Constant 12v power - fuse tap (add a circuit) help

I recently bought a

$186 VIOFO A129 Pro Duo 4K Dual Dash Cam 3840 x 2160P Ultra HD 4K Front and 1080P Rear Car WiFi Dash Camera 8MP Sensor GPS, Buffered Parking Mode, G-Sensor, Motion Detection, WDR, Loop Recording

Viofo A129 dashcam, the

$18 VIOFO HK3 Acc Hardwire Kit for A129, A129 Plus, A129 PRO, A129 IR, A119V3, Enables Parking Mode, Low Voltage Protection

HK3 hardwire kit, ATM-LP fuse taps and fuses (2 and 5 amp). I've read a ton and understand the concept fairly well, but my problem is the only two constant 12v fuses are the top row far right #5 and #6 but the 30a fuse below it #16 is in the way of tail end of the fuse tap. The hot side of the fuse on both #5 and #6 is the at the top so I can't flip the orientation of the fuse tap. Is there any other solution to adding a fuse tap of these two fuses? I'm not saying I need both, just one of them. The only thing I can think of is trying a non-low profile fuse tap, hoping the clearance is enough, but unsure if that's a safe solution, but I'm not electrical engineer.

 

I've run the fuse tap reversed without issue. This isn't advise but just my own experience.

 

Why do you want a constant 12v? That would keep your camera on even with the Truck off and drain your battery.

 

The camera has a parking mode and the hardwire kit has a switch that will kill the camera if the battery gets too low, but if I was to leave the truck for extended period of time I would probably just disconnect the camera.

Side note, I ended up figuring out the wiring. The fuse tap has a bit of heatshrink that was interfering so I trimmed it and was able to plug it into #5 and move the ACC fuse tap to #2, so all good now.

 

Here's a good solution using your OBD port. There's switch that lets you suck battery power until it detects lowish voltage, then turns it on. Made specifically for dash cams.

$15 REARMASTER Universal OBD Power Cable for Dash Camera,24 Hours Surveillance/Acc Mode with Switch Button(Micro USB Port)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074M4XMBX?ie=UTF8

 

the issue with that setup is the current for the add a fuse will run though the original fuse, possible to create an overload condition and blow the original fuse.

 

@rdubdub ever find a solution to this?

 

I did, basically I just had to remove / cut back the heat shrink tube on the fuse tap and it fit in the top right 20 fuse, BUT I realized a valuable lesson, I don't have an AGM battery so when winter rolled around it killed my battery so I bought a new battery...also non AGM style and have since unplugged the constant power fuse tap, so I either need to go exchange the battery (if I can - purchased at Costco) for an AGM style one or just continue to run the dash cam without parking mode on. Fun story, I also figured out my Tacoma had a security system in it and when the battery got low / died the security system killed the ignition or something and would make the truck honk like a mofo. It's one of those little red devil buttons that some dealership or wholeseller installed in the south texas / gulf region

 

i would have to look there are some other ones that I believe are 12v hot all the time. I i have several of those fuses tapped including one for them mirror. if needed I could look.

 

What Voltage did you have the Hardwire kit set to?

 

I ended up disabling my parking or keep it on low. Even with an AGM battery it will kill you battery. If you drive the truck regular you will be okay. I got away with it by having solar on my setup. A small panel would help if the truck sits for awhile. They make some small tender styles now but turning it off is the best option if its not driven enough. You get a bit more with AGM But if it sits fora while it will still kill it.

 

I don’t mind using add-a-fuses for switches that activate relays but avoid using them for the actual device power. Truck wiring is NOT over engineered so I’d rather not tempt fate indiscriminately. Relays only require ~100 mA to activate so even banks of added switches won’t be a problem but all relays and devices are powered from auxiliary panels added either in the engine bay, center console, or bed. Always hot or ignition hot is a choice you can make either at the switches or the relays. I moved my power ports and made them always hot but my seat heaters get power from the same panel but are only ignition hot because the switches are only ignition hot.

 

I believe it was set to the lowest setting, 11v?

That's good to know, I work from home and drive a little bit maybe every other day or sometimes even like every 3rd or 4th day

 

Thank you for posting! I just installed a Viofo A229 and ran into the same issue with the 30A fuse being in the way of the wire tap and I thought there was no way it would fit (I didn't even try), so I started looking for another constant 12v feed with no luck. After reading your post, I removed the heat shrink from the wire tap and it fit right in, no problem! Thanks again!