Keeping your dash cam powered is crucial for continuous recording, especially when your car is parked. If your car’s cigarette lighter socket is always live, or only powers on with the engine, there are effective solutions to ensure your dash cam operates reliably. Let’s explore how to power your dash cam, with a focus on using the OBD2 port and why an Obd2 Dash Cam setup might be a convenient choice.
For vehicles where the cigarette lighter remains powered even when the engine is off, a simple yet smart solution involves using a male-to-female cigarette lighter adapter equipped with a low voltage cutoff switch. Devices like the Koolatron “battery saver” are readily available and designed precisely for this purpose. You would connect this adapter, followed by a cigarette lighter to USB adapter, to power your dash cam. This setup includes a vital safety feature: the low voltage cutoff switch. This switch automatically interrupts power to your dash cam if your car battery voltage dips below a safe threshold, typically around 11.6 volts. This prevents excessive battery drain and ensures your car will start.
If your cigarette lighter only works when the engine is running, you can consider OBD power supplies, also available on platforms like Amazon and often including a similar low voltage cutoff. These are inexpensive and offer a clean way to draw power. While directly wiring to the OBD port might seem tempting, using a dedicated OBD power adapter is a safer and more recommended approach.
When parked, you ideally want your dash cam to operate in standby or surveillance mode. This could be through G-sensor activation, which triggers recording upon impact, or motion detection, recording when movement is sensed. For vehicles with cigarette lighters that are only engine-powered, a practical setup involves running a USB cable from the dash cam, concealed under the dashboard, to a convenient point. Then, you can utilize an OBD port adapter for power when the engine is off and switch to a cigarette lighter adapter when the engine is running.
If your cigarette lighter is always on, a robust splitter, rated at least 10 amps, is a useful accessory. Plug the Koolatron battery saver into one port of the splitter. Then, connect a high-quality cigarette lighter to USB adapter into the Koolatron. This provides power to your dash cam while the other splitter port remains available for charging phones or other devices.
Remember, accessing your OBD2 port for diagnostics is still straightforward. Simply unplug the OBD adapter to connect your scanner whenever needed. Importantly, powering a dash cam, even dual dash cams, through the OBD port is well within its power capabilities. OBD ports are designed to supply up to 4 amps, and most dash cams typically draw 2 amps or less, ensuring a safe and reliable power source for your obd2 dash cam setup.
