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Dash cam power tap from rear view mirror?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by DS Justice, Jun 29, 2018.

  1. DS Justice

    DS Justice Junior Member

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    So I've finally acknowledged the need for a dash cam. It seems like a waste of time and effort to pull power up the A-pillar when there's switched +12V already at the mirror to power the (unused) garage door remote buttons and backup camera.

    Anyone that has added a power tap to the rearview mirror on a Gen 3:

    How bad was it? Any major gotchas?
     
  2. RMB

    RMB Senior Member

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  3. DS Justice

    DS Justice Junior Member

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    Thanks! I searched, didn't find any in this forum about tapping the mirror. The sienna one looks helpful, thanks.
     
  4. mgb4tim

    mgb4tim Noob

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    There is constant power at the vanity light in the headliner. There is switched and constant power in the overhead console - just meter out the harness plug for the little overhead console. I stole constant power from the map light for the Homelink buttons in the rear-view mirror and switched power from the overhead for my auto-darkening in the rear-view mirror.
     
  5. bobzchemist

    bobzchemist Active Member

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    Tim,

    Do you have any more info on what you did with the Homelink buttons and auto-darkening mirror?
     
  6. mgb4tim

    mgb4tim Noob

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    I pulled the overhead console and tapped into its harness after testing for constant and switched power. Tight squeeze, but not difficult

    LG-H810 ?
     
  7. bobzchemist

    bobzchemist Active Member

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    OK, thanks. What was the advantage to switching the auto-darkening mirror to constant power?
     
  8. mgb4tim

    mgb4tim Noob

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    The mirror got switched power

    LG-H810 ?
     
  9. B.R.

    B.R. Member

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    Thank you! I will not route a wire around or poke around anywhere near the airbags. Using switched power reduces the risk of draining the 12v battery when parked a long time. What's the current limitation on the mirror? Do you need all 3 parts shown in the link?
     
  10. RMB

    RMB Senior Member

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    First of all, sorry I don’t know the current/amperage limit of the power/homelink mirror, I just tapped into it and assumed my dashcam won’t cause a problem or blowin fuses.:p

    On the link I posted, I followed the instructuon to install dashcam in my Sienna (hints why linked from SiennaChat), but since this USB cable/tapping pin isn’t available any more
    , I bought this instead -
    and asked a friend of mine to solder paper clips to the ends as tapping pins, so I can just push the pins into my homelink mirror circuit for switched power and ground. Been running this setup on my Sienna for 9 months and no problem at all. (y)
     
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