DASH CAM FEED IN NX 350H

[old man 2]

Where do you guys plug in your dash cam ? I have a Nextbase which comes with a 12V plug to connect to the cigar lighter. This wasn't a problem in my previous car, but the cigar lighter is hidden under the sliding phone tray in this car, which makes things a little awkward.

I ask this question because after self installing the cam in my last car, someone on a forum discovered there was a spare feed inside the plastic covering around the rearview mirror and there was a small fitting kit available from America, which made short, easy work of fitting a dash cam.

So my real question is; is there anything similar that I can't see in the Lexus, or is it a case of putting up with the cigar lighter or getting it hard wired in ??

[old man 2]

 Hold hard there troops, I think I've solved my own dilemma.

I had a similar situation in the car before last that I owned, so I bought a cable that plugged into the OBD port and I kept it I've remembered. So as long as it's long enough I'll use that and if not I'll get a longer one.

 

[microgerry]

Be interested in a lead like this. Would it work for a sat nav too? Please let us know where you purchased it from

 

[old man 2]

I have one like this, in fact it might be the same one   OBD Power Cable for Dash Cam Mini USB Power Adapter Charger Cable 24 Hours Surveillance for Dash Camera GPS DVR: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

The feed from an OBD port is permanently live, but there is an on/off switch on the unit to cut the power to your appliance.
 I see no reason it won't work with a sat nav, in fact the blurb says it will, so have a look yourself at this one and others to check it's compatible.

P.S. Check out the position of your OBD port before ordering. When I used it before it was just a little obtrusive and in my last car it wouldn't have worked as the OBD port was behind a removable cover, although I could've left the cover off, but then it might have been prone to getting knocked with my feet or legs.

[rado16v]

Lexus offer to fit Nextbase dash cams that are hard wired in. They use this cable to take the feed from the the fusebox, behind the fusebox:

https://nextbase.co.uk/accessories/series-2-hardwire-kit/

I assume they run the cable along the passenger side A pillar.

Some info on this thread 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/nx-2nd-gen-2022-current/988134-dashcam-install-in-driver-side-fuse-panel.html

[old man 2]

 Many thanks for trying to help Amit.

There are many things in play in my case.

I have always managed to self install my own dash cams and I'm certainly not paying dealer prices to have it done and I don't have a dealer nearby.

The Nextbase kit you linked to can be had for £7 elsewhere and yes, the cable is routed behind the headlining and down the A pillar.

I had seen the install link you added, but as yet I haven't found a fusebox inside the car and I'm not prepared to find a way through the bulkhead to the box in the engine bay. Also, I'm not prepared to mess about with the electrics in a car that has a canbus system, although, if it's the only way I might use a local auto electrician, but I'm pretty confidant I can use the OBD port.

Also, that link is American and I've found to my cost in the past to take with a pinch of salt any advice that comes from people who work on cars that weren't produced for the UK market. Whilst the same car in other countries may look the same, very often there's differences under the skin.

Some might say, why am I quibbling about costs when I've just bought a 50 grand car ? WelI, I have a credo that says "perceived value for money" i.e. if a product doesn't represent value for money in my head, I'll look for better value elsewhere.

[Lexusjim]

If the dashcam is hardwired then it is continually drawing current from the 12v Battery, even when parked. There are many threads on the forum about cars failing to start as the Battery is flat. I appreciate the obd connector has a manual on/off switch.....however all it would take  is to forget to switch it off once and the result could be the car failing to start the next day.....switching it off while the car is parked also seems to negate having it hardwired at all

[stepppy]

56 minutes ago, Lexusjim said:

If the dashcam is hardwired then it is continually drawing current from the 12v battery, even when parked. There are many threads on the forum about cars failing to start as the battery is flat. I appreciate the obd connector has a manual on/off switch.....however all it would take  is to forget to switch it off once and the result could be the car failing to start the next day.....switching it off while the car is parked also seems to negate having it hardwired at all

Agreed with the above. 

I have always had dash cams in my cars for years which I have always self installed, however when I bought my NX I didn’t want to be pulling trim apart myself on a 50K car, so my dealer was more than happy to include the Nextbase dash cam as part of my deal. 

Although the camera also included the backup Battery to be able to use parking mode, I have not turned that function on as I do not want to risk the main 12v Battery going flat. I know the camera has a low voltage detection to prevent that from happening, but I’m just a bit too wary of it as I have not seen any comments from people who use the parking function. 

[Lexusjim]

My understanding of the Lexus fitted dashcam is that it receives no power from the car as soon as the car is switched off......(similar to a dashcam plugged into a power (formerly cigarette) socket,) so it should not draw any current from the 12v Battery when parked. Power from parking mode comes from an internal Battery inside the dashcam which charges when the car is in ready mode.

