Experience with using OBDII to power dashcams?

[SofiaGirl]

I'm going to install front & rear dashcams in my Jeep. I've been looking at power sources for the cams - 12V plug in or permanent hard wire ... neither is appealing. I found the OBD wire cable which as two settings (one which powers off the cam when engine is off, two which keeps the cam on until car battery reads a certain voltage which then turns off the cam to prevent total battery drain).

The connector only has the #4, #5, and #16 pins. It plugs into the OBDII port.

Has anyone used these OBD wire cables for dashcam long term and experienced any kind of electrical issues?
I'm really excited to install my dashcams this weekend and any feedback would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

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[BigMaCro]

I tried the Ring dashcam which requires to be powered by the OBDII port. It worked. Took up too much windshield so I returned it.

But, I would hardwire. If you have aux switches it is very easy to use the constant battery and ignition power wires in the passenger footwell.

 

[lovepreet_0070]

I tried the Ring dashcam which requires to be powered by the OBDII port. It worked. Took up too much windshield so I returned it.

But, I would hardwire. If you have aux switches it is very easy to use the constant battery and ignition power wires in the passenger footwell.

I just got 2025 rubicon and i am looking to install a dashcam to obd11, will it be draining power from the battery while the engine is off ?

 

[BigMaCro]

I just got 2025 rubicon and i am looking to install a dashcam to obd11, will it be draining power from the battery while the engine is off ?

It depends on how well the OBDII adapter and/or dashcam is designed. It should be able to determine if the vehicle is on or not, to decide to be recording or in sleep mode. The Ring camera I tried could do that, being plugged into the OBDII port alone.

If your Jeep has the 4 aux switches to the right of your front/rear Locker & sway bar buttons, then you already have the needed wires in the passenger footwell to connect to. There's a Bat+ for constant power, and another for "Ignition" that is powered when the Jeep is on. This is just a matter of taking some tape off a bundler of wires, looking for the proper colors. These wires are unterminated and put there specifically for the purpose of installing accessories. They have their own fuses, and are unused unless you connect something to them. In addition to Bat+ and Ignition, there are 4 others controlled by the aux switches. They are available in the passenger footwell and under the hood next to the battery.

Search for threads on "hardwired dashcam" and "aux switch wiring"

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