Dash Cam Wired with Aux Switch Function Question

[bohnster]

I received the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 with the Parking Mode Cable for Christmas and finally wired it up today. I connected the Accessory wire of the PM cable assembly to the Ignition wire in the footwell and connected the Battery wire of the PM cable assembly to the Aux 4 switch wire. I set the Aux 4 settings to Latching and Battery. I expected the dash cam to power on with ignition but it doesn't. From at least one other recent post that I've read, that was the expectation as well. The dash cam only has power when the Aux 4 switch is on. The ignition wire is hot; I checked it with a multimeter before connecting and I also took the butt splice out of the equation by twisting the wires together but no joy. Is that the expected/correct behavior? Thanks.

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[lashlee]

The battery wire will need power all the time (hence battery). What is the purpose of using the Aux Switch in your particular install? Though I haven't tried on my wife's JL, I would guess the aux switches shut down when the ignition is cycled (or possibly on the can bus wiring).

 

[GO_RV]

I would just install a hot 12 volt female plug.
It's very easy to do.
there is a grommet on the driver side that you can use to run the wire.
im putting 2 in, one for my dash cam one for my supplemental brake when I pull my Wrangler
here is the Amazon link
12 volt female plug 20amp

 

[driventoadventure]

I received the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 with the Parking Mode Cable for Christmas and finally wired it up today. I connected the Accessory wire of the PM cable assembly to the Ignition wire in the footwell and connected the Battery wire of the PM cable assembly to the Aux 4 switch wire. I set the Aux 4 settings to Latching and Battery. I expected the dash cam to power on with ignition but it doesn't. From at least one other recent post that I've read, that was the expectation as well. The dash cam only has power when the Aux 4 switch is on. The ignition wire is hot; I checked it with a multimeter before connecting and I also took the butt splice out of the equation by twisting the wires together but no joy. Is that the expected/correct behavior? Thanks.

As lashlee said, the battery needs to be wired to the battery wire (red/white) because that is what the cam uses for its actual power. The acc/ignition is really only a sense wire so that it knows when the ignition on to exit parking mode.

 

[bohnster]

The battery wire will need power all the time (hence battery). What is the purpose of using the Aux Switch in your particular install?

Using the Aux switch wire instead of the battery wire allows me to shut off parking mode when I really don't need it, e.g., when the Jeep is in my garage. Even though the current draw isn't much, I don't need the cam probing during that time.

 

[bohnster]

As lashlee said, the battery needs to be wired to the battery wire (red/white) because that is what the cam uses for its actual power. The acc/ignition is really only a sense wire so that it knows when the ignition on to exit parking mode.

Makes sense, thanks for the reply. I think I read that elsewhere and glossed right over it. So ignition to acc is not providing any power, just acting as a sensor. I have the desired effect and control; I just have to remember to turn it on for driving if I've had it off.

 

[lashlee]

I know it's not as elegant as the aux switch, you might be able to add in a simple toggle switch to accomplish what you want on the battery wire. Depending on where the toggle is installed, it could be in plain sight or hidden. I will warn you that the dashcam may use the battery wiring to keep up with metadata that's embedded in the clip (GPS coordinates, time stamp, other proprietary information, etc...).

 

[driventoadventure]

Using the Aux switch wire instead of the battery wire allows me to shut off parking mode when I really don't need it, e.g., when the Jeep is in my garage. Even though the current draw isn't much, I don't need the cam probing during that time.

You could use something like a bluetooth relay (similar to https://www.quadratec.com/p/trigger/one-bluetooth-relay but there are likely to be cheaper options) to control it, even in a scripted fashion... If you have any programming skills, you could do similar with something like an ESP32, have it GPS based so that it automatically enables when leaving a geofence.

 

[bohnster]

You could use something like a bluetooth relay (similar to https://www.quadratec.com/p/trigger/one-bluetooth-relay but there are likely to be cheaper options) to control it, even in a scripted fashion... If you have any programming skills, you could do similar with something like an ESP32, have it GPS based so that it automatically enables when leaving a geofence.

Good suggestions, and yes, I have those programming skills. I like the geofence idea, but it's probably overkill until I get tired of the switch or at least until I leave it on and find out that the assembly actually doesn't shut off before the battery drains too low. Thanks.

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