In my opinion,  parking mode is one of the most useful features on a dashcam 

Perhaps someone will be able to confirm/ refute this. 

I have not seen and difference in the time it takes my 12v to deplete since having it fitted 

(I have fitted a Battery monitor https://www.ancel.com/products/ancel-bm200)

 

[rado16v]

1 hour ago, old man 2 said:

 Many thanks for trying to help Amit.

There are many things in play in my case.

I have always managed to self install my own dash cams and I'm certainly not paying dealer prices to have it done and I don't have a dealer nearby.

The Nextbase kit you linked to can be had for £7 elsewhere and yes, the cable is routed behind the headlining and down the A pillar.

I had seen the install link you added, but as yet I haven't found a fusebox inside the car and I'm not prepared to find a way through the bulkhead to the box in the engine bay. Also, I'm not prepared to mess about with the electrics in a car that has a canbus system, although, if it's the only way I might use a local auto electrician, but I'm pretty confidant I can use the OBD port.

Also, that link is American and I've found to my cost in the past to take with a pinch of salt any advice that comes from people who work on cars that weren't produced for the UK market. Whilst the same car in other countries may look the same, very often there's differences under the skin.

Some might say, why am I quibbling about costs when I've just bought a 50 grand car ? WelI, I have a credo that says "perceived value for money" i.e. if a product doesn't represent value for money in my head, I'll look for better value elsewhere.

Typo on my post, I was meant to write fusebox which is behind the glovebox.

If you open the glovebox you'll see these hooks on either side of the glovebox lid, push these in and it'll drop revealing the fusebox behind. I've included a pic of the lid of the fusebox as we have the kit installed (from previous owner) and it stops the fusebox lid from fitting now. I haven't actually bought a dashcam yet however, the last owner kept it.

[stepppy]

20 minutes ago, Lexusjim said:

My understanding of the Lexus fitted dashcam is that it receives no power from the car as soon as the car is switched off......(similar to a dashcam plugged into a power (formerly cigarette) socket,) so it should not draw any current from the 12v battery when parked. Power from parking mode comes from an internal battery inside the dashcam which charges when the car is in ready mode.

In my opinion,  parking mode is one of the most useful features on a dashcam 

Perhaps someone will be able to confirm/ refute this. 

I have not seen and difference in the time it takes my 12v to deplete since having it fitted 

(I have fitted a battery monitor https://www.ancel.com/products/ancel-bm200)

 

Yes, correct, power is shutoff as soon as the car powers down and therefore does not draw any power from the 12v Battery.

Interesting that power from parking mode comes from the internal Battery, but I wasn't sure if this is kept then topped up from the 12v when in parking mode and could in theory flatten the 12v Battery, but hopefully the voltage safe guard it has should prevent that happening?, but I have just been a bit nervous to try it.... but maybe now I will.

I hoped that the camera would record anytime someone crossed in the cameras field of view, but I think it will only record if it detects a bump... am I correct in that thinking?

I am going to get one of those Battery monitors when I get back from my holiday as I will be interested to see how the 12v Battery performs as I am a very low mileage user.  I sold my 7 years old Prius when I bought my NX and it only had 21,000 from new, but it still had the original 12v Battery and it was still going strong 😀.

[jeffrosie6]

I've just hardwired my Nextbase dash cam to bottom of the cigarette lighter via a 5 amp inline fuse.

[Lexusjim]

46 minutes ago, stepppy said:

I hoped that the camera would record anytime someone crossed in the cameras field of view, but I think it will only record if it detects a bump... am I correct in that thinking?

I think so......the small internal Battery would not be able to record for more than a minute or two. 

The dashcam manual states it starts recording in parking mode when it detects 'physical movement ' of the vehicle. Mine is triggered when I sit on the seat.....perhaps I need to lose a few pounds....

 

[Tickedon]

3 hours ago, Lexusjim said:

If the dashcam is hardwired then it is continually drawing current from the 12v battery, even when parked. There are many threads on the forum about cars failing to start as the battery is flat. I appreciate the obd connector has a manual on/off switch.....however all it would take  is to forget to switch it off once and the result could be the car failing to start the next day.....switching it off while the car is parked also seems to negate having it hardwired at all

This isn't true - it entirely depends how it is hardwired in. There are parts of the circuit which are kept live all the time, and parts that aren't.

I have a Lexus-installed dashcam in my car - it doesn't get power when the engine isn't on.

The nextbase camera has a Battery to support parking mode (which doesn't continuously record, only recording when triggered).

[old man 2]

 Thanks guys, all good info.

Having used this OBD lead in another car, I'm aware of the possibilty of Battery flattening, although I managed to mitigate that then. As said, if Battery level drops the plud should switch itself off - but will it ??

