Dash cam hardwire fuse selection

[Tank Montana]

Hi guys,

Looking to get some opinions on what's the best course of action for installing a dash cam in 2014 Polo SEL 6c.

Essentially, my plan was to use a hardwire kit for my Thinkware F770, which requires two fuse connections (battery - always live, and accessory - ignition live) for parking mode to work, connecting them with two add-a-fuse piggyback connectors with 3 amp additional fuses. I have managed to successfully connect the "battery" connection, but the "accessory" line is proving more difficult. This is because the fuse port options I believe I can use are obstructed by the fuse box housing or other fuses, meaning I can't plug the add-a-fuse adapter in correctly (hot side down, cable coming out of top, fuses to the right). I think because my car doesn't have many extra electrical options, there are fewer fuses to choose from and no other wired in ports, which makes it a little more complicated.

Below is a schematic of my fuse box showing the fuses I believe are usable by the current fuse ratings and ones which are not for important things in green. The slots in red are ones I believe aren't suitable, grey is blank slots and yellow is the slot I've used for "battery" power. My reference for this suitability is from a fuse layout document (see edit below) that iichel thankfully provided.



Ideally I would like to use either 23 or 27 as they will provide enough amperage room (add-a-fuse is max 20 amp), but I cannot get the add-a-fuse to physically fit past fuses 38 and 40 fit. I've tested with fuse 24 just to make sure the camera is working, but this is already over the 20 amp rating and is for some high power draw items, so I don't think this can be used long term.

Here is a picture of the actual fuse box, just for some context.



Can any of you see a possible solution to this problem? I've exhausted my electrical wiring knowledge so any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,
TM

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EDIT: It's 2022 and people seem to need that fuse diagram, which became a protected link at some point for some reason. I've exported the images and moved it over to Imgur so it should be accessible again, enjoy!

[hjgtiger]

Halfords jumpered the cigar lighter fuse when they installed mine. I'll see if I can take a pic tomorrow.

[Dink]

is there power at the fuse holders that don't have fuses in?

[deepanshus]

I am also interested in getting my dashcam hardwired. The various fitters are charging a lot (in excess of 125) to fit this.

How hard is it to actually fit the fuse and if anyone can send the fuse numbers they used for their VW Polo car then that would be helpful.

Deepanshu

[Mike Austin]

It is very easy to do. I got a NextBase Duo and the fuse jumper extension lead. I connected it the the cigarette lighter (Polo Blue GT 2017)

The box of tricks pushes back out out of the way.

[LoveOfPolo]

It is very easy to do. I got a NextBase Duo and the fuse jumper extension lead. I connected it the the cigarette lighter (Polo Blue GT 2017)NextbaseDuoInstallation.jpg
The box of tricks pushes back out out of the way.

Is that fuse always on? Or only comes on when ignition is on? Becausew I have a dashcam with parking mode you see and I need an always on one.

[Mike Austin]

Yes, I just checked - the fuse is always on. On my settings, the camera comes on when I turn the ignition on. But I can switch it on without the ignition on.
There is a parking mode on the Nextbase Duo but it triggers when the car is moved, obviously just to pick up a shunt. Maybe your dashcam can stay fully on all the time.

[veteran]

For my 6C Polo 1.2 Match Edn., here's how my particular dashboard fusebox looks. Dashboard fusebox contents do, of course, differ, depending on the model and which VW features and options for the model happen to be fitted.

The contents of my fusebox seem to be exactly the same as MikeAustin's (Polo GT), but his and mine differ in the following respects from TankMontano's (6C SEL DSG):-

Extra 30amp fuses at positions 6 and 43.
No 30amp fuse at position 11.

I myself have been seriously thinking about getting and fitting a dashcam and, from what I've determined for myself, the easiest arrangement for picking up the required 12v for the power-supply converter is to use a wiring adapter of the kind shown in MikeAustin's picture and plugging it into fuse position 28 (normally, the 20 amp yellow fuse that protects the cigarette lighter supply). That would be as per TankMontana's block diagram at the head of this topic. On a 6R, however, the cigarette lighter fuse may well be at position 42 instead.

Without double-checking on my 6C Polo itself, I'm not sure if the cigarette lighter supply is constant, though. It could instead be switched, as I don't think it connects straight to the vehicle battery, it goes via the vehicle battery management module. And I'm not sure, but Mike says 'But I can switch it on without the ignition on'. In that, he might be describing an arrangement on some dashcams, where the camera can be allowed to run on its own little internal Lithium battery if the car's ignition is off. However, put into that mode, the dashcam's battery would run down if left for too long.

