Installing Dash Cam

[Citrax]

Hi, new car = new dash cam.

I always hardwire my cams so that they switch on with the ignition.  

Could someone tell me a suitible fuse location please that I can piggyback off or a spare that are only powered when the ignition is on. The car is a 2009 IS250 SE-I with navigation.

Thanks in advance ☺️

[J Henderson]

In the fusebox under the dashboard on the driver's side, there's a 15A one labelled CIG.

[Citrax]

Thank you for your reply.  I'll take a look.

[LenT]

17 hours ago, Citrax said:

I always hardwire my cams so that they switch on with the ignition.  

Why, James?

If by that you mean that it is only active when the ignition’s on, then  you might want to reconsider that.

I’ve always wired my dashcams so that they are in standby mode when the ignition is off.  After all, your car is just as likely to be attacked - if not more so - when it’s parked and unattended.

I have a BlackVue and their website is full of clips catching cars damaged in car parks and attempted break-ins. 

[Notamech]

2 hours ago, LenT said:

Why, James?

If by that you mean that it is only active when the ignition’s on, then  you might want to reconsider that.

I’ve always wired my dashcams so that they are in standby mode when the ignition is off.  After all, your car is just as likely to be attacked - if not more so - when it’s parked and unattended.

I have a BlackVue and their website is full of clips catching cars damaged in car parks and attempted break-ins. 

Exactly this. Typically you would hardwire it only if you wanted it on all the time. Else most people just use the cigarette lighter - that switches on with ignition. 

[Mr_Groundhog]

The NextBase one that's installed at the dealership is also on during parking time, no?  I can't remember

[Citrax]

Thanks for all your replies.  The cams I've had previously have all had motion detection which has worked off the inbuilt rechargeable Battery.  Having said that I can't remember if the new camera has that feature.  

Thanks for all your replies.  

[Notamech]

2 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

The NextBase one that's installed at the dealership is also on during parking time, no?  I can't remember

I would like to think so given how pricey they are. Almost all dashcams even the cheap chinese ones offer a parking mode where it takes images / snapshots at fixed intervals and records in case it detects shake / motion in the car. But for parking mode to work you need to hardwire your cam to a fuse thats always on. 

Detailed instructions from a previous thread can be found here 

I installed a chinese one a few months ago but power it through the cigarette lighter. Managed to hide the wires well enough so they're not visible.

[Citrax]

25 minutes ago, Notamech said:

I would like to think so given how pricey they are. Almost all dashcams even the cheap chinese ones offer a parking mode where it takes images / snapshots at fixed intervals and records in case it detects shake / motion in the car. But for parking mode to work you need to hardwire your cam to a fuse thats always on. 

Detailed instructions from a previous thread can be found here 

I installed a chinese one a few months ago but power it through the cigarette lighter. Managed to hide the wires well enough so they're not visible.

Thanks for that.  I did look through the forums but couldn't find anything.  As I only had the camera yesterday I've just connected it via the lighter.  I'll have to get my head in the right space to hard wire it.  I plan on changing the cigarette lighter and auxiliary socket to USB Q3 chargers at the same time.  Get all the wiring done in one go. 

[Mr_Groundhog]

2 hours ago, Notamech said:

you need to hardwire your cam to a fuse thats always on.

Yes when they installed it they connected it to the fuse box (which fuse I dunno) so I hope that's the case as much as I hope to not need it.