Making My Cigarette Lighter NOT Always On

[Antiguakidd]

I bought a dash cam yesterday (Prime Day Sale) and have plugged it into the cigarette lighter (at least for now). It seems as though it is permanently powered though (even with ignition off, which I somewhat expected)

My questions is, is there a way to stop the lighter socket being always on or an alternative way to try to stop my battery going flat when I leave the dash cam in the car?

Thanks in advance
Elliot

 

[Erlingtheyounger]

I bought a dash cam yesterday (Prime Day Sale) and have plugged it into the cigarette lighter (at least for now). It seems as though it is permanently powered though (even with ignition off, which I somewhat expected)

My questions is, is there a way to stop the lighter socket being always on or an alternative way to try to stop my battery going flat when I leave the dash cam in the car?

Thanks in advance
Elliot

The cigarette lighter is a constant live, yes. Try wiring it in differently through the ignition system.

 

[audifan]

Or add a dedicated power supply that is ignition switched. Why not hard wire the dash cam into the fuse box to an ignition only live fuse, such as the wipers fuse? Ignore the 12v socket, plus the cable must be in your way when changing gears.

 

[Pinkythelabrat]

I wired a new 12v accessory socket for mine into the thick power wire that feeds the climate control panel and poked it into the space under the gear lever cover tray.

Now my dash cam comes on and off with the ignition.

Other ignition controlled fuses are available and it might be easier to power it from the box itself but I had other things in that area I wanted power for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[steve_c]

I bought a dash cam yesterday (Prime Day Sale) and have plugged it into the cigarette lighter (at least for now). It seems as though it is permanently powered though (even with ignition off, which I somewhat expected)

My questions is, is there a way to stop the lighter socket being always on or an alternative way to try to stop my battery going flat when I leave the dash cam in the car?

Dash cams are generally intended to be permanently powered, otherwise you'll be losing a lot of functionality.

You could of course just unplug it from the lighter socket when the car is not in use.

 

[audifan]

I have fitted a power adapter behind the steering column. It has 3 12v sockets and 3 USB sockets. It is wired into ignition live in the fuse box. I also have the 12v socket next to the hand brake and a further 12v socket in the boot.

 

[Antiguakidd]

Or add a dedicated power supply that is ignition switched. Why not hard wire the dash cam into the fuse box to an ignition only live fuse, such as the wipers fuse? Ignore the 12v socket, plus the cable must be in your way when changing gears.

Out of curiosity, where is the fuse box for the A2?

Never had a need to find it before

 

[steve_c]

Out of curiosity, where is the fuse box for the A2?

Never had a need to find it before

Bottom of the dash, to the right of your steering column.

 

[WayneoA2]

i have also bought a dash cam .. its far easier to buy the hard wire kit that connects directly to the fuse box

 

[dj_efk]

Dash cams are generally intended to be permanently powered, otherwise you'll be losing a lot of functionality.

You could of course just unplug it from the lighter socket when the car is not in use.

Steve, not sure this is right, all Nextbase ones are designed to work from a ignition / switched live for example. Pretty sure almost every one I’ve seen from other brands are too.

 

[steve_c]

Steve, not sure this is right, all Nextbase ones are designed to work from a ignition / switched live for example. Pretty sure almost every one I’ve seen from other brands are too.

It appears that I've only viewed rather more upmarket dashcams then. The ones I've thought about have all included sensing when the parked vehicle has been interfered with, which obviously requires a permanent power supply. But they use miniscule amounts of current when on standby, so it's not an issue.

 

[damadgeruk]

Post #10 gives information on my preferred dash cam wiring which involves minimal cable routing.

Unswitched 12 Volts, Required.

Hi, Looking to fit a USB converter, in the dash area, using an unswitched (ie permanent) 12 volt supply. I'm sure I've seen mention of a wire, white I think, maybe below the trim around the gear lever ... I've tried searching both here and on Google, but no hits. Anyone help please? Mac.

www.a2oc.net

 

[HPmuirt]

The better cameras which have more features such as parking mode actually use a fair amount of power as they are recording (albeit at reduced frame rate), motion sensing and writing to memory - x2 with a 2-channel setup. In my A5, that uses more power than the all other sensing systems combined which run all the time - convenience locks, alarm etc.

