I can't make this sh*t up... (Aux Switch Wiring, Dealer Clueless)

[cafecito820]

I just checked out thinkware's instructions for their hardwire kit, and I don't think it's gonna work like you want. It seems like it needs the 12V constant (battery) at all times, and uses the 12V ignition as a signal to turn on, then when it senses the ignition go off, it switches over to parking mode (assuming you've turned parking mode on for the camera in the app). If you run it without the 12V constant it won't ever turn the camera on.

EDIT: Actually, I guess it will work, but you'll need to make sure AUX 4 switch is ON any time you're driving

I had started to wonder if that was the case. The dealer swears up and down that the aux wires are getting power like they should (even though I didn't see the same results with my mutlimeter).

I just got a call from them a while ago saying it's all fixed now. I guess we'll see when we pick it up...

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[Stiegl]

Oh I see what you're saying now. But you have to manually turn Aux 4 on when you start the Jeep, because you have it programmed to Battery power?

Nope, when you set aux to battery, it stays on, unless you drain your battery. The aux light actually stays illuminated when the jeep is off and you can also turn off/on aux when the jeep is off. If you put it on ignition, you can configure the option to remember last state so it comes back with your next start. I think that option is grayed out when running on battery.

 

[cafecito820]

Nope, when you set aux to battery, it stays on, unless you drain your battery. The aux light actually stays illuminated when the jeep is off and you can also turn off/on aux when the jeep is off. If you put it on ignition, you can configure the option to remember last state so it comes back with your next start. I think that option is grayed out when running on battery.

Right, sorry, I just meant that the camera will never turn itself on automatically with that configuration is all. Not a bad setup if you remember to turn it on and off all the time, but I worry that one of us will be lazy or dumb and forget... lol

 

[cafecito820]

Lucas: I encourage you to review the installation video I provided above. Sometimes, sadly, we need to be more knowledgeable than our Stellantis techs in order for problems to get resolved.

One particular area of interest where I'd rule out problems is with all the correct wiring that occurs near the front passenger's floor boards.

Oh I have watched Matt's video numerous times through. The trouble though is that in my wife's Wrangler, the PDC isn't where Matt shows it in the video. I'm not sure if they're just in a different location when you order the aux switches from the factory, or if it's because she has a 2.0L Turbo.

The aux wires are by the battery, but beyond that, following where they go is difficult without tearing the whole vehicle apart.

 

[Wbino]

What are dash cams used for?

 

[Hearhear]

For something this electrically complex, I would probably trust an established independent auto shop over the dealer. At least they will be able to diagnose properly and tell you what's wrong, then you can present it to the dealer for the fix. Might cost more, but then you get a functioning switch and you know why it wasn't functioning before.

 

[SpaceCase]

I've been trying to hard-wire a dash cam in my wife's JL using the wire bundle from the passenger footwell (that come with the aux switch group from the factory). I read the Jeep manual, the dash cam manual, and watched numerous videos. I'm 100% sure I wired everything correctly.

• Dash Cam Ignition/Accessory Wire to Jeep Ignition/Accessory Wire
• Dash Cam Battery Wire to Jeep Aux 4 Wire, and Aux 4 is set to Battery + Latching

(We want the dash cam to come on when we start driving, but then use the Aux 4 to engage parking mode if we need it, like in a public place. But we don't need parking mode running constantly if we're in the garage at home, hence the aux button.)

With what you want to have happen I think that wiring the dashcam this way won't work. The dashcam typically needs power to the constant wire and the ignition wire to work, and then when power is only applied to the constant, it will go into parking mode. In order to do what you want I suggest different wiring:

This setup would ensure the camera records anytime that the engine is running, but lets you turn off the AUX to disable parking mode. Let me know if the diagram is not clear.

 

[cafecito820]

With what you want to have happen I think that wiring the dashcam this way won't work. The dashcam typically needs power to the constant wire and the ignition wire to work, and then when power is only applied to the constant, it will go into parking mode. In order to do what you want I suggest different wiring:

This setup would ensure the camera records anytime that the engine is running, but lets you turn off the AUX to disable parking mode. Let me know if the diagram is not clear.

Hmm, this is the first I'm hearing of the camera requiring both types of power simultaneously, but you may be onto something. Maybe I'm just a bit on a dense side today, but I'm not seeing how that splice between the two leads is going to accomplish what you're saying though...

With your diagram, if I have Aux 4 on, the camera will have constant battery power. If the dash cam ignition link is wired to the ignition lead, then the camera should be receiving both power sources, yea? What does adding that extra splice do?

