Dashcam hard wiring & parking mode issues

[FallenSamurai]

I have some questions about the hard wiring setup for using a dash cam using the factory AUX switches, or in another way if necessary.

Over the holiday weekend I installed a dash cam, specifically a BlackVue 900X Plus. We (Father and I) hardwired it, the Battery to the Blue/Pink (Ignition) wire and the Acc wire to the Orange/Pink (Aux 4). The camera however would only turn on if both Aux 3 & 4 were turned on. Which is very strange. At this point I turned off parking mode just in case and planned on troubleshooting at a later date. In hindsight I wondered if it should have been wired battery to battery.

The next night my Jeep was damaged by a drunk driver. The incident was caught by our home security cameras and the driver was arrested. However I regret not having the parking mode issue fixed.

The camera also came with a "cigarette lighter" power cable which I set up to test out if would power the camera for parking mode. I even turned off the battery saver option in the camera settings and it still did not record while parked.

Any advice or help to get this fixed is much appreciated.

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[dpike]

Is that the harness that came with the camera ? I think I remember someone else with this issue figuring out the wires were mislabeled.

 

[FallenSamurai]

I used the wires from the camera. I did not read that. I did see the thread where the AUX were mis-wired.

 

[Ratbert]

I used the wires from the camera. I did not read that. I did see the thread where the AUX were mis-wired.

I had the same issue. There's a stickied post here that has the cables labeled wrong. You have to read through to figure out that the main post is wrong. Stupid, but true.

 

[Fudster]

I have some questions about the hard wiring setup for using a dash cam using the factory AUX switches, or in another way if necessary.

Over the holiday weekend I installed a dash cam, specifically a BlackVue 900X Plus. We (Father and I) hardwired it, the Battery to the Blue/Pink (Ignition) wire and the Acc wire to the Orange/Pink (Aux 4). The camera however would only turn on if both Aux 3 & 4 were turned on. Which is very strange. At this point I turned off parking mode just in case and planned on troubleshooting at a later date. In hindsight I wondered if it should have been wired battery to battery.

The next night my Jeep was damaged by a drunk driver. The incident was caught by our home security cameras and the driver was arrested. However I regret not having the parking mode issue fixed.

The camera also came with a "cigarette lighter" power cable which I set up to test out if would power the camera for parking mode. I even turned off the battery saver option in the camera settings and it still did not record while parked.

Any advice or help to get this fixed is much appreciated.

Hi:

I can't speak to Blackvue mislabeling its wires. Perhaps this is true.

What I can say is that I would expect the camera to have 3 wires, one labelled battery, another Accessory, and a third (a common) Ground.

Correctly installed, the (correct) battery wire goes to a power source that is always energized, whether or not the vehicle engine is on. The accessory wire goes to a power source that is only energized when the vehicle is on. And the ground goes to a ground source.

These three wires are necessary because when the accessory wire carries current (in addition to the battery wire which always carries current) the camera knows in is NOT in parking mode. It is only when the battery wire carries current that the camera "knows" that it is in parking mode, preserving energy and respecting the voltage cutoff setting you configure.

Sources for ignition switched places include the cigarette lighter in the dash, the vanity mirror wires or an aux switch set to run in the ignition setting. I seem to recall that the aux switches can be set to ignition or battery setting, i.e. only on when the engine is on or always on respectively.

Sources for battery wires that always carry current include the cigarette lighter plug in the cargo area if equipped, which by default from the factory is always energized. (It can be changed by moving a fuse under the hood to behave like an ignition wire but that's besides the point.) Another place that is always energized is that 16th (of 16) pins in your ODB2 port.

That the one under the dash near the drivers left leg.

You can also run wire through the fire wall to connect to the battery (with a fuse please) or to an aux switch configured as a battery switch (always energized).

I hope that helps. If it doesn't please re-express your issues and I'll try to help you make things right.

 

[BigMaCro]

I don't think it is advisable to wire the camera to a switch, and the experience you gave is good reason.

The Aux wiring in the passenger footwell provides all that you need in a convenient place. I have my dashcam wired as follows, with a ground wire to an existing stud in the footwell. The cable is easy to run down the passenger side A pillar (remove the handle to pop the plastic off). There is a gap under the tweeter speaker panel to run the cable behind the dash into the footwell.

Fused Battery positive (B+) is the .75mm Red wire with white stripe. This will provide power to the camera at all times. It has a 10A fuse by default, but could be changed to a smaller one if you want.

