Good Afternoon, 

 

I have a 2016 fiesta st line which im wanting to hard wire a dash cam to. I have purchased the hardwiring kit and the camera. The camera requires constant power as it records motion.

 

I’ve looked at my fuse box but completely lose to where these cables need to be plugged in. Do i need some fuse taps or a different hardwire USB C kit?

 

Any help, is .

 

Thanks, Adam

You can use that kit if any of the empty fuse slots work in the way you need them to.  1 perm live and 1 ignition live.  You'll need a multimeter to confirm that.

Must admit that is a strange kit as they could easily have used fuse taps with a slot for the original fuses which is the way that most of us do it.

20 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

You can use that kit if any of the empty fuse slots work in the way you need them to.  1 perm live and 1 ignition live.  You'll need a multimeter to confirm that.

Must admit that is a strange kit as they could easily have used fuse taps with a slot for the original fuses which is the way that most of us do it.

Thanks, so what should the multimeter display for both?

Any of the available fuses?

Do you know which cable goes into perm live & ignition live?

27 minutes ago, judgie said:

Thanks, so what should the multimeter display for both?

Any of the available fuses?

Do you know which cable goes into perm live & ignition live?

The multimeter should show pretty much the same voltage as the battery.  (Around 12v with engine off)

Some of the fuses will show 12v all the time, even with the car locked.  This is the type you need for permanent live.

Other fuses will only show battery voltage when the ignition is switched on.  This is the type you need for ignition live.

Some fuses may not be powered at all, if the wiring is not present for an optional extra in your car for example.

Usually yellow is permanent and red is ignition.  But I would double check any instructions that came with the kit just in case they're reversed on this one.  Worst case scenario the camera would stay powered all the time, and you could just swap the two fuses over, won't do any harm connecting them the wrong way.

17 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

The multimeter should show pretty much the same voltage as the battery.  (Around 12v with engine off)

Some of the fuses will show 12v all the time, even with the car locked.  This is the type you need for permanent live.

Other fuses will only show battery voltage when the ignition is switched on.  This is the type you need for ignition live.

Some fuses may not be powered at all, if the wiring is not present for an optional extra in your car for example.

Usually yellow is permanent and red is ignition.  But I would double check any instructions that came with the kit just in case they're reversed on this one.  Worst case scenario the camera would stay powered all the time, and you could just swap the two fuses over, won't do any harm connecting them the wrong way.

Thank you, I will give it a go today!

Appreciate your help.

Adam

I had my one connected to permanent live and it was always freezing if i forgot to switch it off when shutting down the car. Changed it yesterday and used the heated steering wheel fuse which wasnt being used since i have not got a heated wheel. Havent really put it to the test yet, but will do this afternoon when i take my grandkids home. Switches on and off with ign switch so all should be good. If it still plays up i will declare it a piece of crap and bin it. Another £200 wasted !!