Incidentally, it's not yet clear to me whether the sort of wiring adapter shown by Mike uses a replacement 20 amp fuse, or instead a piggy-backed additional fuse. Also, something else I've been wondering about is whether, for all fuses in that dashboard fusebox, the load side of each fuse is at the bottom of the fuse, or whether instead it's at the top; it could matter, in some situations.

I've yet to unscrew and look on the reverse of the fusebox panel. Possibly, the latter uses Lucar-type push-on connectors at the back, in which case it'd perhaps be possible to use a Lucar double-adaptor (if you know what I mean). But certainly the front side of the fusebox lacks the space to do a great deal of fiddling around with add-ons. Ideally, for this particular sort of accessory we'd need to find a completely spare fuse position of suitable source and current rating, and be able to make a Lucar push-on type of connection at the rear. But sufficiently detailed info on the fusebox doesn't seem to be available, at least not at present, to be able to do anything like that.

Late Edit: Have checked carefully with a voltmeter on my actual 6C. 12v power appears at the cigarette lighter itself only when the ignition key is in and is at the accessories position. With the key removed from the steering column, 12v at the cigarette lighter disappears. So, on a 6C, making use of fuse 28 will be suitable for dashcams that need to be live only when the key is in and the ignition is on, ie. is at least turned to be at the accessories position. If you need a dashcam to continue working while the car is left parked, using fuse 28 position will not be suitable.

[Dink]

I myself have been seriously thinking about getting and fitting a dashcam and, from what I've determined for myself, the easiest arrangement for picking up the required 12v for the power-supply converter is to use a wiring adapter of the kind shown in MikeAustin's picture and plugging it into fuse position 28 (normally, the 20 amp yellow fuse that protects the cigarette lighter supply). That would be as per TankMontana's block diagram at the head of this topic. On a 6R, however, the cigarette lighter fuse may well be at position 42 instead.

Without double-checking on my 6C Polo itself, I'm not sure if the cigarette lighter supply is constant, though. It could instead be switched, as I don't think it connects straight to the vehicle battery, it goes via the vehicle battery management module. And I'm not sure, but Mike says 'But I can switch it on without the ignition on'. In that, he might be describing an arrangement on some dashcams, where the camera can be allowed to run on its own little internal Lithium battery if the car's ignition is off. However, put into that mode, the dashcam's battery would run down if left for too long.

Incidentally, it's not yet clear to me whether the sort of wiring adapter shown by Mike uses a replacement 20 amp fuse, or instead a piggy-backed additional fuse. Also, something else I've been wondering about is whether, for all fuses in that dashboard fusebox, the load side of each fuse is at the bottom of the fuse, or whether instead it's at the top; it could matter, in some situations.

I've yet to unscrew and look on the reverse of the fusebox panel. Possibly, the latter uses Lucar-type push-on connectors at the back, in which case it'd perhaps be possible to use a Lucar double-adaptor (if you know what I mean). But certainly the front side of the fusebox lacks the space to do a great deal of fiddling around with add-ons. Ideally, for this particular sort of accessory we'd need to find a completely spare fuse position of suitable source and current rating, and be able to make a Lucar push-on type of connection at the rear. But sufficiently detailed info on the fusebox doesn't seem to be available, at least not at present, to be able to do anything like that.

Late Edit: Have checked carefully with a voltmeter on my actual 6C. 12v power appears at the cigarette lighter itself only when the ignition key is in and is at the accessories position. With the key removed from the steering column, 12v at the cigarette lighter disappears. So, on a 6C, making use of fuse 28 will be suitable for dashcams that need to be live only when the key is in and the ignition is on, ie. is at least turned to be at the accessories position. If you need a dashcam to continue working while the car is left parked, using fuse 28 position will not be suitable.

there are a few things i have found out while trying to fit a new supply for a head unit amplifier

the fuse box is far from easy to get to the rear of (i'm yet to find out what and how the panels around it come off)

you can buy leads made up from VW that will slot into spare fuse spaces and give you an oem look install (have a look @ post #9 here)

the add a fuse connector replaces a certain fuse in the fuse holder, then that fuse will go in the bottom slot and then your new fuse will go on top

[Mike Austin]

Late Edit: Have checked carefully with a voltmeter on my actual 6C. 12v power appears at the cigarette lighter itself only when the ignition key is in and is at the accessories position. With the key removed from the steering column, 12v at the cigarette lighter disappears. So, on a 6C, making use of fuse 28 will be suitable for dashcams that need to be live only when the key is in and the ignition is on, ie. is at least turned to be at the accessories position. If you need a dashcam to continue working while the car is left parked, using fuse 28 position will not be suitable.

Ah, yes. Silly me! I forgot about the internal battery!

