I have some questions about wiring a USB connection into my F150 fuse box.

Objective: Wire a USB connection into fuse box (with appropriate cable length) that I can plug a dash cam into.

Can I use a fuse tap like this (assuming I get right one for an F150 fuse box) to connect a 12V to 5V USB converter?

Fuse Tap



12V to 5V converter - Does the black wire need to be grounded? I'm a moron at wiring mostly. Any advice appreciated.



I found a very similar set-up on F150forums.com, but this guy made his own USB connection by soldering. Would prefer to buy a converter online if possible.

EDIT: LINK - http://www.f150forum.com/f38/dashcam-installation-review-pics-video-257255/

[This message has been edited by 3rdCoastAg (edited 6/4/2014 1:58p).]

cigarette lighter USB adapter is out of the question?

Not out of question but would prefer to have wiring hidden and no need for lighter adapter.

That fuse adapter should work just fine. It may be easier to tap into a know 12V wire such as the one going to your cigarette lighter. If you end up pulling too much power somehow, then it will just blow your fuse, no need to worry about a fire hazard as long as you use a good crimp or solder connection. The black wire can be chassis grounded anywhere you find a good attachment point. A ring lug and a tek screw into any metal surface attached to the body will work.

[This message has been edited by aggieforester05 (edited 6/4/2014 4:18p).]

I'm guessing for a dash cam you want a switched power source unless you want it to be on 24/7

1Ags - The video link I posted uses F38 for delayed accessory which is same as mine for 2014 model. Intent is to have dash cam cut off when the ignition is off and door opened, just like when the radio cuts off when door opens. Is that basically the same thing you're getting at?

Yes, thats how I have my car in china wired. When I turn the engine off, the camera stays running until the driver side door is tripped.

Do you have a power port that only works when the ignition is on, an electric antenna, or an aftermarket stereo?

Well 10 months later I finally installed a dash cam. I used the same components and youtube video previously posted. The hardest parts were twisting around to inspect the fusebox and finding a suitable place for grounding. The only thing I did different from the video was use a 12V to 5V USB converter rather than make my own USB port out of a cigarette lighter.



Materials:

• Dashcam - Amazon Link - E-PRANCE mini dash cam, 805 version
  
• 64GB microSD card w/ standard SD card adapter
  
• USB SD card reader (I have a Microsoft SurfacePro with no SD card slot)
  
• Fuse tap - the mini (APM / ATM) fit fine in my F150
  
• Extra fuses in case
  
• Butt connectors
  
• Extra wire
  
• 12V to 5V USB converter with female USB connection
  
• 6 foot USB cable - mini USB male end to standard USB male end
  
• Zip ties to cinch everything up
  

After getting the fuse tap and USB converter via mail, I realized there was no way the wires were long enough. I bought some extra and added some length to be able to reach a good grounding spot and have some slack for the converter.

I drew up a diagram of what I was aiming for.



The next thing I did was run the 6 ft USB cable up around the windshield and down the door pillar. The end of the USB cable dangled near the glove box. Make sure to have plenty of slack on the USB converter so the USB end of the converter reaches the USB cable in the door column.

My truck has the low profile mini fuses. I yanked the 10 out of the 38 delayed relay slot (same as video). The regular mini fuse tap fit in just fine. I put a 7.5 closest to the wire and a 10 into second slot of the tap.

Grounded the converter to a bolt in near the door. After adding extra wire to the converter, there was plenty of length between the ground and converter. Then I crimped the tap in slot 38 to the converter. Here is pic of the tap and converter, kind of hard to see but the video above is better than my pics anyway. Ground not shown, but it is connected.



You can see the red wire from the fuse tap end at the left side of the photo. It wraps around and reenters the pictures at the bottom left and into the converter. You can also see the ground wire from converter disappearing into the top right of the photo.

Mounted finished product



Trying it out on the 610N feeder. It's cropped out but it has GPS and speed in video.

Awesome drawing!

No joke about the drawing. In color, too...

As an Engineer, I like the drawing. Very "PhD Comics" -esque.

