Need to hook up a camera

I can't say for certain but my best advice would be to come straight off the 12v battery.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

This may be a future dangerous situation, because of the camera power drain while the vehicle is not on. Your auxiliary battery will discharge to quickly

 

I have this same question. I'm going to install a dash cam in my wife's 15 Prius. I need an "always on" fuse to tap to. For those concerned that this will drain the aux battery, it really isn't an issue with modern dash cams. You get to program the camera to shut down after the battery reaches a certain voltage. I've done this in my Tacoma, but I'm not having any luck finding an always on/hot fuse in her Prius. Any help is appreciated!

 

What about running to the battery, but putting in a switch? That way you could leave it on when you wanted, but turn it off when you didn't? And if the camera turns off on a timer the battery should be fine anyway right? When it turns off the draw should be very minimal.

 

I'd be interested to see what you come up with, I just bought a dash cam to put in myself. Let us know what you find please?

 

It's not a bad idea and would certainly work but since I have some experience tapping the fuse in the truck, I think I'll keep searching for one in the Prius. If I can't find anything, I may go with your suggestion.

No problem, I'll update this thread. Which cam did you go with? I went with the Blackvue DR650GW 2 ch for the truck. I'm going to do the Thinkware F50 in the Prius.

 

I'll have to check. It was a relatively cheap one off of amazon, but I think I'm going to get a different one. I want one that does front and back. You would not believe the stupidity I see in Nashville traffic almost every day. My commute is 55 miles each way so I get plenty of it. When you say truck do you mean Class 8? Love the picture, your Prius looks just like mine, but I think your is newer.

 

No, it's a 15 Toyota Tacoma. The Blackvue model I have is 2ch (front and rear) and it's been fantastic but it's a little pricey. I paid about $360 but the thing has wifi, cloud capabilites and a great parking mode. If I were to get another two channel system, I think I'd give the Thinkware F770 a hard look. It's supposed to be rock solid and very user friendly.

The F50 model I'm getting for my wife's Prius is only about $170 with the 64gb card, hard wire kit, and GPS.

 

Thanks for the feed back.

 

Take off the cover that houses the front headliner courtesy lights. There is an always on 12v wire in that area. That's where I tapped in for my dash camera.

 

Thanks K-Dub

 

Wow that's great news. Thanks for this. So you didn't even need an add-a-fuse, or even need to pull wire down to the fuse box? Did you take any pics?

Just strip, solder, cap, tape and done?

 

My dash cam wire had an inline fuse. I used a volt meter to find the hot and ground wire at the connector. I used one of those clip on wire connectors for the 12v and for the ground. Just make sure to get the ones for very small wires. Maybe 18-22 gauge?? No electrical tape needed. You do not need to pull any extra wires as both 12v and ground are in the connector for the center cluster. No pictures, but you really should be able to figure it out with the volt meter. Overall it took about 20 minutes fumbling through it. Don't be afraid. This is easy!