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Burnt out a dashcam trying to hardwire it into a 1998 camry
Was parked at a gas station in Tucson, wired the constant power wrong and the thing melted in 10 minutes. Anyone else smoke a cheap gadget by guessing the voltage?
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michael_green4413d ago
Man that's rough, I feel you. I did pretty much the same thing with a cheap dashcam in my old Ford, hooked it up wrong and within seconds the plastic casing started bubbling. Smelled like burnt electronics for a solid week, my girlfriend was not happy about that.
@phoenix_lewis is right though, those fuse taps are a game changer if you take the time to learn how they work. I ended up buying a multimeter after that disaster and it saved me from frying another camera later. Live and learn I guess, but it still stings when you see that smoke pour out.
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kaigibson13d ago
Voltage is probably fine since most dashcams run on 12V DC, but the real issue is usually current draw or a short circuit if the wiring is wrong. Those cheap hardwire kits don't always have proper fuses, so a tiny mistake can fry the whole thing fast. A multimeter and a fuse tap would have saved that camera, learned that one the hard way myself.
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phoenix_lewis13d ago
Wired up my first dashcam using a kit I found on sale and thought I was being smart. Let’s just say the smoke test came way before any video did, and my car smelled like burnt plastic for a week. Definitely invest in a proper fuse tap and check everything twice unless you enjoy explaining to your wife why the interior lights don’t work anymore.
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