Dash cam mirrow power supply.

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tszukow

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Messages
60
Location
Surrey,BC Canada
Hi again,
I was always bothered by hanging wires from my dashboard camera. Dashboard camera is almost a must have here with a lot of crazy drivers and our insurance policy if no witness the 50/50 fault rule apply to both drivers.20$ ebay camera investment is a good insurance tool-I hope will never have to use it.

The power supply is for 2103 SL model, I'm not sure if S and SV have wire harness already in place.

1.to remove map lights unit -do not use any sharp object, push up and separate celling fabric next to plastic trim of the unit.
2.Pulldown the front of the unit and move forward to un hook from the two rear tabs.
see pics:

3.There are 3 wires going to the homelink mirror, Black is (-) negative and black with red is(+) positive. The power is ON when the car is ACC or ON . This normal way for dashboard camera to start itself when car is ready to drive.Pwrmanent 12V is between black and black/green .

4.remove wire insulation or use splice connectors to tap to the 12V .

5. I soldered 12V to 5 V mini dash power unit (3$ from ebay) and run another mini USB from camera backwards from mirror inside plastic housing back to the power unit. and solder everything. I wrap all connections and unit with metal tape for extra
fire/heat protection.

6. Push the wires inside and re install by pushing back the map light unit.



No more hanging wires or occupied 12V socket.
 
I like it! I'm looking at getting a dashboard camera too (and maybe a GPS) and was looking at finding a way to tap into the power up there.

Do you know what the fuse going to that location is rated at?
 
I power my V1 radar detector via a stealth cord that takes power directly from the rear view mirror power plug.

similar to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmP0waFo3aw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Phatcat73 said:
I power my V1 radar detector via a stealth cord that takes power directly from the rear view mirror power plug.

similar to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmP0waFo3aw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This dash cam runs off 5V and the mirror 12V, so you'd need a step-down converter - something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261219165636&ssPageName=STRK:MERWX:ACTPNL:LNLK:ITM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Otherwise you're gonna fry it up real quick.

The V1 Passport runs 12V, so that's why you can hook it up directly.
 
I have a 2012 SV, so no homelink. Just maplights & microphone up there.

Unfortunately, I could not find a power line that would come on when the car was on. I ended up tapping into the maplight power supply. I think it will work well enough. My dashcam comes on as soon as I open a door. And it turns off about ~10 minutes after I leave the car (whatever the time out is when you leave an interior light on).
 
garsh said:
I have a 2012 SV, so no homelink. Just maplights & microphone up there. Unfortunately, I could not find a power line that would come on when the car was on.

Out of curiosity, did you happen to check the microphone power wire? The schematic labels it only as "VCC", so I don't know what the voltage is, or whether it could support the extra load of a camera.
FWIW: I did the dash cam installation, exactly as the OP outlined, and its working great! I can't believe the HD quality of the videos it produces. I bought the version with the 32 Gig MicroSD, so it records 11-12 hours worth in a loop.
 
keydiver said:
Out of curiosity, did you happen to check the microphone power wire? The schematic labels it only as "VCC", so I don't know what the voltage is, or whether it could support the extra load of a camera.
I measured it at ~5Vdc. I already had the 12v - 5v converter, so I decided to stay with the map light supply voltage.
 
tszukow said:
Hi again,
I was always bothered by hanging wires from my dashboard camera. Dashboard camera is almost a must have here with a lot of crazy drivers and our insurance policy if no witness the 50/50 fault rule apply to both drivers.20$ ebay camera investment is a good insurance tool-I hope will never have to use it.
...........
No more hanging wires or occupied 12V socket.

tszukow:

What a perfect post. I just purchased two dash cams for our vehicles the other day and was wondering how to mount it without wires running all over the place. Thank you very much for this post.

We also live in a "no fault" state with absolutely crazy drivers. My girlfriend got side swiped by a truck who was in a left hand turn lane trying to jump in front of everyone at the light. When the light turned green my girlfriend went and he just started coming over and struck the side of her car. He then sped off and she had to chase him over a mile while on the phone with 911.

Once the police came he denied running, he denied hitting her car, he denied being in a left hand turn lane attempting to jump ahead of everyone. He just flat out denied everything.