Looks good on the install. Always been interested in something like. Ballpark price/time?

~egon

quote:

---

Ballpark price/time?

---

This is all the stuff I did not have

Cost (for essential items): $185
Dashcam - $123
Fuse tap - $6
USB Converter - $8
64GB micro SD card - $32
6ft mini USB to standard USB cable - $16

Cost (optional or stuff you may already have at home): $35
Extra wire - $14
Butt connectors - $3
Extra fuses - $7
USB SD card reader - $11

Time: Approximately 1 hour if you're familiar with basic wiring/fuse box, running USB cable through vehicle

Bottom line: you can do it for around $200. The camera itself comes with 8GB internal storage but I opted for a bigger micro SD card capacity. I also needed a few extras to wire it up correctly. Lots of folks may already have wiring stuff at home.

Ahemmmm,

That's not a drawing, it's a diagram!

Engineers don't know how to do drawings!

Vitruvius- commodity, firmness and delight!

I did something similar with mine.

I just wired in two cigarette lighter sockets onto my fuse panel using an add-a-fuse. Bought all that at vatozone. I then plugged in the cigarette power adapters for my dash cam and GPS into those sockets. Used a USB extension cord to run the wires up the pillar and above the liner for the cam and across the front dash for the GPS. It's much nicer not having those cables visible.

I see you went with Jalopnik's top recommended dash cam with the worst name, E-Prance.

Question about videos:

Is it one continuous file from turn on to turn off or does it break it up in hour long blocks or what?

Just wondering if I got into an accident with one and wanted to give/show the cop what's going on before the accident. Would it be easy or something you do at a computer at home later?

~egon

Mine records around 8 hours on a 32gb card. It splits it up into less than 5 minute files. Once the card gets full it deletes the oldest file as it records a new one.

Dash cams scare me from a legal perspective. My former employer had them on all of their trucks. It's great to have the potential to catch something cool, and if you're in an accident and it's the other driver's fault, it certainly helps you prove that. But keep in mind that it also proves your liability if you're at fault. Just make sure you're always a cautious driver. Any negligence or stupidity on your part can now be proven absolutely. You're unlikely to have video from the other driver, so you're either going to look like an angel or make yourself a very easy target.

If I'm ever in an accident that was my fault that'll be the day I accidentally left my memory card at home.

Yep. Mine too - was wondering about the liability if you were at fault and if you had to turn the video over or not.

I installed the Garmin Dashcam 20 a few weeks ago very similar to this. Took about an hour to do it start to finish.

quote:

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If I'm ever in an accident that was my fault that'll be the day I accidentally left my memory card at home.

---

Cool. Now you've deliberately destroyed evidence. The court can sanction you (anything from a fine to entering a judgment against you, to jail time). That's not a good plan.

How would they know you had a dash cam unless you disclose it? Mounted behind a rear view mirror, it's not exactly going to stand out and the average person isn't going to think about looking for one until they become much more mainstream.

First rule of fight club.

I've forgotten my SD card a few times when leaving the house. It happens.

They are becoming much more prevalent than you think. When a lawsuit is filed related to an accident any plaintiff's attorney worth his salt with ask for all photos, videos, or other recordings of the accident. It's your duty to turn over the video. You don't get to choose whether you want to produce it or not. If you lie and say you don't have a recording or forgot your SD card that day, you might get away with it, but the repurcussions of getting caught may be severe.

All I'm trying to say is that you need to consider all of the implications of having a dash cam.

Installing one for double-use as an Autocross and commute cam. I'll probably be stealing your wiring ideas. Thanks

Bump for dash cam recommendations. I want to add one soon to my truck.

I am looking at wiring up something exactly like this with one change. In order to future proof it I am thinking to bring the female USB all the way up to the rear view mirror and then use a 6 in. device specific cord from that.

My thought is that as USB continues to evolve I will always be able to plug in to the Type A Female and wouldn't have to worry about mini>micro>whatever is next or even something proprietary like lightning being able to work,

Downside is a bit of clutter behind the mirror.

Any other pitfalls to this idea? I haven't seen anyone else do it this way in their how-tos.