magic guide, never seen or heard of "piggy back" fuse that will make life so much easier. Thanks so much for sharing.

No I've not seen those either. Like most good things, simple yet clever.

Very useful post. Have just done this exact install last Sunday.

 

I also added a single 'cigar' socket to the dashboard top cubby hole as I have made a plate to mount my satnav in the aperture. I can now simply connect the cable to the socket underneath the mounting plate so all cables are now out of sight/tangle-proof.

 

I should have done this all a LONG time ago.

Just a beginner, where did the negative cable go?

Just a beginner, where did the negative cable go?

On mine, I put a open ended crimp on the wire, and tightened it under a nut behind the dash board. As long as it connects to an earthed part of the body it'll be fine.

Just a beginner, where did the negative cable go?

Just like 2SkodaFamily says any earthed unpainted metal part. Like this bit from first post:

 

 

Split 12V adaptors cable, strip and crimp a fork crimp to negative cable

Loosen metal nut on bulkhead with 13mm spanner

Insert negative cable with fork crimp and tighten nut

 

Just like 2SkodaFamily says any earthed unpainted metal part. Like this bit from first post:

But a delorean, problem solved

But a delorean, problem solved

You have to watch it with them, can't share fuse with the flux capacitor or you would need to do 99mph which just wouldn't happen! 

Is says on the eBay link that the fuse tap is only rated up to a max of 10A, Is that 10A total as the rear wiper fuse is already 15A? Also how do i remove the side panel to get to the fuses?

Edited 18 March, 201610 yr by MarkW7

Is says on the eBay link that the fuse tap is only rated up to a max of 10A, Is that 10A total as the rear wiper fuse is already 15A? Also how do i remove the side panel to get to the fuses?

 

The links I originally posted just over 3 years ago have all since stopped working as were old ebay listings etc. I periodically have replaced them with more of the same or similar items in post 1. If you search on ebay for 'blade fuse adaptor' there are loads of them, some say 40amp max, but I would be sceptical. The linked ones on there at moment are actually from a company I ordered a pile off about a year or so ago, to just have as they are handy and the quality of them seem spot on. If it says 10amp max though, no need to go over that, I'd play it safe and use a 10amp or lower fuse in the box to run off. Over that agian like with having to re-install the entire lot for front and rear cameras in my Mk1 Octavia the other week following ripping it all out when I was going to sell it before changing my mind, I was able to use slots in the fuse box with no fuses in place but were switched live, which was dead handy. 

Thanks for the post FUBAR.

 

I recently added a dash cam with front and rear cameras.

 

I used a piggy back fuse adapter with a 12v to 5v step down module, soldered to the USB power lead. I grounded the negative output on the chassis of the fuse box area as suggested - it all worked out very well. The leads for the rear camera were fed around the upper door seals and around the B pillar.

 

Thanks

ordered all the bits needed today, just wondering how to get the cable up and too the camera discreatly 

my pillars have air bags so want to be safe as possible

Removing the A pillar trim to hide the wire isn't a problem. The air bag is attached to the bodywork so you don't need to touch it. If you have some bicycle tyre levers they are handy for moving the head lining down to tuck the wire in far enough to stop it falling out again without causing any damage.

thanks got to look through the post to see who put it to a permanent live

I've just done the same thing. Great idea thanks for the tip.

question from a complete electro-novice here, just trying to get it set in my head before going ahead.......

 

just been googling fuse taps as i didnt understand some of the technical stuff spoken about in this thread, i need it simple.  so....... theres a 15A fuse (rear wiper say) in the fuse box.  we take it out and in its place we put a 'tap'.  this will contain the original 15A fuse, plus say a 5A fuse for dashcam.  how does the fusebox now know which is which?  why would the rear wiper not blow the 5A fuse?  or are they NOT separate fuses now, we've just made one larger 20A fuse?  in which case surely this is now too high for the dashcam?  the dashcam now has a lead going from it to the the tap, and in the tap are a 5 and 15A fuse.  just dont understand how it knows that it only has a 5A fuse in its 'line' to the fuse box.

 

thanks

I've got a similar setup for my dash cam and for a sat nav. The dash cam is  ignition fed and the sat nav permanent live feed. (I remove the sat nav when parked up and the dash cam keeps working so ignition fed)    Had to alter the inner wiring in the double power source in the cubby hole.

