Recommendation needed - which fuse to tap into for hardwiring dashcam

[BimmerJS]

Hey guys,

Been awhile. Hope everyone is safe and doing well. Having a bit more time now and finally deciding to hardwire my Dashcam into the X5 E70. Did a bunch of searches, but still haven't found the right answer.

For the folks who have done it with a hardwiring kit, which fuse did you tap into?
Did you notice any issues with battery drain? Was thinking perhaps using the Hazard lights fuse. Thoughts?

Thanks in advanced!

[smassey321]

There is a green/white power wire in the overhead console. You can use something like this to keep the install clean.

https://www.amazon.com/SMAKN%C2%AE-C...262015&sr=8-24

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=482131

[BimmerJS]

thanks for the suggestion. Never considered one of these. I could see how that would be cleaner. Don't have much experience with these. Would these run the risk of draining the battery thought? Also, regarding the green and white wires, which would the red/black tap into?

Originally Posted by smassey321

There is a green/white power wire in the overhead console. You can use something like this to keep the install clean.

https://www.amazon.com/SMAKN%C2%AE-C...262015&sr=8-24

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=482131

[BimmerJS]

Oh the pics finally loaded on the other link you shared. Thanks by the way.

Shitty part now is trying to get one of these in Canada as amazon.ca doesn't carry it.

[ard]

Originally Posted by BimmerJS

thanks for the suggestion. Never considered one of these. I could see how that would be cleaner. Don't have much experience with these. Would these run the risk of draining the battery thought? Also, regarding the green and white wires, which would the red/black tap into?

Any power anywhere in a car will ‘drain the battery’ with the engine off.

There are wires that are powered only when the engine is running. Others that are powered all the time.

A dash cam may, if fact, NEED power when the car is parked if it is in a ‘damage sensing mode’.

Kinda depends on how you want to use your dash cam..... there are products than install a battery, which is charged when running, but which will power a dashcam for hours or days, preventing parasitic drain of the car’s battery.

[BimmerJS]

All good, now that I learned more about this device it will not work for me. As the intend is for the dashcam to powered even if the vehicle is off. The dashcam wiring kit I bought has builtin mechanism that turns off once it detects a certain voltage dip on the battery. This prevents the car battery to die.

So that leads me back to the original questions of which fuse I should tap into but I think it should be the hazards unless someone else can suggest another fuse that is at the front fuse box.

[ard]

Originally Posted by BimmerJS

So that leads me back to the original questions of which fuse I should tap .

Actually it doesnt.


Once you figure out what dashcam you want, what power it needs and whether you will have a battery back up...then come back and we can tell you where to grab power.


The best system is one that has a LiIon battery to power the dashcam, and will turn off when it runs out of power. This is then attached to a wire from the car that is powered only when the car is running. SO you charge the battery when driving, then power off the battery when parked. This absolutely prevents the dashcam from draining the car.


But again, we dont know what system you have or will have.

[rh71]

Originally Posted by BimmerJS

All good, now that I learned more about this device it will not work for me. As the intend is for the dashcam to powered even if the vehicle is off. The dashcam wiring kit I bought has builtin mechanism that turns off once it detects a certain voltage dip on the battery. This prevents the car battery to die.

So that leads me back to the original questions of which fuse I should tap into but I think it should be the hazards unless someone else can suggest another fuse that is at the front fuse box.

I can't recall which fuse I tapped into under the passenger footwell, but I can tell you it stays on for 30 minutes after I lock the car and then it cuts out. Just FYI that may be the best you can do. Even when the mechanic was working on it with the hood up, it cut out after about that much time (coincide with accessories-only time perhaps).

[NoThanks]

I installed a power take off in the overhead console for a different appliance; wanted switched power so the device would power on when the vehicle was on but power down when the vehicle was off.

YMMV, but I would consider a dash cam that has a battery which can permit running on the car and then on the battery when the car is off. This would work if the battery is capable of taking a charge while the camera is on so that when you cue the engine you get the camera and the ability to recharge the battery. I am not familiar with this market so I don't know if there are any good cameras that tick all of these boxes.

Anyway, here is what I did on the overhead console:

wire tap on X16815, +RED (appliance) to pin 3 GREEN/WHITE
Wire tap on X16815, -BLACK (appliance) to pin 2 BROWN ground

the TIS pages start here



The fuse in question is F114 and is located in the rear JBE; it is one of several that manage the sunroof operation and should be off when the car is off.

wiring diagram is here

The module is labeled as the FUNCTION CONTROL CENTER, ROOF

I recommend that you become acquainted with the TIS and learn how to read the wiring diagrams. They may seem overwhelming, and taken as a whole lot they will be, though you can pick apart the segments to get you what you need. The TIS is very good about showing where wires and connectors are located within the vehicle and all of the connectors are shown with the pin-out for each end. The diagrams tell you what size wires you are working with and what color they are. Colors are listed in German, so work on your language skills a bit.

Schwartz = black
Blau = blue
Rot = red...etc

Sometimes you won't be able to tell right away if you have an ALWAYS HOT/DELAYED HOT lead or one that is switched to the ignition, etc. I use a multimeter to figure this out; attach the leads and watch what happens when you do different things with the car. In my case I shopped the wiring diagrams for the roof module and guessed at the X16815 connector then verified it was switched with the ignition.

Anyway, good luck and know that you can do hard things if you do your research and have a good plan with the right tools before you dive into the hands-on portion of your project.