Personally, I therefore use both permanent and switched live connected to a Power Magic Pro. This runs my BlackVue DR900 2-channel dash cam but I am sure it would work with any dash cam as it receives both the switched and live power and controls when the dash cam is powered via a single power feed.

You can choose between manual operation (on/off switch on the box, timed operation or voltage sensing (2 modes) - which is what I do in my A5 with is an auto and thus I cannot risk a flat battery.

I then run a small 20W solar panel on the parcel shelf to keep the battery topped up which means after parking at 9am (assuming my V. large battery is fully charged), the Power Magic Pro will cut the power to the camera at around 1am the next morning when I have about 70% battery left. I could run the battery lower as there is a choice of cut off voltages and I carry a battery booster in the car (charged on a switched live) but prefer to keep the battery above 70% at all times.

The Power Magic Pro is a good idea and there may be something better on the market now (mine is a couple of years old) and there are a few limitations: -
1. The next morning, the Power Magic Pro will only send power to the camera after seeing switched live so when the sun comes up and the battery voltage rises, the it will not restart the camera. This is by design and cannot be changed.

2. Just before I bought mine, the high and lower voltage settings were changed to 12.0V and 12.5V and are fixed. 12V is technically a flat battery and 12.5V is just a little conservative for me with a solar panel. The older version had a setting somewhere in-between which I estimate would let me run all night in the summer.

I did consider designing my own version but never got around to it

Cheers
Simon

 

[PlasticMac]

I used to run my dash cam from a 12 volts to 2 X USB power converter, one output charging the phone, the other the dash cam. However, I found that the 12V to USB PSU draws a small, but significant current, even when there was no phone or dash cam plugged in. This meant that although I was unplugging the dash cam, when at home, the drain on the battery was enough to soak up most of it's charge. This low current, constant load is one that the lead acid battery is least suitable for, and will result in premature failure.
I now power the USB PSU from the ignition switched supply, with a relay and switch to allow it to stay on in car parks etc, where the car is left for a while, and there's a risk of damage. Just have to remember to flick the switch.
Mac.

 

[Stoneman]

Dash cams are generally intended to be permanently powered, otherwise you'll be losing a lot of functionality.

You could of course just unplug it from the lighter socket when the car is not in use.

You need to move the 20 amp cigarette socket fuse (F40) so that it is in-line with the 30amp fuse if you want it to be powered all the time. The off-set position shown in the attached photo will only give power when the ignition is on.

 

[Sootywg]

You need to move the 20 amp cigarette socket fuse (F40) so that it is in-line with the 30amp fuse if you want it to be powered all the time. The off-set position shown in the attached photo will only give power when the ignition is on.

I only just discovered this on our Golf. The garage for some reason, at the last service, moved it from switched to un-switched position, resulting in the Dash Cam draining the battery. They have not yet admitted it!
I have not checked that this layout is the same on the A2 if it is then it is interesting that VAG fuse layouts have consistency over a 24 yr period.

 

[audifan]

@Stoneman

You need to move the 20 amp cigarette socket fuse (F40) so that it is in-line with the 30amp fuse if you want it to be powered all the time. The off-set position shown in the attached photo will only give power when the ignition is on.

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What??????

 

[roc-a-rhol]

i have used a piggyback fuse for mine which works wonders

 

[audifan]

I fitted a power adapter behind the steering column. It has 3 12V sockets and 3 USB sockets and is wired into ignition live in the fuse box. I use a 12V socket for my dash cam and another 12V socket for my camera detector. A USB socket is used for my phone and another USB socket for the Garmin sat nav I mounted into the dash in place of the 2 centre vents.

Piggy back connectors are safe if used correctly. They work the same way as normal fuses in that there is a live feed to one side and a fused output on the other. Get it the wrong way around and you are effectively bypassing the fuse and connecting to the feed directly.

 

[sailesh]

You need to move the 20 amp cigarette socket fuse (F40) so that it is in-line with the 30amp fuse if you want it to be powered all the time. The off-set position shown in the attached photo will only give power when the ignition is on.

The offset position isn’t pluggable on right hand drive cars, as there is a ridge separating the columns of fuses - see attached picture, also noting that the fuse numbering has to be read upside down against the manual(!). Note that the adjacent fuse(#17) is not used, suggesting there is no circuit to close even if the offset connection is made - is this correct?