Reddit mentions: The best automotive electrical connectors

****Do any of this at your own risk or hire a professional to do it for you.***

Here are the parts I ordered to put mine together. I'm posting this bc of PMs.

Mobius or [Cheaper Mobius but longer wait from China] (http://www.banggood.com/Mobius-Action-Camera-1080P-HD-Mini-Sports-Camera-Wide-Angle-Edition-p-917817.html) I wanted the Wide Angle Lens for a better shot

Capacitor You don't want the battery sitting in the sun. A capacitor can handle it. So you replace the battery completely with this capacitor

Windshield Mount My mobius came with a mounting bracket that fits on this mount. The mount itself is very small, but the 3M sticker is very strong.

Hardwire Kit When hard wiring this in to the car via fuse box, this knocks the voltage down from 12v to 5v, which is what the camera needs. I used some wire strippers to expose about 5" of the red and black cables. Then stripped about an inch off each cable to expose the actual wire. The red wire goes in to the add-a-circuit mentioned below, then you crimp it closed with pliers (wasn't super easy, I must be weak). You partially unscrew a metal bolt that is attached to the metal car frame as a ground ( I used the one on top of my fuse box).

USB to Mini-USB This connects from the hardwire kit to the camera or 90 degree elbow mentioned next, for a better angle. If you are setting up the auto record when external power is on, which is what you want to do for a dash cam, you need to cut a piece of electrical tape width-wise and cover the two middle pins inside the USB cable. This is because the two middle pins (2 and 3) are data pins. Leaving those exposed makes the camera think its connected to a computer and will only do data transferring. By covering them, it only get power from pins 1 and 4 and doesn't think it's connected to a computer and will actually record.

Right Angle Mini-USB to Mini-USB Adapted This just helped keep the USB cable from sticking out too much (better angle)

Add-a-circuit This is the ATO (bigger fuse), but I ended up using the ATM (Mini) because my car has both and the fuse I wanted to use ended up being a Mini. It'd be best to look through your fuse diagram and find something non-vital (meaning don't tap in to a fuse that controls ABS or airbags, etc) and switchable (meaning it only comes on when the car turns on. You don't want the camera running 24/7), figure out what type of fuse it is, and buy that size. I ended up getting my new add-a-circuit (Littlefuse) from Oreilly auto parts for $6.99 and it came with 3, 4, 7.5, and 10A fuses. Also take note of the amperage (Never use a higher amp fuse than your add-a-circuit supports because the wire gauge may not support it and melt/burn. When adding the circuit, I removed the original fuse from the fuse box, a 10A fuse and put it the first slot(my add-a-circuit supports up to 10A) and for the 2nd slot, I used a 3A fuse because the camera and radar don't draw much. You don't want to use a higher amp fuse than necessary. Also, in my car 2011 JettaSportwagen, the add-a-circuit points down or it doesn't work. Make sure it's plugged in the correct direction or it won't do anything

32GB MicroSD Card Works fine, just make sure to format it through the camera.

Unofficial but awesome Mobius Configuration Tool Use the tooltips(hover over each option) to figure out what each things does. I set mine to autorecord when external power or the button are pushed.


You can find a lot of info here: dashcamtalk.com


To summarize the connections are:

Choose a fuse from your car's fuse diagram (non-essential and switchable), pull it, place it in the correct slot of the add-a-circuit (don't go to higher amps than is supported), plug in a fuse from the add-a-circuit kit in to the other slot to protect your camera (I used a 3A), strip the hardwire kit's cables mentioned above, put the red cable (+) from the hard wire kit in the the red end of the add-a-circuit and crimp it closed, attach the black cable (-) to a screw attached to the metal car frame, tape the two middle pins (2 and 3) in the USB cable with electrical tape, plug the USB in to the female USB on the hardwire kit, run the USB cable from the fuse box around the edges of your cars trim, up by the rearview mirror, attach the right-angle mini-usb adapter, choose where you want to mount the camera (make sure to check using the USB plugged in and camera mounted to the mount, in case it bumps the rearview mirror) (I held it on the windshield about where I thought I wanted it (to behind and to the right of the rearview mirror and took some test footage, watched it on a computer, decided it looked ok, pulled the sticker cover and attached it), clean your windshield with glass cleaner, attach the mount.

