accessory power or other place to connect

[donny4646]

2013 4x4, looking for a good place to get 12v off the ignition to power a dash cam.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by donny4646

2013 4x4, looking for a good place to get 12v off the ignition to power a dash cam.

on the cab fuse box tap into the ignition feed and place a fuse there to power the device. you tap the supply side .

[rhandwor]

I would look for a blank space wired up with no fuse in a fuse box in the cab. If you can connect and install proper sized fuse your in good shape. I don't have a 2013 to check.

[donny4646]

Here is what I found, you all need to learn from this as to the info that was supplied.
Thanks anyway.

Don http://www.silveradosierra.com/posti...&f=12&t=320602

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by donny4646

Here is what I found, you all need to learn from this as to the info that was supplied.
Thanks anyway.

Don http://www.silveradosierra.com/posti...&f=12&t=320602

you are most likely are not an electrical person . I agree you should do this the murphy proof way though it may not be fused correctly as this other forum member suggested.

taking the ignition feed off of the cab fuse box and using a fuse/socket of the proper size at this power source point is the safe way to do it and avoid any wiring issues/fires etc.. using the on board OEM power outlets can be a hazard with wiring not made to handle the high current that can be had at these ports.also wiring gets in the way of operation of the vehicle .

with any on board assy always used , it should be hard wired and not using any OEM sockets .........IMO>>>.

this is from a dash cam manufacturer ;
Hard-wiring
If you own your car and can afford the installation, hard-wiring is worth considering.

If you own your car and can afford the installation, hard-wiring is worth considering. With the installation, you won’t take up the 12-volt plug. If you’re really worried about killing your car battery, you can pay an extra $40 for a battery discharge prevention device, which stops delivering power to the cam if the car battery’s voltage drops too low. Whether you use the internal 12-volt cigarette lighter plug, or have it hard-wired, look for a long power cable. Having a short cable that hangs down from the camera to the center console is a visibility nuisance and it’ll take away from the camera’s discretion. The batteries that come with the cameras are small and recording video requires constant power. The models that have batteries are meant to be used sparingly, like if there’s an accident and you want to take out the camera to record a walk-around. For the aforementioned parking mode, you can turn the camera to be fully on while you’re parked, but that’ll only last for about half an hour, maximum.

[donny4646]

I am an electrical person, just retired after over 35 years as a tech. Your point is well taken but my original question hasn't been answered as far as, which fuse would be a good choice for tapping off for other accessories? I only found one under the hood and after using a fuse tap, the pins inside the fuse block spread apart and I had to bend the pins a little so they made contact. I have never had that happen in all my years of using those taps.

That other post also answered another question that I didn't ask here and that was, where to tap off the reverse line for a back up camera.

Al this aside, that is why I made a board with a couple fuses, one for accessory and one for the reverse line. They go to a 12 pin connector, 4 pins each plus 4 for ground. Now to add something, I just push the wires into the connector and use the pinch screws to secure them.

For major power like a 2way radio, power to the truck bed, I tapped off the battery lead (fused).

It's to bad the manufactures don't have a nice little box with places to connect to. We had trucks with just such a box but I think they were custom ordered for the purpose.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by donny4646

I am an electrical person, just retired after over 35 years as a tech. Your point is well taken but my original question hasn't been answered as far as, which fuse would be a good choice for tapping off for other accessories? I only found one under the hood and after using a fuse tap, the pins inside the fuse block spread apart and I had to bend the pins a little so they made contact. I have never had that happen in all my years of using those taps.

That other post also answered another question that I didn't ask here and that was, where to tap off the reverse line for a back up camera.

Al this aside, that is why I made a board with a couple fuses, one for accessory and one for the reverse line. They go to a 12 pin connector, 4 pins each plus 4 for ground. Now to add something, I just push the wires into the connector and use the pinch screws to secure them.

For major power like a 2way radio, power to the truck bed, I tapped off the battery lead (fused).

It's to bad the manufactures don't have a nice little box with places to connect to. We had trucks with just such a box but I think they were custom ordered for the purpose.

I never said to use an existing fused circuit. I said you tap the FEED side of the fuse box ignition power not the fused side of some other circuit.

you can buy a fuse socket with wires on each end . then you install by taping the ignition source , the other side of holder goes to your device what ever it may be. then the fuse size used must be the recommended amperage of the device as designed. this will then be a proper way to install this and this wil not effect any other fused circuits.

since you are an electrical/electronic tech this is very easy to do properly.

I should not have to say this but solder in the wires. use heat shrink and if the wiring needs protection use some loom material ...

back up camera I would see if the load of it were very small then just tap into the backup lamp circuit. If the power required was high I would install a relay to increase the power capacity to not effect the controlling circuit of the back up lamps.

[donny4646]

For major power like a 2way radio, power to the truck bed, I tapped off the battery lead (fused). I meant that I used a fuse and I tapped off the FEED side.

I never said to use an existing fused circuit. I said you tap the FEED side of the fuse box ignition power not the fused side of some other circuit.


You did make me think about the way I did my little board for Accessory and Reverse line, I am making another board with relays that are triggered via the tapes on that connection box under the dash. This way I don't need to worry about the amount of juice anything I add will draw. Having a box of junk pays off sometimes.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by donny4646

For major power like a 2way radio, power to the truck bed, I tapped off the battery lead (fused). I meant that I used a fuse and I tapped off the FEED side.

I never said to use an existing fused circuit. I said you tap the FEED side of the fuse box ignition power not the fused side of some other circuit.


You did make me think about the way I did my little board for Accessory and Reverse line, I am making another board with relays that are triggered via the tapes on that connection box under the dash. This way I don't need to worry about the amount of juice anything I add will draw. Having a box of junk pays off sometimes.

with a radio power feed I would do as you did and connect to the battery with a fuse at the battery then I would place a relay in line , with this feed wire to where ever .. the relay coil I would connect to the ignition feed or what ever you may like to make sure that you do not forget about the power being on all the time. with transmitters of high power the voltage will fluctuate so a connection at the battery is best to smooth all this out.

[donny4646]

Now that I have a way to tap the Ignition or accessory, I may do that. The reason I didn't before was I didn't find a place to do it.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by donny4646

Now that I have a way to tap the Ignition or accessory, I may do that. The reason I didn't before was I didn't find a place to do it.

sounds good..