On a trip to a strange city and not sure how to get where I was going I need the sat nav. on the way the sat nav stopped working , the fuse "tap " had worked loose. Sitting in a supermarket car park swopped around fuses until it worked again . Started up the car and it then cut out at the car park exit , blocking all the traffic trying to get out .

  Panic stations until deep breaths and thinking a little better discovered that I had removed the fuse for the fuel pump and not put it back in , put it in a dead fuse holder. 

 

Lesson learned about remembering what fuses came from where.

 

As for sadexpunk the fuse box dosent know or care what fuses are where in the box. It doesn't need to

 

The " tap " plugs in to the 15a fuse feed position in the fuse box which only feeds your rear wiper, the tap splits the feed into 15a and 5a,(now separate fuses) the 5a fuse only feeds the dash cam . if the wiper blows the 15a  then 5a is still available for the dash cam and vice versa. The wiper does not feed off the 5 a.

 

 

  

I've got a similar setup for my dash cam and for a sat nav. The dash cam is  ignition fed and the sat nav permanent live feed. (I remove the sat nav when parked up and the dash cam keeps working so ignition fed)    Had to alter the inner wiring in the double power source in the cubby hole.

On a trip to a strange city and not sure how to get where I was going I need the sat nav. on the way the sat nav stopped working , the fuse "tap " had worked loose. Sitting in a supermarket car park swopped around fuses until it worked again . Started up the car and it then cut out at the car park exit , blocking all the traffic trying to get out .

  Panic stations until deep breaths and thinking a little better discovered that I had removed the fuse for the fuel pump and not put it back in , put it in a dead fuse holder. 

 

Lesson learned about remembering what fuses came from where.

 

As for sadexpunk the fuse box dosent know or care what fuses are where in the box. It doesn't need to

 

The " tap " plugs in to the 15a fuse feed position in the fuse box which only feeds your rear wiper, the tap splits the feed into 15a and 5a,(now separate fuses) the 5a fuse only feeds the dash cam . if the wiper blows the 15a  then 5a is still available for the dash cam and vice versa. The wiper does not feed off the 5 a.

 

I had an issue with the Columbus just crashing in Dunkirk once when getting off the ferry and nothing worked wouldn't even go off with key. 20 minutes later I pulled into a service station and decided it's fuse pull time. It was dark silly o'clock and I did the exact same thing I pulled wrong one and forgot from where it came FML! 

For the blade fuse adaptor +1 on the explanation above. If we compare it to one of these familiar old things:

 

You originally had your kettle plugged into the wall with it's 13a fuse in it (the mains socket being the basic source of witchcraft like the fusebox), then took that out put this in and plugged your 13a fused kettle in and your 5a fused radio. Both simply gobbled up the power as they pleased through their own respective fuses. 

Edited 12 April, 201610 yr by FUBAR

As for sadexpunk the fuse box dosent know or care what fuses are where in the box. It doesn't need to

 

The " tap " plugs in to the 15a fuse feed position in the fuse box which only feeds your rear wiper, the tap splits the feed into 15a and 5a,(now separate fuses) the 5a fuse only feeds the dash cam . if the wiper blows the 15a  then 5a is still available for the dash cam and vice versa. The wiper does not feed off the 5 a.

 

thanks mate, gonna get all the stuff and go for it i reckon.....

thanks mate, gonna get all the stuff and go for it i reckon.....

Yer it's a simple job. Should only take 30 minutes

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

right, ive ordered some stuff from the OP, just need to sort the cam now.  ordered the adaptor, the tap and the sticky foam tape. couple of questions please.....

 

1.  ive got a crimping tool, but none of those 'crimpy ends', what are they called if i need to do a search?  

 

2.  any recommended place for buying 5A fuses?  and will it definitely be a 5A fuse i need no matter which cam i go for?  ill probs buy 2 or 3 in case of blowing any.

 

3.  lastly, i see OP has plumped for a mobius cam now.  any reason for that over something like http://www.ebay.com/itm/171869526148?rmvSB=true&clk_rvr_id=1013974022593&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171979713004?clk_rvr_id=1013956168713&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true

 

any experiences of the others?  id like one thats easiest to get the footage from afterwards too, whether thats connecting to a smartphone whilst still in position, or easily removed with minimal faffage.

 

thanks

right, ive ordered some stuff from the OP, just need to sort the cam now.  ordered the adaptor, the tap and the sticky foam tape. couple of questions please.....

