[golfboy1971]

I’ve recently purchased a 2022 model 420i (I believe it’s known as a G26) and am trying to hard wire my dashcam in.
Does anyone know a suitable unused fuse slot I can use that provides power continually after locking the car?
I’ve got a ‘piggyback fuse carrier’ which allows me to plug it into an empty, or even an occupied fuse slot for the positive connection.
I thought I’d found a suitable fuse slot in the driver side under-dash fuse box (for a UK car) as the power stayed on for at least 3 minutes after locking, but now I’m not convinced it’s staying alive, because every time I return to my car after 10 minutes or so and open the door, the camera comes on as though it’s just received power.

I’d prefer to hard wire to a fuse box at the front of the car if I can. Getting to the fuse box in the rear of the car will be harder, but, I can do it if it’s the only option.

Thanks.

********Update ********

Just in case anyone is also looking for a solution to this issue, I believe I've found one.

I gave up on checking the front fusebox that's above the drivers side footwell panel - however there might still be an option - more to follow later in my reply.

What I did in the end was to lock myself in the car and wait the 6 minutes or so that it takes for the car to 'time out' and remove power from most of the fuses and systems of the car (you'll hear a click from the rear fusebox when it switches them off). I then checked all fuses and the only ones I found that stayed alive are fuse in slots 221 to 230 (based on this articles numbering system: https://fuseandrelay.com/bmw/i4.html) and are shown in the bottom left of my attached diagram, and also fuses 242 and 244 in the upper-middle section, also highlighted in my attached image.
I chose to use slot 244 because 242 doesn't quite have enough room to insert a piggy-back fuse holder. The camera is now staying on permanently (the dash cam permanent feed has a device that cuts off the power if it detects the battery is getting low on power). I didn't want to mess with the huge fuses in the 221 to 230 range.
Please note, that in my case, none of the spare fuse slots near 242/244 or 221-230 have any connections to allow you to use one of those slots.

The main issue is just routing a cable from that fuse box all the way to the front of the car.

As mentioned at the start of my update, there might still be a possibility for connecting at the front fuse box because rear fuse number 242 is linked with front fuse 33 and rear fuse 244 is linked with front fuses 32, and 51. However I didn't bother investigating these further as it's really hard to be locked in the car and doing a handstand in the footwell to check these front fuses! :-)

I hope that proves to be of help to someone.

[chutoy]

I tapped into the cigarette socket F46 for my application. It turns off around 12 mins or so, but I also wired in a DC toggle switch for on-demand on/off if I don’t want to wait.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by chutoy

I tapped into the cigarette socket F46 for my application. It turns off around 12 mins or so, but I also wired in a DC toggle switch for on-demand on/off if I don’t want to wait.

Ah that’s an interesting one. So the 12 minute delay could be what’s switching off the fuse slot I’ve already chosen, as it definitely stays on longer than 3 minutes, but not indefinitely. What’s this toggle switch arrangement you’ve used? How does that cause the lighter socket to stay on longer?
Thanks for your information.

[chutoy]

Originally Posted by golfboy1971

What’s this toggle switch arrangement you’ve used? How does that cause the lighter socket to stay on longer?
Thanks for your information.

The toggle switch is after the fuse tap and doesn’t case the fuse to stay on longer. My application was hard wired LED lights and I wanted an option to turn them off after shutting the car off instead of staying lit 12 mins later.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by chutoy

The toggle switch is after the fuse tap and doesn’t case the fuse to stay on longer. My application was hard wired LED lights and I wanted an option to turn them off after shutting the car off instead of staying lit 12 mins later.

Ok, now I understand. So it sounds like there’s no source of power in this fuse box that stays on for more than 12 minutes?
Thanks for the information.

[chutoy]

Originally Posted by golfboy1971

Ok, now I understand. So it sounds like there’s no source of power in this fuse box that stays on for more than 12 minutes?
Thanks for the information.

