I finally got around to hardwiring my Blackvue camera. I figured I'd take some photos along the way to show the process.
Do-It-Yourself Tutorial: How to Hardwire your BlackVue DR400G-HD Camera
There are a couple methods out there to hardwire your camera. Below are three popular methods, but this tutorial will only cover the last method:
- Hardwire directly to the car battery (This involves abit more work as you would have to feed the wire from within the passenger compartment through the firewall hole and into the engine bay.)
- Tap into your Dome light or cigarette lighter wires (This is the quickest method, but it does involve cutting into your existing wires. For those going this route, you can use a T-tap connector if you don't want to solder)
- Tap into your Fusebox. (Least intrusive)
Tools Needed:
- Phillips Screwdriver
- Multimeter
- Crimping & Wire stripping Tool
- Soldering Iron (OPTIONAL - only required if your barrel connector needs to be wired)
Parts you will need to buy
(Total Cost between $3-$7, more if you buy items in bulk):
- 1 x ATM fuse tap ~$1
- These can be bought from ebay: >>Click Here<< (5-pack for $6 shipping incl., I have a couple to spare if anyone in GTA needs)
- Alternatively, you can buy a Dual Fuse Tap from various auto stores or Canadian Tire (~$15). They usually come in a kit with a variety of fuses. >>Sample Image<<
- Make sure that your car uses ATM blade fuses, if not, you may need to buy a compatible fuse tap - 1 x Female disconnect terminal ~$1
- If you purchased the fuse tap above from the ebay link, a compatible terminal is included already. - 1 x Ring or Spade terminal ~$1
- These are to connect your negative (black) wire to the grounding screw next to your fusebox. You will need to check the size of the screw in your car to get a compatible terminal. - 1 x Cigarette lighter barrel connector (OPTIONAL) ~$2.50
- If you plan on cutting into the power cable that came with the Blackvue camera, then you don't need this.
- If you buy one of these without wires, you may have to solder on your own wires to it.
- If you can find a cheap extension cable with a barrel connector on one end, you don't need to solder anything. - 1 x 10A or less ATM blade fuse (OPTIONAL) ~$1
- You only need this if you plan on using an empty slot in your fusebox, otherwise you can tap into one of the existing fuses.
I should mention that apart from the
fuse tap (A), you can buy the other parts from
>>Sayal Electronics<< STEP 1 - Wiring the cigarette lighter barrel connector
If you're cutting directly into the power cable that came with the Blackvue camera, skip to
STEP 2
To wire the
barrel connector (D), twist open the cap to reveal the copper contacts behind it. Find an extra 1-2 ft cable and solder the one end to this connector. Solder the red wire (Positive) onto the copper tab in the centre, and the black wire (Negative) to the side tab. Follow the diagram below.
STEP 2 - Crimping the terminals
Take the other end of the cable, and make a clean cut. If you're using the existing power cable that came with camera, make sure the cable is long enough to run from behind your rear view mirror to the fuse box before cutting it!
Remove about half an inch of the wire's insulation with your wire stripper.
Use the crimping tool to attach the
Female Disconnect Terminal (B) to the
Positive (Red) wire, and the
Ring or Spade Terminal (C) to the
Negative (Black) wire. If you don't have colour coded cables (like me :P) use your multimeter to check. If you need help using the crimping tool, check out this video
>>Click Here<<. The end result should look like this:
STEP 3 - Locating a grounding screw, fuse terminal and the load side
This is the part where the multimeter becomes extremely handy.
Locate the
Fusebox (Usually directly underneath the steering wheel). There should also be a screw near it where you can attach the negative ground wire (Black) to.
If you can, try to find a pdf maintenance manual online for your car. It will tell you where the Fusebox is located, how to get to it, and also map out the purpose of each fuse in the relay. Usually the panel covering the fusebox will also have a diagram printed on it.
This is what mine looks like, with the
grounding screw highlighted in Red:
Take out your multimeter, set it to
"DC" and connect the
Black probe to the
grounding screw. Then use the
Red probe to test each terminal. Notice that there are two tiny metal contacts on each coloured fuse. Place the
Red probe on one of them to test for a voltage reading.
If you need the Blackvue to turn on and record only when the car is running, you need to probe the terminals for a voltage reading while the car key is in the ACC position. Otherwise, do the test with everything off.
A live terminal should be one that gives you a little over 12V+ when you probe it.
If you happen to find an empty terminal that gives you a reading, you can go ahead and use that with your
ATM blade fuse (E), otherwise, you will need to use one of the terminals that has an existing fuse (10A or less only!).
Your
fuse tap (A) will slot into the terminal with the fuse like this:
Now, before you continue, you need to determine
which blade the fuse tap goes onto. The one blade goes into the
LOAD side, while the other goes into the
POWER side. The fuse tap needs to go with the blade into the
LOAD side.
Remove the fuse from the terminal you intend to use, and then, with the
Black probe of the multimeter still connected to the
grounding screw, use the
Red probe to test each slot. The slot that gives you a 12V+ reading is the
POWER side, therefore the fuse tap goes into the
other slot.
STEP 4 - Putting everything together
If you haven't already, insert the
Fuse tap (A) along with the fuse as described in the previous step. Attach the
Female disconnect terminal (B) to the tab of the fuse tap sticking out. Use the screwdriver to secure the
Ring or Spade terminal (C) to the
grounding screw.
Once you're done, it should look like this:
Tidy up the cables, hook up the BlackVue and you should be good to go!
Hope this tutorial helps!
If I have made any errors, or if there is anything I should add to it, please let me know
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lol jk, sounds like a missed connection 