Spy Tec G1WH. Capable of wide angle, and 1080p/30fps recording. The way it works is that it records in 5 minute blocks - once it runs out of room in the memory card, it overwrites the oldest block. The caveat is that it doesn't play well with Class 10 micro sd cards, so I use a 32GB Class 6. I believe I have an 8-10 hour window of current 1080p footage, which should be more than sufficient.

I also purchased a dashcam hard-wire kit, in conjunction with an add-a-fuse kit. It might sound daunting to a layman, but it was actually incredibly simple to wire up. With it, the dashcam turns on when I turn the car on (I wired it in to the car stereo), and turns off when I turn the car off. This was necessary for me because one alternative, using a power adapter plugged into the cigarette lighter, wouldn't work due to my cigarette lighter always being powered, even when the truck is turned off. Also, my install is clean as hell - the only things visible are the cam itself, and about four inches of power wire running up to the headliner.

Here are the specific items I purchased, on Amazon:

Dashcam, $53 Prime
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZ0J452

Hardwire kit, $15 shipped
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S73FE8A

Add-A-Fuse, $11 Prime
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GKEXK2

Rearview mirror mount, $9 Prime
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JWGC29U

Class 6 32GB MicroSDHC + adapter if you don't already have one, $16 Prime
www.amazon.com/dp/B00IVPU7DQ

Running total for everything above, to your door, about $105. Install takes about ten-fifteen minutes by yourself. You can probably get a local shop to do it if you prefer, for a cost. Hell, I'd even lend a hand if you wanted, so long as you promise you aren't a total fucking weirdo.

Edit to answer your second question: Yeah, I like it. For $100, it's probably the best quality you'll find. With it installed, I often forget it's even there; it's tucked away behind my mirror. The peace of mind that it adds, should I ever need it myself, is great. Also, catching stuff like what's in the video is a huge bonus!

Equipment

• Nexus 7 2013 w/ Timur's kernel (still in closed beta - open for donors)
  
• Custom 3d printed housing
  
• Alpine KTP-445U 4-channel Power Pack Amplifier
  
• USB OTG Cable - Modified to fit
  
• DC-DC Converter
  
• Behringer UCA202 USB DAC
  
• Bluetooth OBD2 Adapter - For getting real-time data into the Torque app
  
• Add-a-fuse
  
• Ground loop isolator ** Item still needs to be tested. This was purchased to hopefully eliminate a popping noise i get when first powering on the system
  
  Must Have Apps
  
  
• GMD Gesture Control - Since i have no physical volume control buttons anymore GMD gesture control allows me to setup custom gestures like a 2-finger swipe to access volume control.
  
  Very excited to be ~95% complete with the install. A couple things left:
  
  
• pull out the double-din housing i made and put the top on it which also includes a fan
  
• address a 'popping' sound when turning on the system. possibly caused by the amp turning on before everything else? still seeking a solution here
  
  More than happy to try to answer questions for anyone else looking to do the same thing. Very happy with the outcome thus far.

The Velineon system comes with a VXL ESC that rated for 2S lipos. It's plug and play with your Slash. Replace the motor - throw your pinion on it and mesh the gears - bolt in the esc - plug everything up and you're off to the races. Your batteries should already have the traxxas high current connectors on them.

Glad I could help you - I really like the Velineon motor, you'll enjoy it they are a blast! Not sure what happened to your other motor - sounds like it may have gotten to hot. So probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pick yourself up a cheap IR heat gun/sensor. I use a Duratrax Flashpoint but if you have a harbor freight around you they have a gun style on for like $15 or cheaper. Make sure you stay under 200 F on the velineon - which on 2S with stock gearing and tires shouldn't be an issue at all.

They make add-a-fuses which are cheap and super easy to install. Pick one up next time you're at the parts store and whack it in for peace of mind. I used one to install my dashcam.

