I have spent the best part of 4 hours attempting to wire a dash cam in to the dashboard fuse box of my 2013 Fiat 500L Lounge.

I'm using an "add-a-fuse" plug to tap in to an existing fuse without any wiring required. I would like for the dash cam to only be powered when the ignition is on (key in any position other than stop), and receive no power at all when the key is in the stop position or removed.

So far I have tapped in to the following fuses...

Electric Windows - Powered at all times, even with ignition off and key removed.

Headlights - No power flowing at all unless lights are switched on.

Fog lights - No power flowing at all unless lights are switched on.

The dash cam maker (Nextbase) recommend using the fuse for the 12v socket, but Fiat chose to put the fuses for the front and rear 12v sockets in the engine bay fuse box (difficult to reach) instead of the usual dashboard fuse box.

The owners manual is quite useless, it only lists half of the fuses which are in the fuse box and doesn't provide any other information.

I don't suppose any one on here has access to technical info and could advise on which fuse to tap in to for ignition only power?

As a last resort I will just wire a new 12v socket in to the back of the current 12v socket, but I was hoping to avoid any kind of wiring.

Any help would be hugely appreciated

Thanks

Ben87 said:

Any help would be hugely appreciated

Click to expand...

This might be another option


https://www.fiatforum.com/500l/434190-hardwiring-dash-cam-sat-nav.html

Yes, just piggy back the connection onto the 12v cig lighter.

If you drive a diesel a point to consider. I have a dashcam G1W type. When you first turn your key the camera activates. If you wait for the glow plugs to heat then start the engine the camera gets a second signal and turns off! I simply wait till the engines started before plugging the camera in but if it was hard wired then......

Bantam1958 said:

If you drive a diesel a point to consider. I have a dashcam G1W type. When you first turn your key the camera activates. If you wait for the glow plugs to heat then start the engine the camera gets a second signal and turns off! I simply wait till the engines started before plugging the camera in but if it was hard wired then......

Click to expand...

Most cars do this to ensure there is enough power flowing to the starting motor - the power is cut for 1-2 seconds during start up.

I think I will just do as lju and chips1 have suggested - connecting the hardwiring kit directly to the wires going to the 12v socket.

The dash cam seems pretty good so far, it's the Nextbase 402G.

Hopefully I will have time to wire it up tomorrow.

Thanks

We've got a dash cam in our Panda and have the hardwire kit ready for when the 500L arrives. Haven't the faintest idea about installing it though, was hoping to find somewhere that would do it for us!

Nearly bought the Nextbase, but wanted front and rear-facing so got the Thinkware F750 instead. My only concern is it might be a pain to hide the wiring going to the rear cam as I don't want to interfere with where the curtain airbags are and we've got the electric sunroof, so probably lots of stuff already hiding under the roof trim. Will probably have to route the cable under the doors rather than over.