this testing. Didnt make a difference.

[maxx03]

MV, look up constant and switched fuses on Youtube, there are some pretty good videos explaining the process way better than I can. If you can use a voltmeter it should be easy for you.

[bool1tholz]

Definitely on the original battery.
Weird thing is that when the dude connected it to something that stayed on for 10 min it worked.

You should get a new battery soon regardless so you don't get stranded.
When the dude connected it maybe your battery had 12.41v and the dash cam after 10 minutes drew the battery level down to 12.39v tripping the low voltage cutoff?

Now that I am connecting it to something that stays on always it doesn't work.

I went into settings and disabled battery protection for this testing. Didnt make a difference.

Maybe the thinkware doesn't respect/apply the battery protection setting? Perhaps it resets back to default (enabled) when it loses power?

The other idea I had is that you don't have continuity between the fusetap and the unit. A break in the constant power wire or a bad crimp on your fusetap. Test for continuity from the fusetap blade to the dashcam dock contact on both leads.

And of course you don't have the constant power wire accidentally plugged into an accessory circuit.

That's all I got.

[MosinVirus]

Here are some diagrams and how I had it connected.

Red wire - Constant - F152
Yellow wire - Ignition - F148

[nathan4610]

If your dash cam shuts off at 12.39 volts, i would find another one. Thats only 20 percent battery usage.
[IMG][/IMG]

[MosinVirus]

If your dash cam shuts off at 12.39 volts, i would find another one. Thats only 20 percent battery usage.

I just don't know if there is something else that is causing it to shut down

[Fizz]

I like my front-facing dash cam in front of the rearview mirror. Doesn't take up any dash or windshield real estate and gets a VERY good FOV for front impacts.

It also allows you to make use of the circuitry for any cabin lights. If you have cabin lights that automatically turn on/off that also have a physical switch to turn on the light, that circuit is energized any time a door is opened/car started and automatically turned off after a period of time when the car is not running. You would wire up the dash cam wiring harness BEFORE the light switch, there's an upstream circuit/controller that controls the automatic on/off behavior.

[texas_law_dog]

Are you able to easily check to see if it is a voltage issue?

[67Cuda]

Camera would start parking mode with ignition off but only record for 10 minutes.

Make sure the circuit you checked and connected to isn't one that stays hot for a period of time.
Like how most cars you can roll up or down the window or listen to the radio after shutting down the car then they shut off off after time has passed.

[nathan4610]

Make sure the circuit you checked and connected to isn't one that stays hot for a period of time.
Like how most cars you can roll up or down the window or listen to the radio after shutting down the car then they shut off off after time has passed.

This is my thought as well. More than likely a battery protection method built in to the vehicle so that inadvertently left on circuits cant kill the battery.