 

[TX_Ovrlnd]

What are dash cams used for?

voyeurism and side hustles

 

[SpaceCase]

Hmm, this is the first I'm hearing of the camera requiring both types of power simultaneously, but you may be onto something. Maybe I'm just a bit on a dense side today, but I'm not seeing how that splice between the two leads is going to accomplish what you're saying though...

With your diagram, if I have Aux 4 on, the camera will have constant battery power. If the dash cam ignition link is wired to the ignition lead, then the camera should be receiving both power sources, yea? What does adding that extra splice do?

So Scenario 1, the Jeep is off and aux is off. Camera gets no power and is off.

Scenario 2, Jeep is on and Aux is off. Camera gets power to both constant wire and ignition wire (via the splice) so camera is on and recording.

Scenario 3 Jeep is on and Aux is on. Camera gets power to both constant wire and ignition wire so camera is on and recording. The diode in the circuit keeps current from backflowing to the AUX controller. (May not be necessary).

Scenario 4 Jeep is off and Aux is on. Power is to the cameras constant but not ignition, telling the camera to be in parking mode. Here the diode protects the rest of the ignition circuit.

 

[Asuriyan]

I've done an install of a Rexing camera with "smart" hardwire kit on a couple of JLs with aux wiring. The first, I bypassed the switches and just used the "ignition on" (orange/pink stripe) and "direct to battery" (red/white stripe) with the ignition and battery wires for the camera, respectively. No problems there - the camera went into parking mode (accelerometer-activated recording) with the ignition off, and constant recording with the ignition on.

On the second install I used the AUX3 wire instead of the ignition wire, and configured the AUX3 switch for latching / remember last state. The behavior is the same, except that I have the ability to turn the ignition power off from the switch if I want to.

A couple of other things - the wiring is all through the bundle behind the glovebox, with the ground connected in the footwell; I dropped the windshield and ran it up around the frame, so nothing is visible except a couple inches of cord from the camera to the top of the windshield. On my first install, I blew a fuse - the second time around I was smarter and only unsheathed one wire at a time so I wouldn't short anything out.

 

[dwar812]

This is a very, very long story, but it ends in a pretty jaw-dropping comment from our service manager at our local dealership.

I've been trying to hard-wire a dash cam in my wife's JL using the wire bundle from the passenger footwell (that come with the aux switch group from the factory). I read the Jeep manual, the dash cam manual, and watched numerous videos. I'm 100% sure I wired everything correctly.

• Dash Cam Ignition/Accessory Wire to Jeep Ignition/Accessory Wire
• Dash Cam Battery Wire to Jeep Aux 4 Wire, and Aux 4 is set to Battery + Latching

(We want the dash cam to come on when we start driving, but then use the Aux 4 to engage parking mode if we need it, like in a public place. But we don't need parking mode running constantly if we're in the garage at home, hence the aux button.)

No matter what I did, the dash cam never came on after I had wired everything up. It never turned on with vehicle ignition, nor with Aux 4. Even if the vehicle was running and Aux 4 was on, it never got power. I know the dash cam works, because it runs just fine using the 12v adapter.

So, we took the Jeep to the dealership and said that the aux switch wires weren't getting power... *deep breath*

On the first trip there, the service manager understood me saying "The aux switch wires aren't getting power" to mean that there was an issue with the USB/Auxiliary input on the instrument panel. So he had one of his guys replace a piece that wasn't broken to begin with, told us everything was fixed, and sent us on our own. Of course, we get home, and nothing had changed with the dash cam... *SIIIIIIGH*

So in an effort to be as clear as possible for the dealer, I typed up exactly what the problem was, exactly what we needed to have happen, and left it in the key drop envelope for them.

They had the Jeep all day today, and the service advisor calls me saying that he has had one of his guys on it for 3+ hours, and that he wasn't able to figure it out. After that, the tech was just convinced that I had wired something wrong (I didn't) and started changing wires around in the footwell. The service advisor also tells me that, because there was no issue with the Jeep, he had to charge us for at least an hour of labor because the tech had to wire our dash cam for us (annoying, because I didn't ask him to, but anyway)...

So we get there this evening to pick the Jeep up, and what do you know - it still doesn't f*cking work. The camera doesn't turn on with ignition, nor with Aux 4. I go back in to talk to the service advisor, and he doesn't believe me. He follows me out to see for himself, and sure enough, it's not working. He calls the tech (who had gone home by this point), and puts the tech on speaker. The tech explains that he made it so that the dash cam comes on while the ignition is on AND Aux 4 is turned on...

*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*

I could not possibly have been more clear with what we needed, and what the problem was, and he still somehow managed to f*ck it up. And we got charged $180 for it. I'm kind of losing my mind at this point.

