Help trying to hard wire dash cam? Pruveeo Dash Cam

[Dankest]

First of all i am a noob when it comes to cars and electronics and i would like to learn a bit more. So i have this dash cam and purchased this hard wire kit and am not too sure exactly how to wire this up.

Here is my fuse box (mk6 2008 Fiesta) and here is the diagram

So can i just plug the fuse from my hardwire kit into a spare slot? Or do i need to use a piggy back connector to wire it up.

My hard wire kit has a fuse attached to the live wire so i can't crimp the wire to the add-a-fuse,  unless i cut the fuse off, so do i just plug it into the add a fuse

So if i got one of these piggy back connectors, do i just remove an existing fuse (a 15 amp one), plug in the piggy back connector, plug the fuse back into the piggy back and then plug the end of the hardwire kit into the piggy back connector? So the piggy back connector has the old fuse plugged into it and the hardwire fuse with the wire coming out of it going to the dash cam? Is this correct.

Also my cigarette lighter stays on even when the ignition is off so i can't use that one as i want my camera to only stay on when the ignition  is on. And i noticed there is a 20A fuse in the cigarette lighter socket when it should be a 15A, i'm planning on swapping that around when my spare fuses arrive.

So what's the best plan of action here? Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks alot

[TomsFocus]

If you have a spare slot in the fusebox, you need to check that it's a switched live - as you've already found out, things like the cig lighter socket are permanent so no good for a dashcam.  You'd need a multimeter or at least a test light to check that.

Most of us use a piggy back connector.  Simply remove the fuse from a switched live*, place that fuse in the piggyback slot, and place the piggyback into the fuse box slot.  Then the other wire needs fitting to a suitable earth, basically any bare metal part with a bolt through it should do. *I don't know which fuse you should use on the mk6, hopefully someone else can help there.

The fuse in my piggyback is only 2A for the dashcam, 15A sounds far too high to be of any use tbh.  Unless you mean a 15A fuse on the board?  If so that's fine, it doesn't matter how large the fuse is as the dashcam will be protected by it's own one in the piggyback.

[Dankest]

Yeah so the live wire from the hard wire kit has an attached blue fuse which i believe is 15A. Should i just cut this off and then wire it up to the piggyback with a smaller fuse like a 5A? I dont see why my kit would have an attached fuse, especially if it is 15A, when the camera draws max of 2A. Would using a higher rating fuse cause any issues for the dash cam?

Is it possible to connect the piggyback to a fuse slot which has a higher rating. So if i plug the piggyback into a 20A slot and then use the 5A fuse for the dashcam circuit, will this be a problem.

Also i have seen people mentioning some stuff about hot and cold fuses. Does the orientation of the fuses make a difference here?

Sorry for bombarding with questions, i don't want to just get it to work, i want to know WHY it is working and what exactly is going on.

[TomsFocus]

Fuses are there to break when the current gets too high to avoid damage to the wiring or components.

So if you put a large fuse in the dashcam circuit and something went wrong, the fuse would not blow, the wiring may overheat and worst case cause a fire.  Fuses must be 'just' large enough take the expected current of the component.

The size of the fuse on the fusebox for the piggyback must be larger than the fuse for the dashcam.  But it doesn't matter how much larger, as the dash cam is essentially using its own circuit with its own fuse once the piggyback is in place.  So yes, using a 5a fuse on the piggyback, and placing it in a 20a fuse on the fusebox is absolutely fine.

Yes, best thing to do is cut off the attached fuse and fit a piggyback instead.

I'm not sure what you mean by hot and cold fuses.  Putting them in upside down is annoying for anyone looking at them but won't make any difference to thier operation lol.

I can get a pic of my piggyback setup later tonight or tomorrow if it'll help, it's on a focus but the same principle.

[Dankest]

Oh okay that makes alot of sense thanks alot for the explanation. Not sure why exactly my kit has the attached fuse, let alone a 15A one, but i think cutting it off is the way to go.

I'm not sure what exactly the forums were talking about when it comes to hot and cold, i though you could just put the fuse in either way too. I guess i'll give it a try and hope for the best. If you could another view of your setup would be great for reference.

Thanks dude

[TomsFocus]

Piggyback fuse holder with bullet crimp on positive cable.

Earthed to bolt near glovebox (blue crimp)

[Dankest]

Quality, cheers mate, just what i thought. i'll give it a go this weekend

Also what fuse slot did you use for the cam? I'm thinking of using the rear wiper fuse. Did you use a multi meter or one of those light up screwdrivers to test?

[TomsFocus]

I just asked the correct fuse for the Mk3 Focus on here lol.  

 

[Micro]

The orientation of the fuse tap matters, there is the possibility you can "double fuse" the additional circuit. Not a problem so much if you have a bigger fuse on the bottom than on the top, but if the other way around you could blow that bottom fuse.

You can check by removing the bottom fuse. Your additional circuit should continue to function as normal without the bottom fuse in place.