Dashcam and Gentex mirror hard wiring help

I have a 2012 TDI and plan to install my gentex autodimming mirror and dashcam that both just showed up in the mail.

There are tons of threads on how to hard wire this into the overhead wiring wear the map light and sunroof controls are.

I think I will hook them all up to switched power so that my garage won't be able to be opened without the key, and so that the dashcam doesn't kill my battery.

My question is can I use wire taps for both of these on the switched power from the overhead harness or am I going to start drawing too much power.

I'm a bit of a rookie when it comes to wire gauge, power draw etc... My thoughts are I should be OK as I can split my 12v 3 ways, but that is powering devices usually drawing 5v running through the cigarette adapter and not directly tapped into a wire that must be running 5v overhead only? (I think)

For anyone in Canada good deal on the dashcam I bought. Link to the deal thread below:

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/bang...cessor-1080p-dash-cam-53-95-w-coupon-1468499/

Did you buy the version with the battery (G1W/H) or the capacitor (G1WC)?

Although this might not be directly related to what you've asked here, I recently bought the G1W-C dashcam and decided to go with a 'semi hard' wire setup. From the front 12V power outlet, I routed the wire underneath the dash, through a dash-side panel, up the A-pillar trim, through part of the roof trim. But for some reason, the cam doesn't work properly with the front 12V power outlet. More details here:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=413107

If you don't mind, could you try plugging it into the front 12V outlet and let me know if the camera correctly turns ON and OFF with the ignition? I'd really appreciate it!

I've had that camera since January. Takes wicked video. Now that the weather is warming up I'll have to get out and wire it up, been using the lighter.

5V USB power supply for dash-cam

I just added a 5V USB power supply to the overhead lighting console to power up my Mobius dash-cam.
As mentioned elsewhere, the power for the console lights is only switched off when the doors are locked.
So cam powers up as soon as I unlock the doors.

I just use a short USB cable routed out under the front of the headliner to get to the Mobius mounted next to the rear-view mirror.



Rather than tap into the wiring harness I just soldered directly to the 12V bus bars on the back of the console. I just added some hot melt glue on the wire as a strain relief to hold the wire in place.



I used a blob of tacky stuff to hold the USB PS in place up against the roof:



Makes for a nice clean install.

Wow very nice!

Yeah, it took me three tries to find the right connection.
Thankfully it't easy to unsolder and move the wire.

For the 5V USB cig-lighter power supply, I just opened it up and unsoldered the spring on the sides and tip and soldered wires directly to the PCB.
Note, this is a switching power supply which does not generate as much heat as a 5V linear power supply does (voltage regulator chip like an LM7805) when dropping 14V down to 5VDC, so it should stay cool tucked up under the ceiling.

This would also be good for powering an Android device like the Google Nexus 7, which can be used as a Car-puter, gauge pod (using Torque Pro with Bluetooth OBDII adapter), GPS and MP3 player.

hows this camera at night?

This may be a little late, but make sure the wire you tapped into can handle the combination of your accessory draw as well as the normal load. Also, ALWAYS fuse protect your new wires. If you are concerned about tapping the correct wire, just run the wire across the headliner and down the drivers A pillar to the fuse box. This is what I did with my Gentex genk40. One last suggestion, don't use hot glue up in the headliner. Temps get pretty high up there and the glue will actually melt. I've seen it happen. Good luck and have fun.

Thanks for the tips Dragoncoach.
Silicone would have been a better choice than hot-melt glue.
The current draw on the Mobius is quite low, so I was not worried about the additional load on the overhead console lights:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25753038&postcount=1502

• No battery, powered on, not recording: 225mA @ 4.97v (1.12 watts)
• No battery, recording 1080p: 305mA @ 4.97v (1.51 watts)
• Battery being charged from flat, powered off: 186mA @ 4.97v (0.92 watts)
• Battery being charged from flat, recording 1080p: average 505mA @ 4.95v (2.5 watts)

@ Hwy _Demon - I have not used this camera at night, but there are plenty of videos out there.
http://dashboardcamerareviews.com/mobius-action-camera-review/
Night footage at 19mins into this video:
http://www.bestpocketcamcorder.net/mobius/action-camera-by-mobius/

I am looking at getting one of these.

http://shop.komando.com/the-komando-dual-lens-dash-cam

Seriously? ...to each his own.

-Poor quality video/resolution:
Resolution: 1280x480 / 640x480 and whole 720P HD
- Video is inverted when mounted in the car?
- 8 or 12' of cord - which is it?
- Reviewer looks like he was high- glasses on crooked
- Traffic laws state that you may not have video playing on a screen while driving. Others have been fined for this. Can the screen be shut off?
- Marketing ploy - put all the approval ratings on the front of the cam in big bold print, including do not dispose of in the garbage?!?

If all you're interested in is 720P video then I suggest you'd be much better off getting two V3 808 #16 keychain cams and save your money on this piece of marketing hype.
A few links for the 808 #16 camera:
http://www.chucklohr.com/808/c16/
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994

Dragoncoach said:

One last suggestion, don't use hot glue up in the headliner. Temps get pretty high up there and the glue will actually melt. I've seen it happen. Good luck and have fun.

Click to expand...

3 years later and the hot-melt glue has stood up just fine.
I removed this 12V - 5V USB power supply as I am returning my TDI on Aug. 1st and mounting this PS/camera in my replacement vehicle.
This install has worked flawlessly for me.

Scratchy101 said:

3 years later and the hot-melt glue has stood up just fine.
I removed this 12V - 5V USB power supply as I am returning my TDI on Aug. 1st and mounting this PS/camera in my replacement vehicle.
This install has worked flawlessly for me.

Click to expand...

Love the idea, thanks for sharing!