trying to find an ignition switched fuse!

[FireEMT]

Hi all. I'm trying to hardwire in my Nextbase dash cam. I need an ignition switched fuse to piggyback onto. I've tried all the fuses under the dash but these all seem to be permanently live! I don't want the hassle of trying to feed wiring through into the engine bay. Is there an easy fix?? I've heard the cigarette lighter etc may have a 20 minute timer on it??? Is this for my model Mondeo?? I'm starting to pull my hair out. 

[dezwez]

try finding the rear fog light fuse it should only be live in start and run

[FireEMT]

I'll take a look - some of the fuses under the dash were for things like cruise control and others that I would expect to be 'dead' until the car is running... Thanks for the idea though.

 

[Stoney871]

Rear wiper or demister is usually a good bet.
Remember that many fuses stay live without ignition so best checking power suppky after the GEM times out (20 - 30 mins).

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[FireEMT]

 @Stoney871 - do the fuses come live following key turned in ignition or from remote key fob unlocking (as sidelights illuminate on unlock)?

[Stoney871]

Most fuses come live on unlocking the car.

[Stoney871]

BTW, good avatar [emoji41].
I'm a thin blue line guy.

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[FireEMT]

I'm a thin red (retained) and green (EMT) guy!

[Stoney871]

Welcome Brother [emoji4]

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[FireEMT]

All fixed! I had a piggyback fuse holder supplied with the dash cam (Nextbase) and in my car, fuse 19 in the central fuse box under the dash, is for my cigar lighter. This turns off after a set amount of time following locking the car and comes live again on the unlock. Brilliant, just what I wanted to happen. Thanks all for your suggestions. Happy motoring.

[Jonro2009]

Just wondering, what are you using to check wether the fuse is live or not? If it's one of the little crappy screwdrivers with a light in the end of it and a wire with a clip to Earth it then you can't trust them. When I was testing fuses they all appeared live when I used it. I bought a larger one from an Autosave car shop and that showed the truly dead fuses with ignition off. I then double checked with a multimeter I had subsequently bought. The 12v socket turns off after 60-90mins so you may as well have used the auxiliary plug on the end of the wire and plugged it in there. I hard wired mine into the same fuse as it was easy enough to use but I have changed the 'on/off' time to sync with the ignition. Works like a charm now.


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[Micro]

Just wondering, what are you using to check wether the fuse is live or not? If it's one of the little crappy screwdrivers with a light in the end of it and a wire with a clip to Earth it then you can't trust them. When I was testing fuses they all appeared live when I used it. I bought a larger one from an Autosave car shop and that showed the truly dead fuses with ignition off. I then double checked with a multimeter I had subsequently bought. The 12v socket turns off after 60-90mins so you may as well have used the auxiliary plug on the end of the wire and plugged it in there. I hard wired mine into the same fuse as it was easy enough to use but I have changed the 'on/off' time to sync with the ignition. Works like a charm now.


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The problem with DMMs is that they use such a high resistance you can sometimes get a false positive reading, especially if something has capacitors in. The test lamps should load it down so that it gets rid of the stray voltage. A DMM however is a required tool I would say for anyone dealing with auto electronics, even the cheap £5 jobbies are suitable for the low voltage DC work.