Hardwire Dash Cam Kits: The Fuse Box Dilemma?

[MarshRam]

See that nut over in the upper left hand corner with the blue paint on it,that's the lug @SitKneelBend is referring to. It's a good one to get power from.Use an inline fuse if you tie onto it. You'll want to use a relay if you tie to it,as it's hot all the time

Thanks. I knew I could do that. I was looking into using the fuse taps they provided me, which are already wired. I didn't want to drill and grommet through the side of the fuse box to get them thru though. These are what I'm talking about, just one of each wire, one for constant power and the other for not. I think I found a couple small rectangular openings at the bottom of the fuse box I can get them through from under, or slightly notch out to get them through and I think I might be okay with that. Otherwise, I'll spend some additional moolah for a couple of the Red Wolf harnesses and tap into each of my cigarette lighters to get the same outcome. Trying to keep the install as clean and discrete as possible is my goal.

 

[Wild one]

Thanks. I knew I could do that. I was looking into using the fuse taps they provided me, which are already wired. I didn't want to drill and grommet through the side of the fuse box to get them thru though. These are what I'm talking about, just one of each wire, one for constant power and the other for not. I think I found a couple small rectangular openings at the bottom of the fuse box I can get them through from under, or slightly notch out to get them through and I think I might be okay with that. Otherwise, I'll spend some additional moolah for a couple of the Red Wolf harnesses and tap into each of my cigarette lighters to get the same outcome. Trying to keep the install as clean and discrete as possible is my goal.

View attachment 586243

If you notch the top edge of the box,still use a grommet in the notch.

 

[EdGs]

The Rove camera wants a HOT lead all the time.

I thought about just being lazy and using a large battery pack (~20,000mAH) to power the camera all the time. When the truck is off, the camera will remain under power without having to finagle a constant 12v wire. The only thing would be that the camera screen would always be on.

I have a cheaper camera setup, I haven't found one I really like yet.

 

[Grams]

The Rove camera will go to sleep once the engine shuts off….(it detects the drop in voltage)….and goes into “burglar/tampering watch-mode”. Any movement or jostling of the vehicle wakes it up and it begins to record video and audio.

(This came-in handy when my wife’s car was sideswiped as she was in WalMart shopping. She came out, got in her car, and drove home. When she arrived home…I saw the Right-Side of her car…and asked her how she’d been in an accident…. She knew nothing about it…as she had approached her car and entered from the drivers-side. The right side was scraped lengthwise.

When we contacted insurance, they informed us our deductible would lessen if we filed a police-report. It was the policeman who asked about the dash-cam… and when it was checked….the person who had hit her car in the parking lot was video’d backing up…(in a turn, which is how the front of their car scraped the rt side of ours)… they stopped…got out and checked THEIR car’s front…then walked over and saw OUR damage…got back in their car and LEFT.

But ROVE had captured that driver AND their make/model/license-plate… having awakened when the “jolt” of the accident alerted it.

So… I recommend you follow the Rove Instructs…. Use the Rove “piggy-back” fuse splice and connect to a “hot” fuse in your TIPM. Use that cute little voltage-tester Rove included in the box and you’l find a hot fuse

If you get too confused by this….post again, and I’ll go out and see what circuit we used on my ‘24 Ram 2500.

BTW: the second camera Rove included in the kit…. We installed on the back window facing AFT…so we could capture a rear-end-event should it ever occur. THAT was the camera which captured the offender that hit my wife’s car. I’m pretty certain They were surprised when our insurer informed them they were being filed-against for damages. LOL

 

[MarshRam]

I thought about just being lazy and using a large battery pack (~20,000mAH) to power the camera all the time. When the truck is off, the camera will remain under power without having to finagle a constant 12v wire. The only thing would be that the camera screen would always be on.

I have a cheaper camera setup, I haven't found one I really like yet.

I have no idea what I like. I'm testing the Rove on the 2012 Ram and I want something for all the vehicles. Rove is around $120 give or takeish, I got mine on sale for $100. Then when I got it, I realized it didn't come hard wired, plugs in my cigarette lighter outlet and doesn't seem you can use the motion sensor in park mode. That was 50% of what I want out of the cameras. Bought the hardwire kit to solve all this, which is what this post is all about. Just need to figure out how I want to hardwire it, since all provided parts in the hardwire kit aren't 100% install without some slight additional modification. Only because the fuse box isn't in the cab. I have no complaints about the Rove so far, but I have never had cameras in my vehicles, so no smoking good real world advice here!