You'll want to add a fuse, it's the safest way to go about it and super easy. https://www.amazon.com/BUSS-HHH-Amp-Add-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2

I used an "add-a-fuse" kit like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-BP-HHH-ATM-Add-A-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2
and used it on the ignition fuse. Now whenever I start my car my radar detector turns on automatically. I imagine the same could be done with a dashcam or whatever. It was super easy. I've been wanting a dashcam though and I'd probably be able to put it onto the same circuit.

Kinda depends what you want to plug into the 12v outlet and what’s already on the circuit you’re tapping into.

If you’re just plugging in a cell phone charger or something then 5amp is fine.

If you don’t have anything plugged into the existing lighter socket plug, that’s the best one to use.

Ideally you should use a fused ‘add a fuse’ device that lets you keep the same fuse for the existing circuit and add a separate fused circuit off the vehicle accessory circuit.


https://www.amazon.com/BUSS-HHH-Amp-Add-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2

As someone with soldering skills, I would just install a supercapacitor on the power lead to power the camera for the few seconds the car is cranking.

However, if you don't have those types of skills, you could hardwire your cam to an ignition hot supply instead of accessory hot supply like it is now. What you'll need is a fuse panel tap like this one to tap into a source of ignition hot at the fuse panel, and a USB hardwire kit like this one to supply the 5V needed by the cam. Then a long enough USB cable to reach from the fuse box to the cam.

Anyone with an hour or two to spare and a crimper can do this easily. If however you aren't comfortable doing this yourself, a local audio shop should be able to install this for you very easily.

C Light - https://www.diodedynamics.com/2015-2019-subaru-wrx-sti-c-light-switchback-led-halos.html

Halos - https://www.diodedynamics.com/hd-led-halos-for-2015-2019-subaru-wrx-wrx-sti-pair.html

Blinker Module - https://www.diodedynamics.com/led-flasher-for-2015-2019-subaru-wrx.html (Needed this because I removed my stock blinker lights. Could have wired in resistors, but this was easy and cheap)

LED Conversion Bulbs - https://www.diodedynamics.com/low-beam-led-headlight-for-2015-2019-subaru-wrx.html (Still waiting on these, so haven't tested them, but they'll be in this Friday)

Headlight Sealant - https://www.amazon.com/RetroRubber-Grade-Butyl-Headlight-Sealant/dp/B01N5PM29J

Harnesses to clean up wiring - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QFW8X9Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Haven't installed yet, but planning on tomorrow)

Used to seal the hole of the old C Light bulb. Ran the C Light and Halo Harness through here - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Permatex-3-oz-Black-Silicone-Adhesive-Sealant-75150/302775053

Used to hold Halo in - https://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-0-47-oz-ClearWeld-50114H/303710929 (There's other ways to do this, but this is what I chose)

Paint I used - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Painter-s-Touch-2X-15-oz-Flat-Black-General-Purpose-Spray-Paint-25-Bonus-336099/304221900

I also got the Subispeed harnesses, but I didn't use them because I deleted the stock turn signal bulb.

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And I think that's it. Be sure to wear nitrile gloves too to avoid finger prints.

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Also take your time. Don't paint the high beam housing unless you have another plan for those like a second projector.

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Any other questions or pictures let me know.

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(Side note, this is probably not done for me and I'll probably post more if I do more with these. Thinking about changing the bumper cover holes where the turn signals were for instance)

That kinda looks like the connectors i have on my 92 nighthawk, and found that these connectors worked perfectly! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BJGRD8J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_v7JTCbERPHG2Z

Add-A-Fuse. Install it in your fuse box in place of a switched ≤30amp fuse on a 12v line(radio, cigarette lighter, etc.), and you can run that fuse, as well as a ≤10amp fuse off of it. Wire the positive from the dashcam to the add-a-fuse, and ground it to the frame (either a nearby bolt on bare metal, or the bolt that the fuse box is grounded to).

i used an add a fuse on my old one

like this thing

it looked like this when installed

much better than cramming a wire behind a fuse

There is no way you are going to get a "100% hidden wire setup" unless the camera is wireless. Do you have a specific camera/model in mind?

