Not done it myself but Halfords do this service themselves.
I went to a specialist car A.V. company and it was about £40+VAT

 

Your best bet is to get a cheap multimeter from ebay and have a probe around at the spare fuse sockets.

You should be able to fine one that is live with the ignition on.

Or tap into one of the live feeds for the cigar lighter/power socket.

Dash cams don't use huge amounts of power.

 

Thanks for your advice. I have tried to do it as per the instructions that came with the kit but when I unplugged a fuse and plugged the replacement bit linked to the dashcam (including replacing the fuse so effectively, two things were plugged in to the fuse socket - this was as the instructions said) I got loads of error messages. Hill assist, DST, EC-something all now unavailable. I unplugged everything and returned it to normal and they went away.

Any ideas on that?

 

Some circuits don't like being piggy backed however small the current draw. I'd look for the audio system/ cigar lighter fuse and try that one.

 

kosymodo put a very helpful photo of the fuse box on here three months ago. At his suggestion I piggybacked my Nextbase hardwire kit (from Halfords) for my Nextbase 422 into bottom right fuse column three up. Had to use long nose pliers gently to remove the fuse because access was tight with a fat cable in the way. Then it was door seal off and dash endplate, then up to the mirror via the A pillar and tuck it under the headlining. It works perfectly.

 

Done the same although I can't remember what fuse I used but all is good.

 

Hi davidsoniain

I installed a nextbase dashcam recently and used fuse location F42 to tap the power from, I have attached a photo of the fusebox and locations to help you out too

 

You are an absolute time saver 🙌 cheers for the info.

 

Another thread also said 37 was ignition switched as well (works for dashcam).
You will find an earth under the carpet right by the fusebox, you need to pull off the bonnet release, remove a screw then remove the trim by the drivers kick to access it as I recall.

Cigarette lighter is the obvious choice.. but its in the engine bay fusebox!

The radio does not have an ignition switched as I recall, it takes the signal from the CAN bus for ignition is on.

 

I piggy-backed off F31. It's labelled as "various devices" so I thought that would include dashcam in my case, also it's easy to get at. It's ignition switched and I've not had any issues since connecting a year ago.

 

I would have used a fuse tap if the cigarette lighter fuse wasn't in the engine bay !

Instead I decided to use the 12V socket in the boot, the wiring was there I just had to fit the socket, see here for part numbers No 12v socket in boot

I'm powering a dashcam & satnav from that socket using an adaptor which is a twin 12v socket + twin USB socket. The dashcam cable is long enough, I had to use an extension cable for the satnav.

 

I would have used a fuse tap if the cigarette lighter fuse wasn't in the engine bay !

Instead I decided to use the 12V socket in the boot, the wiring was there I just had to fit the socket, see here for part numbers No 12v socket in boot

I'm powering a dashcam & satnav from that socket using an adaptor which is a twin 12v socket + twin USB socket. The dashcam cable is long enough, I had to use an extension cable for the satnav.

I've decided to get a Viofo A129 Plus Dual Duo dash cam & a Hardwire Kit (before the brexit related price hikes for non EU purchases)

Has anyone with a rear camera gone to the bother of trying to run the cable from the rear camera on the rear window through one of the ducts with the other wiring to the tailgate ?

 

I have used fuse F53 5A to power up my TomTom nav. Its gets +12v when ing is on.

 

Thanks all for your responses!

 

There should be power and ground available from the courtesy light cluster and that circuit wont mind a few mA draw. If you intend to mount the dashcam high, say behind the mirror thats the obvious place to connect

 

You would have to be partially insane to try that... but yes it can be done on the drivers side and you need to carefully make a new hole suitable for the usb-mini plug to fit and fish it all through. Don’t ask how I know...

Once in tailgate you can fish through the centre, then need to work out how to make it fit without covering to much rear screen or trim covering the usb connection on the rear camera.

 

Hi all, thanks for the info on this thread. I installed a Nextbase camera and hardwired it using fuse location F37 and earthing on the bolt pictured below.

All the excess wire has been tidied up and it all works really well, car fine etc.

Only issue I have is a spanner has appeared on the dash. Any ideas folks?

 

Are you due for a service (check the menu, distance to service)?

Is that next base recording when parked? It could also be the battery is drained and its causing other faults, low battery voltage on the G usually comes with a selection of unrelated errors.

 

I’m such a dope! It’s just the service light, just happened to come on by chance. Oh dear oh dear. Thanks anyway.