I'll say I might not care for a windshield camera with the screen. It's a small screen and I really can't make out in detail what is going on and I really don't need to. Looking out my windshield paints a much better picture. So, that is pointless, would rather have something small and discrete. I do put the rear camera on my mounted phone while driving sometimes. Cool, but I got a better view for the most part out my rearview mirror. With all that said, small discrete cameras. If I have a need to see the footage, wireless to my phone or pull the sim card and look on the laptop. It's 2026, can I just get those cameras they install in sunglasses, like 4mm wide and wireless? Why can't we figure that out. LOL!!!!

 

[EdGs]

I have no idea what I like. I'm testing the Rove on the 2012 Ram and I want something for all the vehicles. Rove is around $120 give or takeish, I got mine on sale for $100. Then when I got it, I realized it didn't come hard wired, plugs in my cigarette lighter outlet and doesn't seem you can use the motion sensor in park mode. That was 50% of what I want out of the cameras. Bought the hardwire kit to solve all this, which is what this post is all about. Just need to figure out how I want to hardwire it, since all provided parts in the hardwire kit aren't 100% install without some slight additional modification. Only because the fuse box isn't in the cab. I have no complaints about the Rove so far, but I have never had cameras in my vehicles, so no smoking good real world advice here!

I'll say I might not care for a windshield camera with the screen. It's a small screen and I really can't make out in detail what is going on and I really don't need to. Looking out my windshield paints a much better picture. So, that is pointless, would rather have something small and discrete. I do put the rear camera on my mounted phone while driving sometimes. Cool, but I got a better view for the most part out my rearview mirror. With all that said, small discrete cameras. If I have a need to see the footage, wireless to my phone or pull the sim card and look on the laptop. It's 2026, can I just get those cameras they install in sunglasses, like 4mm wide and wireless? Why can't we figure that out. LOL!!!!

That would be cool!

 

[EdGs]

The Rove camera will go to sleep once the engine shuts off….(it detects the drop in voltage)….and goes into “burglar/tampering watch-mode”. Any movement or jostling of the vehicle wakes it up and it begins to record video and audio.

(This came-in handy when my wife’s car was sideswiped as she was in WalMart shopping. She came out, got in her car, and drove home. When she arrived home…I saw the Right-Side of her car…and asked her how she’d been in an accident…. She knew nothing about it…as she had approached her car and entered from the drivers-side. The right side was scraped lengthwise.

When we contacted insurance, they informed us our deductible would lessen if we filed a police-report. It was the policeman who asked about the dash-cam… and when it was checked….the person who had hit her car in the parking lot was video’d backing up…(in a turn, which is how the front of their car scraped the rt side of ours)… they stopped…got out and checked THEIR car’s front…then walked over and saw OUR damage…got back in their car and LEFT.

But ROVE had captured that driver AND their make/model/license-plate… having awakened when the “jolt” of the accident alerted it.

So… I recommend you follow the Rove Instructs…. Use the Rove “piggy-back” fuse splice and connect to a “hot” fuse in your TIPM. Use that cute little voltage-tester Rove included in the box and you’l find a hot fuse

If you get too confused by this….post again, and I’ll go out and see what circuit we used on my ‘24 Ram 2500.

BTW: the second camera Rove included in the kit…. We installed on the back window facing AFT…so we could capture a rear-end-event should it ever occur. THAT was the camera which captured the offender that hit my wife’s car. I’m pretty certain They were surprised when our insurer informed them they were being filed-against for damages. LOL

I will have to look into that camera. I might like something with 4 channels, just to add some side-view vision.

 

[MarshRam]

That would be cool!

Dude, that should totally be available. That tech is already in existence and is in public use. Everyone, just look at the lens on your cell phone or the sunglass joke I cracked, this is just stupid. LOL. We don't need to talk about why, we all know why

 

[SitKneelBend]

I thought about just being lazy and using a large battery pack (~20,000mAH) to power the camera all the time. When the truck is off, the camera will remain under power without having to finagle a constant 12v wire. The only thing would be that the camera screen would always be on.

I have a cheaper camera setup, I haven't found one I really like yet.

I like Blackvue cameras, but they are pricey. I put a Redtiger in my wife's van and it performs very well for the price. The apps on both for phone viewing work well too but the Blackvue has a lot more features.

 

[jawzs2]

I like Blackvue cameras, but they are pricey. I put a Redtiger in my wife's van and it performs very well for the price. The apps on both for phone viewing work well too but the Blackvue has a lot more features.

Same here, really liked the Blackvue and it's features, unfortunately, two of them failed on me after only a few years. Ended up going with a Thinkware in both of my trucks, and they've both outlived the Blackvue's. I put a DDPAI in my wife's and it has outlived the Blackvue as well., it's now in her third car.

It was probably due to my luck though, as the old song from Hee-Haw goes, If it weren't for bad luck......