Apologies as I mis-read your post. It’s probably recommended to use a power bank so that you don’t drain your car battery for continual power like ThinkWare or BlackVue

[k4sh_90]

Definitely recommended to use a external battery pack as the car will notice the power draw as parasitic and throw up an error message.

I’ve my dash cam battery pack wired up front, connected to fuse 53 (empty in my car). You’d only use the top slot of the add-a-fuse to power the battery, but not complete the vehicle circuit.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by k4sh_90

Definitely recommended to use a external battery pack as the car will notice the power draw as parasitic and throw up an error message.

I’ve my dash cam battery pack wired up front, connected to fuse 53 (empty in my car). You’d only use the top slot of the add-a-fuse to power the battery, but not complete the vehicle circuit.

I'm concerned that the dash cam will eat into the battery pack quicker than I can recharge it on my short journeys... what size of battery pack have you used? What are you using to reduce the power down from 12v to 5v for the battery pack.

Thanks for your advice here.

[k4sh_90]

Originally Posted by golfboy1971

I'm concerned that the dash cam will eat into the battery pack quicker than I can recharge it on my short journeys... what size of battery pack have you used? What are you using to reduce the power down from 12v to 5v for the battery pack.

Thanks for your advice here.

Here's a link to the battery pack I use. You can splice your dashcam's power cable to the included, or order a pre-spliced cable. They offered a pre-spliced for mine (VIOFO A139 Pro).

[Davg31]

for this price I'd buy ten years' worth of batteries lol

[Redditor9000]

I have my dashcam hardwired into the powered mirror and never got any errors. It stays on for only 5-10 min after car is off though.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by k4sh_90

Here's a link to the battery pack I use. You can splice your dashcam's power cable to the included, or order a pre-spliced cable. They offered a pre-spliced for mine (VIOFO A139 Pro).

Ah so it's not all that large a capacity .. sounds like I could easily get away with a 20,000mAh battery pack then. Thanks for the idea.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by Redditor9000

I have my dashcam hardwired into the powered mirror and never got any errors. It stays on for only 5-10 min after car is off though.

Yeah that's the issue I'm facing at the moment. On my old car I easily found a permanent power source and it worked brilliantly for years ... but now with my BMW I'm struggling to find a place where I can access 12v permanently live.

[k4sh_90]

Originally Posted by golfboy1971

Ah so it's not all that large a capacity .. sounds like I could easily get away with a 20,000mAh battery pack then. Thanks for the idea.

Yeah, not super large. Though you can expand by adding in another battery pack. I get a couple day's worth of parking mode recording on the battery pack. And it recharges fairly quickly.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by chutoy

I tapped into the cigarette socket F46 for my application. It turns off around 12 mins or so, but I also wired in a DC toggle switch for on-demand on/off if I don’t want to wait.

Chutoy, if it helps, I've provided an update in my original post, just in case you ever want to connect to a permanent feed.

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by k4sh_90

Yeah, not super large. Though you can expand by adding in another battery pack. I get a couple day's worth of parking mode recording on the battery pack. And it recharges fairly quickly.

K4sh_90, if it helps, I've provided an update in my original post, just in case you ever want to connect to a permanent feed (as long as your camera permanent feed has a device to cut the power when the car battery voltage drops)

[golfboy1971]

Originally Posted by Redditor9000

I have my dashcam hardwired into the powered mirror and never got any errors. It stays on for only 5-10 min after car is off though.

Redditor9000, if it helps, I've provided an update in my original post, just in case you ever want to connect to a permanent feed.

[k4sh_90]

Originally Posted by golfboy1971

K4sh_90, if it helps, I've provided an update in my original post, just in case you ever want to connect to a permanent feed (as long as your camera permanent feed has a device to cut the power when the car battery voltage drops)

Oh nice. Not really something I’d need as that’s what the battery pack does without risk of tripping any power draw sensors.