We're talking with the tech still, and I explain to him that we wanted the dash cam to turn on with the ignition (which it isn't doing), and for Aux 4 to power it with the ignition off (which it's also not doing). I shit you not, the tech (who the service advisor says is his most experienced guy) says, "Oh, well, I usually just wire these up for people who want exterior lights while their Jeep is running. I don't think you can make the aux switches run without the engine running..."

Yes, our dealership's most seasoned Jeep tech doesn't think that setting aux switches to BATTERY power means that they can receive power from the battery without the engine running. I explained to him as patiently as I could that you absolutely CAN power something with the battery with no engine power (that's the whole f*cking point), and he was just dumbfounded. He agreed to take a look at it again tomorrow, and said he would have to pull the JL wiring schematics to verify that what we're asking to do is possible.

I mean, if I'm completely wrong, please tell me. But how is this situation anything other than the Jeep aux switch wires not sending power like they should? Every other link in the chain has been verified time and again. And I'm having to convince someone who apparently knows less than I do about these systems that it should work a certain way, so that he'll finally believe me that something is wrong.

I need a beer.

I bought a Vantrue X4 dash cam from a local dash cam company and had them install it in my 2021 JLURD. They tried to hook it up like most cams; one wire to hot and another to ACC. After checking all the available wire options, they couldn't get it to work. Fortunately, Vantrue has an adapter to plug directly into the OBD port. Plugged in, it gets the needed power options to still work when the Jeep is turned off.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

I bought a Vantrue X4 dash cam from a local dash cam company and had them install it in my 2021 JLURD. They tried to hook it up like most cams; one wire to hot and another to ACC. After checking all the available wire options, they couldn't get it to work. Fortunately, Vantrue has an adapter to plug directly into the OBD port. Plugged in, it gets the needed power options to still work when the Jeep is turned off.

A local dash cam company couldn't figure out how to hard wire a dash cam? And then they got you to by an OBD adapter? What did that cost?

 

[SpaceCase]

I have to respond to this because you are over complicating things and misunderstanding both what the camera does and what the op wants.

First off, before this guidance can be evaluated terms need to be defined. "On and off" are too generic terms here because there is a difference between whether the aux switch is in the on state and whether it has current, as in the case of the aux switch that is set to power type ignition, but the engine is off. In this case the switch is in the on state but not energized because the vehicle is parked with the ignition off. (4xe users: you've turned off your rig from running either on its ICE or battery power plant.)

I was trying to be simple here in explanation. On equals voltage present. Off indicates no voltage present. Op has set Aux 4 to Battery + Latching so on and off are not generic in this example.

More confusing, switches configured as latching and power type battery can still turned off by the owner pressing the switches button to the off state.

Scenario 1 is not desired by the OP. I'm not sure if you're describing an aux switch failing to provide current because it in the off button state, or configured as power type ignition, and off because the Jeeps is parked, or both.

Yes, this is what the OP wants. See quote from op:

(We want the dash cam to come on when we start driving, but then use the Aux 4 to engage parking mode if we need it, like in a public place. But we don't need parking mode running constantly if we're in the garage at home, hence the aux button.)

Scenario 2 and 3 and 4 : If your constant battery wire is always energized, feeding an energized ignition wire into it serves no purpose.

Energy along a wire can be thought to serve two purposes. Some wires energize appliances current, some merely signal the state of some situation with their current, but don't operate an appliance, and some wires do both. Hooking an sometimes energized ignition wire to a always energized battery wire serves no purpose.

Say I hook up a simple light to a battery with two wires. Next, I add a third wire that goes from the positive of the battery to the light, but has a switch.

The state of that switch is irrelevant. The light is always on. In simple terms this is what you are doing when you split your ignition wire and stick one end of it into the battery wire before entering the dash cam appliance.

Why would the dashcam need the ignition wire at all then? The ignition wire tells the dashcam the state of the vehicle. If it is energized, the dashcam knows the vehicle is on and starts recording. If it is not energized, the dashcam knows the vehicle is off and goes into parking mode.

 

[SpaceCase]

Your question seems to presume that I think the ignition wire unnecessary. Nothing could be further from the case precisely for the role this wire plays in, as you describe above, communicating to the camera that the vehicle is or is preparing to become mobile. Such communication is necessary, as I strongly suspect you and the OP appreciate, so the camera switches from parking mode to drive recording mode: a usually more energy intensive and greater frames per second method of video capture.

I was simply referring to your statement here:

Scenario 2 and 3 and 4 : If your constant battery wire is always energized, feeding an energized ignition wire into it serves no purpose.

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