I mounted my cam on my windshield right behind my rear-view mirror so it is pretty much hidden from my sight. I have a single wire coming from the camera straight up the remaining 6 inches of windshield and into the headliner. The wire is then routed across the front of the headliner and down the driver-side pillar. From there it is a very short hop to the fuse box. Grab a fuse tap and put in the Accessory port of your fuse panel. Wire the positive terminal of the camera to the fuse tap and the negative to ground. Your camera will now automatically get power as soon as you turn your key to Accessory.

I do not recommend taping into the mirror or dome lights. I added some additional interior LED's a while back and spliced them to the dome lights. I ended up having major electrical gremlins that caused my car alarm to stop functioning correctly and I had to rewire my project.

Good Luck!

Not sure if you absolutely have to have needle nose, in the aviation industry we use something called cannon plug (connector plug) pliers for un-securing hard to grasp/really stuck electrical connectors. I have a set at home I use to un-stick my ecig's glass tank which is about 3/4" in diameter glass, have also used it to loosen a phone camera lens (one of those macro add on lens things, about 1/2" wide) from its mount. The design works really well with rounded objects. There are different ones on Amazon from about $30-160 here are a few links, as well as some "Non-marring" slip joints:


$50 Knipex: https://www.amazon.com/Tools-81-11-250-Connector/dp/B01I20T9I8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540772190&sr=8-3&keywords=cannon+plug+plier

$45 Brown Aviation (recommended): https://www.amazon.com/Brown-Aviation-Tool-Connector-BTA-CPP8/dp/B0120Y7DYY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1540772190&sr=8-4&keywords=cannon+plug+plier

$28 Stanley-Proto: https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Proto-J253G-2-Inch-Cannon/dp/B001937V2W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540772190&sr=8-2&keywords=cannon+plug+plier

Slip-joints: https://www.amazon.com/PH-200-Non-marring-Plastic-Touch-Pliers/dp/B000ALF5EK/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1540772190&sr=8-15&keywords=cannon+plug+plier

On the bright side, that led me to https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-GT-150-Female-Terminals-Gauge/dp/B07JMJ9CH1/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Aptiv+%28formerly+Delphi%29+gt+150&qid=1554329491&s=gateway&sr=8-3 which I'm fine with buying a lot of the connectors as there's another project I've really yet to begin that will need those extra ones...

Now for the socket =/

Edit: Oh and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005K006QS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is the crimper (I think).

Well this guy looks like a winner. As far as these go, I personally solder all wire to wire connections. People call me old school and hard headed for doing it, but a soldered connection has yet to let me down in over 10 years. That said I know plenty of people who use those quick connectors and have no trouble at all, I'm sure they will do the job just fine for you. Are you planning on penetrating your firewall on the passenger side? YOu may find that your HVAC Blower motor can complicate that quite a bit.

What gauge wires are those, and how many of them are there?

Go for something like this

HiseNook 5 Kit Waterproof Electrical Wire Cable 2 Pin Way Connector Plug (Package includes 5 sets) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZVYB3O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KcD3CbPXS68T9

There are ways to tie into the fuse box inside the cab. Depending on the options you have, you may or may not have an open circuit there.

Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000GKEXK2

Chances are that it does and you just don't know how to access it.

Use a voltmeter and go down the line of fuses until you find one that meets the "ignition on" criteria. Then, add this.

Don't screw with the airbags. I used an "add-a-fuse" on my ACC circuit.

you could rewire the 12v outlet so that it pulls power from a fuse in your fusebox that's only powered when the ignition is on. You can buy little adapters that let you piggy-back fuses. this

Buy one of these (or something similar) and hard-wire the radar detector into your fuse box.

Oh, you need all of them? You can simply buy a box of connectors: example.

You should try talking to the seller if you bought that new, they can probably send you them. Here's one of the big ones.

2 pin waterproof connectors? Here's some on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MZVYB3O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ive used these before and only required a crimp tool

I did a semi-hardwire install on my 2008 Civic. It is very simple.
 

Do you have any technical, hands-on skills?
 

Buy 1 of each. You can buy in AutoZone too.
 

https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-BP-HHH-ATM-Add-A-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2
 

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell%C2%AE-Charger-Cigarette-Lighter-Female/dp/B00EZJBELQ/
 

Find a switched source (or constant if you have a camera that triggers when you are parked) using your multimeter, tap into it and route the wires. Should take 1-3 hours depending on your skills. DO NOT use the ScotchLok Taps.