 

[lat1504]

So I bought a Rove and purchased the hardwire kit for my 2012 ST. It comes with the wired fuses w/ add a fuse. However, there is no fuse box inside the cab. If I want to use the provided fuses/wiring, I would have to drill a hole or two in my fuse box to get the wiring through, because the fuse box isn't going to close properly with wires running between the box casing and lid. I'm absolutely not doing that. So, is everyone tapping in somewhere else? I can purchase or fab fuse/wiring and find a place somewhere else, so no need for help there, but the fuse box would be preferred. I have more than enough tapping in going on around this truck. Seems what they provided is absolutely useless if you can't tap in inside the cab. Am I wrong here?

Use the pass through wires by the e-brake and attach the engine side to the power connectors on the battery

 

[BlueDwarf]

You may not have power at your review mirror on your truck, but on my 26 Rebel I was able to use power from my rear view mirror with a Dongar adapter to power my VIOFO dash cam. https://dongar.tech/

 

[MarshRam]

Decision made. I purchased two Red Wolf harnesses for $20 a pop to plug and play into my auxiliary power outlets. One needed to connect the constant power and the other for ignition power, both necessary if you want to use the cams full capabilities. The fuse location for the constant power in my truck will not hold the fuse adapters they provided in the hardwire kit. One way the lid is in the way, the other a much taller fuse is in the way. I might have drilled and grommet the fuse box otherwise. At the end of the day, got the Rove on sale for $100, hardwire kit for $30 and the two additional harnesses for $40.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I've had my Viofo, front, cabin, and rear. Power through firewall to fuses in TIPM, two 12v leads to provide for Parking mode. Installed August 2025, so far so good.

 

[04fxdwgi]

You may not have power at your review mirror on your truck, but on my 26 Rebel I was able to use power from my rear view mirror with a Dongar adapter to power my VIOFO dash cam. https://dongar.tech/

Those Dongar kits work if you have auto dimming mirror or rain sensor, but won't work on anything older than 2019, from what I read.

 

[MarshRam]

Made the following edit to the OP:

Purpose of the hardwire kit with the Rove is so the camera works when parked and protects against draining your battery. If you don't need this, and are okay with only having the camera working when driving and also plugging into a power outlet in your cabin, these additional accessories are not required. For full capability and a cleaner/discrete install I purchased the hardwire kit and two RED WOLF 12 Volt Power Adapter Wiring Harness adapters ($20 each). This is going in a 2012 ST. One will be installed on the passenger side power outlet (constant power) and the other on the driver side for (ignition power). Very minimal work in putting together wires, I won't even bother to explain it, picture below.

I determined even if I drill my fuse box to feed the provided wire/fuse combos they provided in the hardwire kit, the constant power feed fuse location is in a place you cannot fit what they provided. You can only put the fuse in two ways, one way the lid won't close and the other way another taller fuse is in the way. For another $40 in the harnesses, it was one less set of wires I needed to feed through my firewall and run a longer wire, I already have enough stuffed through there, LOL. At first I was intent on using what they provided, had it been seamless, I probably would have gone thru with it. In hindsight this was a much better choice.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Made the following edit to the OP:

Purpose of the hardwire kit with the Rove is so the camera works when parked and protects against draining your battery. If you don't need this, and are okay with only having the camera working when driving and also plugging into a power outlet in your cabin, these additional accessories are not required. For full capability and a cleaner/discrete install I purchased the hardwire kit and two RED WOLF 12 Volt Power Adapter Wiring Harness adapters ($20 each). This is going in a 2012 ST. One will be installed on the passenger side power outlet (constant power) and the other on the driver side for (ignition power). Very minimal work in putting together wires, I won't even bother to explain it, picture below.

I determined even if I drill my fuse box to feed the provided wire/fuse combos they provided in the hardwire kit, the constant power feed fuse location is in a place you cannot fit what they provided. You can only put the fuse in two ways, one way the lid won't close and the other way another taller fuse is in the way. For another $40 in the harnesses, it was one less set of wires I needed to feed through my firewall and run a longer wire, I already have enough stuffed through there, LOL. At first I was intent on using what they provided, had it been seamless, I probably would have gone thru with it. In hindsight this was a much better choice.

View attachment 587008

Think of it this way, you have an easy place now to tap future accessories. I started with a dash cam, now it's running a camera switch, DTV tuner, several cameras, and a wireless charger.

 

[MarshRam]

Think of it this way, you have an easy place now to tap future accessories. I started with a dash cam, now it's running a camera switch, DTV tuner, several cameras, and a wireless charger.

@SitKneelBend Stop already. I had convinced myself I was done with the 2012 build and then I went and got the camera. I am done though, for real, not joking this time, I think? All jokes aside, the camera was a common sense necessity, especially after the rear end hit and run a few months back and I already have enough aftermarket component wiring running all over the place. I'm ready to get something else to play with. This build should be done, I think???