E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

Easiest way to hardwire Dash Cam?

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Old Feb 21, 2018 | 01:17 AM
  #1  
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Easiest way to hardwire Dash Cam?

Hello,

I am trying to hardwire a dash cam to my W211 E550. I found a video on Youtube showing someone wiring it to the ODB port. But when I tried to do it on my car, it looks different than his (mines don't have the side panel that can pop out. It is just a vent).


On my other car I just tapped to the rear view mirror for power and ground.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
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Old Feb 21, 2018 | 12:20 PM
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You are not saying where you place the camera? Is it on top, or bottom?
I found the best spot for camera next to rear-view mirror and having 3 units that need power, I runs small cable from cigarette lighter socket into glove compartment, where multi-socket extension let me put all the plugs out of the site.
The wires hide easy behind the trim.
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Old Feb 23, 2018 | 10:03 PM
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Originally Posted by kajtek1
You are not saying where you place the camera? Is it on top, or bottom?
I found the best spot for camera next to rear-view mirror and having 3 units that need power, I runs small cable from cigarette lighter socket into glove compartment, where multi-socket extension let me put all the plugs out of the site.
The wires hide easy behind the trim.
Right below the rear view mirror.

The fuse box is on the passenger side cover correct?
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Old Feb 24, 2018 | 12:15 PM
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On my 211 550, I had it hardwired 2 different ways. One route I used was to tap into the cigarette lighter wires under the ashtray. By default cig lighter only powers on when key is turned. I wanted mine to record 24/7 so what i did was pop open the fuse box in the hood on the driver side, find the cig lighter fuse, pull it from it's A setting and put it into B. I don't remember exactly which fuse it was, but it was like something on the lines of making it 53a to 53b or 54a to 54b, something like that. Info is definitely somewhere on the forums for that.

putting the cig lighter fuse into that b position makes power constant 24/7, as opposed to A setting which turns power on with ignition.

Another route that works is accessing the fuse box on the driver side inside the car, test all the unused slots and find which one is constant, then run a wire straight into that fuse and slap a 2.5 or 5amp fuse on that unused slot.

Last edited by LemonSqueezy; Feb 24, 2018 at 12:17 PM.
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Old Feb 24, 2018 | 12:22 PM
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We use these Add-a Circuit or Tap-A-Fuse doohickeys at my job. They work as long as you have enough clearance between the fuse panel and it's cover. The dash cam probably only draws about 3-5 amps max.

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Old Oct 16, 2024 | 03:40 AM
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Originally Posted by LemonSqueezy
On my 211 550, I had it hardwired 2 different ways. One route I used was to tap into the cigarette lighter wires under the ashtray. By default cig lighter only powers on when key is turned. I wanted mine to record 24/7 so what i did was pop open the fuse box in the hood on the driver side, find the cig lighter fuse, pull it from it's A setting and put it into B. I don't remember exactly which fuse it was, but it was like something on the lines of making it 53a to 53b or 54a to 54b, something like that. Info is definitely somewhere on the forums for that.

putting the cig lighter fuse into that b position makes power constant 24/7, as opposed to A setting which turns power on with ignition.

Another route that works is accessing the fuse box on the driver side inside the car, test all the unused slots and find which one is constant, then run a wire straight into that fuse and slap a 2.5 or 5amp fuse on that unused slot.
Sorry to revive a old forum. But I was confused on where the hardwire kit wires would splice into the cigarette wires. Seeing as how there is a brown gnd and a red wire on the cigarette and a yellow, red, and black for the hardwire kit. if you have any information on this it would be greatly appreciated!
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