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Nextbase Permanent Live ok ?

chrisk2010

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
1,201
Location
Essex
Car
C230 w203
Hi Folks,

I have just got around to installing the dash cam hard wire for my nextbase 412 but the fuses on the drivers side all seem to be a permanent live ( the cam doesn't switch off) do you think this will be ok I don't want to flatten the battery.

I will always disconnect the dash cam from its mount but am aware there is still power going there however small.

Any thoughts ....... ?
 
Either a switched live on the rear of the head unit, or the cigar lighter.
Make sure the lighter is switched before you use it, just turn everything off and try and use it.
It means stripping the dash a bit, but if you are hiding the wires, you may have to do it anyway.
 
Thanks Steve I will do that if necessary but I have a lovely piggy back hardwire kit and was trying to avoid removing bits of dash and splicing into wires.

I just having a google but does anyone have any experience running a dashcam from a permanent live or better still finding a switched live fuse on a w203?

I drive the car daily so think this might be enough to charge the battery if there is a drain.
 
Went back out to poke around and ended up running through the bulk head to engine fuses box and piggy backed of fuse no. 47 (cigarette lighter).

Wasn’t too bad all in all it about 15 minutes hardest part was removing the fuse small space big hand.

I took a couple of pics will stick them up when i open my laptop again tomorrow.
 
OK so this may help someone who wants to do this. I wanted a switched live as above and in the end I went through the firewall and followed the wiring to the fuses in the engine bay on the drivers side.

I had already run the wire to the cam so have any pics of that part but it's very easy to do.

Firstly removed the screws on the panel under the steering wheel.

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Once removed it'll be able to drop down but will still held by the parking brake release so take care not to put to much force on it. You could remove the parking brake release but for what I needed to do I just suffered than take one more screw out :rolleyes:. Also there was a large foam block under there make a mental note of which way round it went in.

What you aiming for next is a small bit of foam at the back on the right.....

4.jpg

If you remove it it will give you a straight shot to the fuses in the engine bay. You can see my curly red wire running along there I did secure that after and tidy it up.

Next I removed fuse number 47 (cigarette lighter) put it into the piggy back connection from the hardwire kit and found a good ground on the chassis for the black wire on the hardwire kit.

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Once the black wire was attached securely I plugged in the piggy back connection, attached the cam and turned the key without starting the engine and the cam sprung into life! YAY.

Then I cleaned the wiring up secured with small cable ties and put everything back. Good tip if using cable ties is to put a bit of electrical tape over them as a sharp bit can be left behind when trimming the excess off it's just something I like to do. Better still buy the proper stuff the secure wiring but I didn't have any so .....

That's about it really the camera now only works when the key is turned (switched live) which is what I wanted. Some do like a permanent live if for example you're planning on leaving the camera in the car for motion detection but I didn't want to risk a battery drain.

If you do want a permanent live you have the fuses by the drivers door.
 

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I use an OBD connector for my dash cam.
This has a switch to allow switched or permanent power if I want to use parking mode.
Easy to install as it just plugs in to the OBD port.
 
I did see those but I didn't want anything that might poke out or I'm guaranteed to catch it or the wire.

If anyone wanted to the above the whole thing would take 20-30 minutes. The hardest part was the 3 screws under the dash as they were quite stiff (should have taken my electric screwdriver out with me) and pulling the fuse as there wasn't much room to get a grip of it, I had taken my needle nose pliers into work which didn't help.

For a bit on the cam itself I have been using the 412gw all week with no problems it sits just on the passenger side of the rear view mirror and the quality seems quite good so far though I must admit I haven't done much more than watch a couple of play backs and pop a 64gb card in it.
 
To be honest it doesn't protrude anywhere and the cable can be tucked in to the dash panels so they are hidden from view.
 
To be honest it doesn't protrude anywhere and the cable can be tucked in to the dash panels so they are hidden from view.

That's pretty good I have never seen one in the flesh before and didn't fancy risking it.
 
That's fair enough, I originally had for my BMW where the fuse box was in the boot.

On my Mercedes the obd port is under the steering column above the brake pedal.
 
I'm pretty sure mine is next to the bonnet release above my right knee.
 
When i wired up my nextbase 512g in my rx7 it is on a permanent live, the reason i did this is when im out with it and its parked up the camera is always recording, only downside is you need to manually turn it on and off, i think for me anyways this was the best option. It has been like this for years, i have also left it running overnight and car has always started the next morning
 
Because you fail to record in the highest risk area .
 

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