[jwzimm]

Hey everyone,

Does anyone know of a fuse or a circuit that goes hot only when the doors are locked? I would like to wire in my dash cam to be powered only while the doors are lock (alarm armed if installed). This would save on run time and prevent some battery discharge errors I get.

Let me know if anyone can help.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by jwzimm

Hey everyone,

Does anyone know of a fuse or a circuit that goes hot only when the doors are locked? I would like to wire in my dash cam to be powered only while the doors are lock (alarm armed if installed). This would save on run time and prevent some battery discharge errors I get.

Let me know if anyone can help.

Not sure if this will help entirely, but the flashing light for the alarm turns on when the car is locked might want to look into the wiring for that.

[jwzimm]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Not sure if this will help entirely, but the flashing light for the alarm turns on when the car is locked might want to look into the wiring for that.

Good thought. I don't have the alarm installed though so that may not work. I have a RemoteKey+ that does blink the light but I don't think that would work.

[CenCal X3M Comp]

You can always setup a relay that closes the circuit when no power is applied (open when powered). With the closed circuit, you then use a wire from the battery to power what ever you need. However, you will drain your battery.

[jwzimm]

That's just it. If I wanted to power it all the time I can easily do that from the fusebox. What I want is to only power it when the doors are locked. That way it won't be powered while I am parked at home in my garage and waste the battery.

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by CenCal 335is

You can always setup a relay that closes the circuit when no power is applied (open when powered). With the closed circuit, you then use a wire from the battery to power what ever you need. However, you will drain your battery.

I think this is the best option, but I'm not sure of a line in the fusebox that obeys the strict condition of doors locked, which you'd want. There's Terminal 30g, but that goes cold half an hour after the car is locked. A 30m delay isn't really ideal.

That said, there are plenty of dashcams powered constantly that record in 'parked' mode - they record on loop and save only when an 'event' happens, like the car gets bumped or something interesting in the video occurs. That I think is your best bet.

Anyway, there's basically no solution whatsoever that doesn't cause battery drain while parked, so eh. damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by jwzimm

Good thought. I don't have the alarm installed though so that may not work. I have a RemoteKey+ that does blink the light but I don't think that would work.

There is a way to emulate the blinking light, so I think there should still be power there without the alarm. The other option is to have it turn on when the car turns off with a relay as mentioned above.