 

1.  ive got a crimping tool, but none of those 'crimpy ends', what are they called if i need to do a search?  

 

2.  any recommended place for buying 5A fuses?  and will it definitely be a 5A fuse i need no matter which cam i go for?  ill probs buy 2 or 3 in case of blowing any.

 

3.  lastly, i see OP has plumped for a mobius cam now.  any reason for that over something like http://www.ebay.com/itm/171869526148?rmvSB=true&clk_rvr_id=1013974022593&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171979713004?clk_rvr_id=1013956168713&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true

 

any experiences of the others?  id like one thats easiest to get the footage from afterwards too, whether thats connecting to a smartphone whilst still in position, or easily removed with minimal faffage.

 

thanks

 

On the fuse side of things, you first need to think of if doing a 12V socket or multi one install means you are plugging in a 12V plug for camera which should have it's own fuse inside. In the same way the cars own factory 12V socket is likely 20amp but we are all able and happy to plug in our 0.5amp sraw USB plugs etc. 

As for the other cameras, I choose the Mobius almost 3 years ago now due to the quality of footage and as time has proven the reliability with zero failures and still using the same micro SD cards years later with no issues and well over 120K miles of footage recorded. Been ripped out and refitted in 4 or 5 cars and still not missing a beat. Footage is key though. I use both Mobius cameras (front and rear) in both cars and swap them between the two depending on which car I am taking, it just spins off it's mount as it's a standard tripod threaded one and very robust (the mounts cost 99p each).

The first link above, I just wouldn't bother unless you have a positive source for cameras footage quality and reliability, second is the mini 0801 it's as old a model as the Mobius is now and the 0806 is the most up to date one with much better spec. 0801 has lower quality footage than the Mobius also :( I have long said that the mini 08XX range would be what I would replace the Mobius's with the day they give up the ghost, but that just hasn't happened yet and sadly the mini0802 / 03 / 05 and 06 have all had stability issues.

 

The mini 0806 had a lot of issues at the start but from V3 of that model onwards I think they are meant to be solved and that's still where I would likely look next. There is also the latest mini0826 but I haven't really looked into it much yet, it's initial launch was in Australia likely in the UK now too. 

0806 review https://youtu.be/MG7kU0rwEwU

 

3 year old original Mobius V1 quality (V3 is latest one) as with all youtube degrades footage but still comes out very clear for 3 year old £37 tech (cost £49 these days)

 

 

Edited 13 April, 201610 yr by FUBAR

 

 

I voted that c?ckwomble was word of the year for 2015. I propose that word of the year for 2016 is bunglec?nt. ;)

I voted that c?ckwomble was word of the year for 2015. I propose that word of the year for 2016 is bunglec?nt. ;)

Ironically c?ckwomble was the first work I was thinking of, but it had become too popular so I improvised  

FUBAR, thanks for the cam review, ill look into that further before pressing 'buy'.

 

as for......

 

 

On the fuse side of things, you first need to think of if doing a 12V socket or multi one install means you are plugging in a 12V plug for camera which should have it's own fuse inside. In the same way the cars own factory 12V socket is likely 20amp but we are all able and happy to plug in our 0.5amp sraw USB plugs etc.

 

......sorry i dont understand what you mean.  im not very electrical minded and am just trying to copy piece by piece what you did, and you piggy backed a 5A fuse.  i dont understand what else i need to consider?

 

thanks for your help

FUBAR, thanks for the cam review, ill look into that further before pressing 'buy'.

 

as for......

 

......sorry i dont understand what you mean.  im not very electrical minded and am just trying to copy piece by piece what you did, and you piggy backed a 5A fuse.  i dont understand what else i need to consider?

 

thanks for your help

As in if you are cutting the plug off the power cable to camera and wiring it directly into the fuse box you will be relying fuse you choose (poet mode), if you are installing additional 12v sockets like I did and then simply are going to plug your cameras power cable/plug into that, the plug for the camera itself will have it's own fuse inside the plug and that is really what is protecting the camera. There should therefore be no real worry about the fuse ampage you decide on for the piggyback adaptor. What I meant with the cars factory installed socket is that it's likely much higher rated on it's fuse at 20amp ish and no one would ever hesitate to plug anything into that. That is because of the fact what you plug in has it's own fuse and resistors to lower voltage (as most cameras just take 5V not 12.