Having a camera would have made this situation totally different. He wouldn't have been able to deny anything and he would have gotten the ticket he deserved for attempting to flee the seen of an accident.
 
z0ner said:
Phatcat73 said:
I power my V1 radar detector via a stealth cord that takes power directly from the rear view mirror power plug.

similar to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmP0waFo3aw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This dash cam runs off 5V and the mirror 12V, so you'd need a step-down converter - something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261219165636&ssPageName=STRK:MERWX:ACTPNL:LNLK:ITM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Otherwise you're gonna fry it up real quick.

The V1 Passport runs 12V, so that's why you can hook it up directly.

I made that mistake!
(And I'm an EE!)
Saw the lighter plug, cut it off, and hooked it to 12VDC...
Released the Blue smoke.
Got a separate 12vdc to 5V mini converter, and now all is well.
 
garsh said:
I have a 2012 SV, so no homelink. Just maplights & microphone up there.

Unfortunately, I could not find a power line that would come on when the car was on. I ended up tapping into the maplight power supply. I think it will work well enough. My dashcam comes on as soon as I open a door. And it turns off about ~10 minutes after I leave the car (whatever the time out is when you leave an interior light on).


+1

Installed a power supply up there for convenience. Plenty of room.




 
My wife started complaining about the FM radio reception not working. I usually listen to music using bluetooth & phone, so I hadn't noticed. But I think the 12v-5v converter that I shoved up there is interfering with radio reception. I'm going to try wrapping it in aluminum foil to see if that will act as a faraday cage to stop the interference.

Has anybody else ran into this?
 
I think it is unusual for switching power supply noise to reach up into the FM band (88-108 MHz). Even the fastest switchers are usually only a few MHz, so the harmonics are pretty far down by the time it gets to the FM band. I'm not saying its impossible, weirder things do happen. Do you hear any a lot of whining and buzzing on AM? That would be the real tell.
 
garsh said:
My wife started complaining about the FM radio reception not working. I usually listen to music using bluetooth & phone, so I hadn't noticed. But I think the 12v-5v converter that I shoved up there is interfering with radio reception. I'm going to try wrapping it in aluminum foil to see if that will act as a faraday cage to stop the interference.

Has anybody else ran into this?

If I encountered these issues I would use a 5 volt linear voltage regulator. That would totally clean up the noise.

I used one on my dashcam. No noise. I did it because I didn't want to tear apart the included power supply (going to use in other vehicles).

If you want I can draw you up a basic schematic. They are REALLY easy devices. They consist of an input pin (12 volts), a ground pin, and a 5 volt pin. Just let me know. I'll give you part numbers and a diagram.

Edit: The only downside to this setup is that they produce a little heat. I put a little heat sync on mine and it runs nice and cool.
 
I've read this entire thread, I have all the pieces gathered to install a 12V to 5V converter with 2 USB jacks. Just have one question. The OP stated to "push up and separate the fabric from the light unit then pull down on the front of the unit". Is the light unit just a force fit into the opening?
 
keydiver said:
I think it is unusual for switching power supply noise to reach up into the FM band (88-108 MHz). Even the fastest switchers are usually only a few MHz, so the harmonics are pretty far down by the time it gets to the FM band. I'm not saying its impossible, weirder things do happen. Do you hear any a lot of whining and buzzing on AM? That would be the real tell.

Not at all. Interference is interference. It doesn't necessarily have to be on or near the same frequency.

If the interference is strong enough, and close enough, 5MHz can certainly cause issues with 100MHz signals.
 
OP was kind enough to answer my question. It is indeed a force fit. To remove the map light on a MY2013, follow these instructions:
1. Next to the map unit, press up on the headliner fabric between the map unit and the windshield to disengage the catches.
2. Gently pull down on the map unit nearest the windshield until it clears the headliner.
3. Pull the map unit towards the windshield to disengage the catches on the side of the map unit away from the windshield.
4. Disengage the microphone wires.
5. Disengage the map light power wires by pressing down on the little tab in the middle by the wires.
6. Map unit is now loose and free to be moved out of the way.
 
Just installed this yesterday and thanks to the great instructions, the mechanical work was a breeze. I have a strange effect though. Everything is connected but when I start the car, the camera does not come on. It is set up to 'startup on power on'. If I wait a few seconds, remove the usb plug from the camera and put it back i, the camera starts fine. so obviously it has 5V. But it looks like the 'power on' impulse isn't strong enough when starting the car? I can think of two things: use a different 12-5V transformer (used the ebay one the OP mentioned), get a different camera. any other ideas?

ps: when I use the orignal cig lighter - usb cable it starts just fine when I start the car.
 
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