The one you linked is to keep those chimes and radio on until the door is opened.

If you don't care about door chimes and warning chime for lights and key in the ignition then just buy the cheap dummy plug like this one:

The red wire goes to a key-on source in the fuse panel as with gm class 2 data there isn't one at the radio. Most people use the cruise control or the windshield wiper fuse. If you do that, do it right with something like this.

If this is an ls sport, it has amplified rear speakers which I THINK requires a different plug.

You can get license plate cameras for less than $15, and a head unit with Bluetooth, DVD player, and SD card reader for under $100. Granted, you get what you pay for, but I bought this exact combo nearly two years ago for a 92 Honda and it's served me well enough. Has two video outs so I added a 7" monitor. You can get an add-a-fuse kit to tie in to the reverse lights fuse, so you don't even need to mess with the wiring back near the reverse lights, so no permanent alterations to the car.

I'm going to be doing some poking around tonight and see what I can come up with as my final solution. You'll probably see some more comments from me in your inbox later. :)

Also, is there any reason not to use these types of connectors when I splice that speaker wire in? Or do you have a better recommendation?

And I did find the fuse on the fusebox which appears to already be wired for "Subwoofer" from the factory. It's a 20 and I tested it last night and it is hot when the key is on, and not when the key is off. I was seriosuly considering just getting something like this and wiring the remote line in there. It seems like that would be the easiest option. I'm planning on probably mounting this under the passenger seat and running the power and remote lines up that passenger side...so I'll be right there at the fusebox anyways.

Sorry to ask so many questions, I just really don't want to fuck this up, and I want it done right. I'm sure I could find a way to make it work if I fucked with it enough, but I'd rather acknowledge my ignorance and seek help first BEFORE I'm in trouble instead of after. I'm leaving this all in the public comments (instead of PMs) so I can at least give you some karma...and maybe someone else with similar questions might be able to learn from my ignorance.

I haven't done it yet, but I am planning to hardwire a Mobius into my car. Apparently it's relatively simple, just run the power under your headliner and door frame panel, and use add-a-fuse to connect it to a fuse that only gets power when the ignition is on. That way you can set it and forget it, so to speak, and it is always recording while the car is running.

Sub amp? Hook the Pac up to the rear speaker wires and run your remote line to the fuse bloch with an add-a-fuse. Getting the power cable through the firewall can be a pain. You can run it under the car if you are very cautious with routing and protection. Be sure to read about gains and crossovers.

You pull radio out and plug the unit inline with antenna and get power from the fuse block. https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-BP-HHH-ATM-Add-A-Fuse/dp/B000GKEXK2. It's not too hard.

It's a signal sensing turn on, it's like a switch that's activated by sound. It gets a constant 12 volt and ground and when it sees a signal for the radio it turns on its output. When it doesn't see a signal it turns off its output. It's a little more complicated than that, but that's the simple version.

As for cigarette outlets, not all are switched. OP would have to test theirs.

If it was the proper way to tap into it would be the military splice at the plug. If a tap at the fuse block is desired the way to do it is with an add-a-fuse as simply mashing the wire into the fuse block with the fuse on top of it bends the terminal holding the fuse open further than it should making a intermittent connection more likely. The fuse and the wire may even fall out all together over time.

I think that's a mini-T connector. I'm not familiar with it as I fly bigger stuff. But you can either cut it off the ESC and solder on the connector that matches the battery you purchase, or the other way around. Don't try to cut off the connector and solder it on to the battery unless you know what you are doing. You could short the battery and cause a fire. Some hobby shops may solder it for you if you buy the battery from them.

If I break clips I try to just order dirt cheap connectors (like these), de-pin everything, and put the original wiring/pins into the new housing. Shit happens, that plastic gets so brittle with all the heat cycles over time.

I have an aftermarket radio so I have a remote coming off of that, but, I did have to run a switched power to the radio and used an Add a Fuse coming off of something that turns on with the car. This is an actual crappy picture of it.