Ignition Run output is a .75mm Pink wire with an orange stripe, that would hook to your camera's ACC+ cable. This will tell the camera when you're driving (to wake out of parking mode). This is also fused at 10A. (note this is often confused with the AUX3 output, which is the same colors and size but reversed as Orange with a pink stripe)

 

[FallenSamurai]

@Ratbert - I'll look through the tread, I did not see that. Very frustrating.

@Fudster & @BigMaCro - Thank you so much for the information and advise.

I currently have the cable from the camera through the A pillar and down to the passenger footwell. Ground is to one of the studs behind the kickplate.

I did consider the fuse taps, however they were sold separately so if necessary I was saving that option for last if all other options were exhausted.

If I am reading this correctly, I have the wires connected wrong. Mainly the battery (camera) which should be run to the red/white batt wire.

I will work on this today and report back and once again thank you.

 

[Fudster]

@FallenSamurai : here are the wiring diagrams for the vehicle: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jeep-jl-wrangler-wiring-diagrams.19185/

@BigMaCro Matt: do you recall which of the diagrams from the above link you sourced your otherwise very useful diagram?

 

[BigMaCro]

One other suggestion I have is to use Wago lever connectors on the wires in the footwell, rather than butt splices or soldering. SO much easier, secure, and I tend to change things around several times a year. Under the hood I'd use waterproof splices, but inside wago all the way!

 

[BigMaCro]

@FallenSamurai : here are the wiring diagrams for the vehicle: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jeep-jl-wrangler-wiring-diagrams.19185/

@BigMaCro Matt: do you recall which of the diagrams from the above link you sourced your otherwise very useful diagram?

The "Upfitters" diagram on this thread:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jeep-jl-wrangler-wiring-diagrams.19185/

 

[Fudster]

One other suggestion I have is to use Wago lever connectors on the wires in the footwell, rather than butt splices or soldering. SO much easier, secure, and I tend to change things around several times a year. Under the hood I'd use waterproof splices, but inside wago all the way!

...just bought these for another project having never used them before but liking the design.

....glad to hear that you like them.

 

[FallenSamurai]

@BigMaCro I have seen those before, however we ended up using the solder sleeves again. I currently do not have any plans to add any more accessories, but I will definitely keep those in mind if I do.

@Fudster Bookmarked, Thank you.

Wired the Batt to Batt and the Acc to Ign and ignored the AUX switches. The camera does go into parking mode now. Thank you.

 

[dragoneggs]

I just hardwired a BlackVue 900X Plus after running it off the 12v receptacle for a couple months. After some thought, I decided I did not want to use up an Aux switch (3 of 4 already in use). In the end it was easier for me to run the wire down the A pillar and fish it through under the cowling and exit just behind the battery. I tied the ‘assy’ wire into the fuse block with a fuse tap (#53?… I will check and correct if my memory failed me) and the other two wires to a ground point and the positive direct to the battery.

Be sure to adjust your settings to cutoff the parking mode recording at a voltage where you are comfortable. I also set my timer for 2 hours as a failsafe as a starting point until I understand the draw on the battery. I will monitor the voltage drop over time and adjust the parameters to maximize the parking mode recording duration.

Once I understand the draw over time, I will consider whether I want to invest in a dedicated aux battery or live with drawing on the car battery.

I hope this helps in some way.

 

[donmontalvo]

I thought the BlackVue "X" models have voltage monitoring, to eliminate the need for any power management modules? My plan after reading this thread was to connect the BlackVue to the always-on AUX non-switched wire. This way Parking Mode works, and I won't have to worry about the vehicle battery draining.

https://blackvue.com/x-series-built...t=With the BlackVue App, you,, 12V, and 12.5V.

I thought about running the power off of my 100ah LiFePO4 off grid kit, but wasn't sure that would be a good idea.

PS, I cancelled the 750x order and went with the DR900X-2ch PLUS.

 

[dragoneggs]

I thought the BlackVue "X" models have voltage monitoring, to eliminate the need for any power management modules? My plan after reading this thread was to connect the BlackVue to the always-on AUX non-switched wire. This way Parking Mode works, and I won't have to worry about the vehicle battery draining.

I thought about running the power off of my 100ah LiFePO4 off grid kit, but wasn't sure that would be a good idea.

PS, I cancelled the 750x order and went with the DR900X-2ch PLUS.

Yes, they do have a voltage cut off setting that is adjustable. What I am saying is I want to know how long it takes to drop a certain voltage. I also don’t want to wear out my battery prematurely especially the on board eTorque battery as I don’t know how it (if at all) is affected by deep cycling. My thinking is that I don’t want to be drawing the battery(s) down deep daily. Hope that makes sense.

Would love for someone to set me straight on this.

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