[veteran]

If you need a dashcam to continue working while the car is left parked, using fuse 28 position will not be suitable.

Actually, the above might not be true, for some dashcams. Apparently, in response to some user criticisms about parking mode (PM) on various NextBase models, NextBase say that there's a menu setting for PM and, as long as that option's turned on, the dashcam will sense if the car's jolted or nudged while you're absent from the car and will immediately begin recording that event. That's a situation where, therefore, there's no ignition or accessories position involved, and so the dashcam in that scenario doesn't need or have any sort of third-wire permanent 12v connection from the fusebox. (After all, if that were the requirement, then why bother with 'accessories position'? You might just as well have the whole lot connected - via a voltage converter of course - to permanent 12v). But no, any time that NextBase PM is on and it gets triggered, power for the recording process is, so NextBase claim, taken from the dashcam's internal lithium battery. NextBase advise to set the loop time to something quite short, so as to keep the current consumption low. Obviously, you should avoid constantly taking power from the internal lithium battery, as otherwise it'd run down quite quickly. But in any event, any loss of charge from that battery is likely to be replenished in due course by either the voltage converter/adapter or by the user recharging the dashcam using the USB lead supplied with it; when you first acquire the device, you're advised to charge it up for a couple of hours, to fully set up that battery, so as to ensure that formatting of the SD card can properly proceed and that initial configuration settings can successfully be stored.

One other interesting piece of advice coming from a lot of dashcam users now is to not skimp on the quality of the micro SD card. The memory in such cards is not 100% non-volatile; the life of the memory will depend to some degree on the sheer numbers of reads and writes (including deletes) - which are many and often with a dashcam. With the card's recorded video and audio being continually overwritten, performance of the card will eventually drop and may give rise, in time, to poor-quality or mysteriously-halted recordings. To stave off the onset of this, some card manufacturers have evolved a High Endurance SD card (see SanDisk). These cost more than the standard card but may prove more reliable in the longer term.

[joe6]

I overcame the problem of accessing the rear of the fuse box by pushing a wire of the correct length through the required unallocated blank fuse holder from the front of the box after soldering the wiring to the fuse clip connector and then recovering the wire from the rear of the fuse box. This allows you to use an unallocated fuse slot with a live connector on one side (either switched or permanent depending on needs). Always check the current rating of the unallocated fuse holder to make sure it will not overload the manufacturer installed wiring. I used this method to connect a glove box light (2A) and create an always live 10A socket for my safety radio. The live socket was placed in the rear of the drinks holder behind the armrest. All wiring ran along the existing harness looms so no loose wires floating about.

[veteran]

joe6,

Where did you manage to get the odd one or two fusebox pins necessary for such a job, as in my fusebox each and every unused position is kitted out with only one pin?

Doubtless, fusebox pins for a 6C (you'll be wanting to use either ATO-F fuses or MINI fuses) could be purchased from a VAG dealer, but probably 1000 at a time.

[veteran]

Going back to Mike Austin's contribution, and in particular the image he supplied of his fusebox and the piggy-back connector he's used, I'd like to know where he got that piggy-back connector from. Did it come with his NextBase Duo kit of parts? (He's currently not responding to PMs, BTW). If so, do you get that very same connector with all NextBase dashcam models?

There's actually an important point to be made here and that's that the vast majority of piggy-back add-a-circuit connectors being sold on the Web do not fit into current Polo 6C fuseholder positions. That's because VW has chosen to use Littelfuse fuseware, and the fuse positions are moulded in such a way as to be keyed to accept those fuses only. Accordingly, the fuses themselves are made with matching keying. Whilst the blades on these Web-purchaseable piggy-back connectors are the correct size, their thicknesses are somewhat less than the specification requires. But as I've said, on these piggy-backs, the piece of moulding between the exposed blades and the dual-fuse block has a profile (or keying) that's incompatible with the supposed mating part in the fusebox. So, Polo owners, don't waste your time and money buying any of those. That said, with a little skill and a vice and metalworker's file of the right size, it might be possible to flatten the piggy-back connector's moulding, to make it fit into the requisite fusebox position. Few owners are going to want to do that, though. Some of those sold on the Web are rather tall as well, once fully fitted, and you might then find that you can't get the fusebox lid back into place.

Yeh, I'd like to know where Mike Austin got his 'piggy-back', as presumably he had no trouble in inserting it into the fusebox or with getting the fusebox lid on again.

Where are you, Mike? Wake up! Your services are required. Heh, heh, heh!

[Dink]

I have used one of those piggy back add a fuse things in my fuse box and had no problem inserting it into the fuse holder.

I didn't try putting the fuse box lid on as it was just a temporary use testing my head unit amp.

You can get them off eBay but of questionable quality.