Dash cams use a surprising amount of Battery charge when car is switched off, as I learned during lockdown. I even plugged the cam into a power pack instead, but that got drained pretty quick as well

Dash cams have either a very small internal Battery or a capacitor, niether of which will power a cam for long. Thay are designed to just finish recording whatever was happening when power to the cam was switched off.

Amit; I did look behind the glove box yesterday and didn't spot a fusebox. Probably me being dopey, I'll have another look later. If I find it, a hardwire kit into it will be the best way to go.

[rado16v]

Keep looking, it's there. It's a lot smaller and narrow than I'm used to seeing.

[old man 2]

46 minutes ago, rado16v said:

Keep looking, it's there. It's a lot smaller and narrow than I'm used to seeing.

 Well I've just been back in there with a torch and I cannot see it. A Google search says it's in the drivers side footwell, but I think that's for the LHD market.

For the moment at least I've wired it in using the OBD port which was less than a 10 minute job. Trouble is, there's no light  on the plug to indicate whether it's switched off or not.

If you get the time is there any chance you could take a pic of where the fuses are ? Thing is, even if they are located behind the glove box there's no room to work in there.

There is a fuse box under the bonnet, so I wonder if it's been relocated on the latest models?

[RXtoNX]

5 hours ago, Lexusjim said:

If the dashcam is hardwired then it is continually drawing current from the 12v battery, even when parked. There are many threads on the forum about cars failing to start as the battery is flat. I appreciate the obd connector has a manual on/off switch.....however all it would take  is to forget to switch it off once and the result could be the car failing to start the next day.....switching it off while the car is parked also seems to negate having it hardwired at all

 

4 hours ago, stepppy said:

Agreed with the above. 

I have always had dash cams in my cars for years which I have always self installed, however when I bought my NX I didn’t want to be pulling trim apart myself on a 50K car, so my dealer was more than happy to include the Nextbase dash cam as part of my deal. 

Although the camera also included the backup battery to be able to use parking mode, I have not turned that function on as I do not want to risk the main 12v battery going flat. I know the camera has a low voltage detection to prevent that from happening, but I’m just a bit too wary of it as I have not seen any comments from people who use the parking function. 

Disagree with both of you., it all depends on the characteristics of the dash cam.

I use Thinkware who have dashcams that can be set to cut off the 12v supply in parking mode once the Battery reaches a certain reading. Their dashcams also have energy saving parking modes for extended recording. However, because the 12v Battery on a Lexus is so small I use one of their power packs (rechargeable whilst driving) which, together with the dashcams energy saving parking modes, allows my car to operate in parking mode for a few days.

Of course this set up is a little more expensive than the Lexus/Halfords offering but I’ve never had a discharged 12v Battery in 2 years of using Thinkware products in the NX450 and previously 4 years in my RX450.

[rado16v]

4 hours ago, old man 2 said:

 Thanks guys, all good info.

Having used this OBD lead in another car, I'm aware of the possibilty of battery flattening, although I managed to mitigate that then. As said, if battery level drops the plud should switch itself off - but will it ??

Dash cams use a surprising amount of battery charge when car is switched off, as I learned during lockdown. I even plugged the cam into a power pack instead, but that got drained pretty quick as well

Dash cams have either a very small internal battery or a capacitor, niether of which will power a cam for long. Thay are designed to just finish recording whatever was happening when power to the cam was switched off.

Amit; I did look behind the glove box yesterday and didn't spot a fusebox. Probably me being dopey, I'll have another look later. If I find it, a hardwire kit into it will be the best way to go.

Unfortunately, we're out for the rest of the day and I wont have access to it during the day till Wednesday now.

But please refer here, it's 82730G
partsouq diagram

It's the part in red. Mine is a 2022 model NX350h, I can not imagine they moved the location of fusebox between the years or even models (350 and 450). 

Hope it helps.

[old man 2]

Quote

 I can not imagine they moved the location of fusebox between the years or even models (350 and 450). 

 I'd assume the same, but Lexus and Toyota have been prone to theft in recent years, so I wouldn't discount it.

[old man 2]

Quote

Unfortunately, we're out for the rest of the day and I wont have access to it during the day till Wednesday now.

 No rush and I would appreciate it. I contacted my dealer today, who confirm that there is a fusebox in the passennger footwell as you say, so I cannot understand why I can't see it !!

[Herbie]

3 hours ago, old man 2 said:

I contacted my dealer today, who confirm that there is a fusebox in the passennger footwell as you say, so I cannot understand why I can't see it !!

You probably need to get on your back and stick your head under, then look straight up towards the top of the dash.

[old man 2]

1 hour ago, Herbie said:

You probably need to get on your back and stick your head under, then look straight up towards the top of the dash.

 

I'll give it another go if it ever stops raining 😒