What is a dash cam?
It would be best if you carried an extra hand for surveillance of the vehicle. You must survey and check the highway’s condition while driving. A security camera always works as an asset. To meet up that requirement, the car brands introduce the dashcam that perfectly works as a security camera. Dash cams are very much accessible in making the documentation and videography of the driving. It can flawlessly record anything that has been happening in the entire arena. The most effective advantage of using the dashcam is that it can give a good mass of protection against fraudulent insurance claims.
It is generally a very small camera that is implemented on both the front and rear sides of the car. It will cover the front side of the road, and some of the cams can rotate at a 360-degree angle. This can shoot almost anything that is happening on the road. These advanced dash cams have the capability to take footage of the closest abysmal inferior angle. It can short the most acute and rare angles.
Why you need a dashcam:
Not only does recording your journeys ensure you have a record of everything that goes wrong, but it also enables you to have a video of where you have driven your car. This protects you against fraudulent insurance claims, deters theft, and can lower your car insurance premium. The biggest utility of the dashcam is that you always have evidence of whatever happens on the highway. It similarly works as the CCTV footage of the roads that can identify mishappenings while driving.
How does the vehicle dash cam work?
The dash cam works just like the contemporary cameras. The most effective difference is that this can record continuously if the backup is up to the mark. The camera can scan and diagnose the old and new set footage effortlessly. If the initial SD card has a massive range, the recording can be saved for a long time without the fear of overwritten footage. First of all, it shoots the video and saves those on the SD card, just like a normal camera. Then you can eject the SD and connect that to your pc or laptop.
Thus you can see the recorded cam video. But it is a subject of extreme sorrow that these dash cams do not have in-build SD cards in them. Rather you must purchase another external storage capacity. The parking mode is an in-build system in the memory of the dashcams. Activating this mode will automatically begin recording if the car is not in driving mode. An emergency alert protocol can also be very effective. That is called the SOS mode. You can also take the recording inside the car if you want to do so. A continuous power source is always an asset for the dashcam.
This power can come from the OBD2 port and the wired cable supply. When a sensor sneaks a collision between two vehicles, it can also show the red alert signal. Simply the camera detects the motion that exponentially turns into an alarming signal. The cam is attached to the windshield and automatically saves videos by following a simple module. When the machine is hardwired into the vehicle, it can automatically make the recording in an ultrasmart mode.
Is it really safe to power the dash cam from the OBD2 port?
You can certainly take the necessary power for the dash cam from the OBD2 port. Also, the OBD II port is constantly powered, making it ideal if you want to use the nitro mode. If not, you will need to hardwire the dash cam to a constant power source or buy a battery pack.
None of the dashcams come standard with the OBD cable, and it will have to be purchased separately. You can easily switch between constant power and parking mode. It also features a low voltage option that will cut power to the dash cam if it drops below a certain level. It is completely safe to power your dashcam from the OBD port. You should make sure your OBD cord or device has a low power shutoff, so it does not completely drain the car battery.
When purchasing a third-party OBD power cable, ensure that it is compatible with your dash cam’s power input. Most dash cams utilize a mini-USB port, but others may use a standard USB, USB-C, or others. Yes, it is plug-and-play, but make sure the connectors will work.
How to connect a dash cam with the OBD2 cable or port?
It is a very prudent choice to connect the dash cam with the OBD2 cable alongside the port. This can save a huge sum of energy that is used by these devices. The link between these two devices can spark the vehicle’s energy consumption. Let us discuss the complete battery magnitude of the dash cam with the notorious OBD2 power cable,
Find the OBD2 port
The very initial step is to locate the OBD2 port in the vehicle. In general, it is located to the left of the steering wheel at the driver’s side, underneath the dashboard. You can seek help from the car’s manufacturing manual to detect the exact location of the OBD2 port.
Plug the dashcam cable
In the next stage, after you have successfully found the port then, your mission is to attach the cord or the cable to the dashcam. It may be revealed or may be sealed by some proportion. Once you have found these 16-pin ports and cables, plug your cable into the port and ensure that the pins are well organized. After that, You must hide the wires within the dashboard so that no obstacle can impede your adjustings. Always watch the panel remover as it clears all the necessary routing commands in the dashboard. Link the cable where your dash cam is positioned.
Power on
In the following step, you must plug the OBD cable’s other end into the certified dash cam. Then power on and activate the dash cam. Always make sure that the parking mode is in an activation mode. It will automatically switch on by diverting all the listings on the cable itself. The parking mode may save a lot of memory space and energy, making it one of the most liable inabilities in the scope tenure.
USB Cable Type
Always make sure that the cable is in the right match with the port. There are so many types of ports in the cable, like USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, and they vary in the functionality and speed of the USB cable. The ideal type of USB cables that are most common in the market is the USB type A and USB type B cable ports. The in-depth design and colloquial mobilization of data may affect the workability of the connectors, modules, and ports.
The format, shape, size, and in-built performance are solely connected to the other devices and accessories. In the case of a pair of USB-C cables, you may be looking at the same side of the turntables. The capabilities and working mechanism could be much different from the other belongings. The charging speed and transfer mechanisms may vary from cable to cable. So choose the USB types wisely. Otherwise, it will fail to diminish the programmable out of a layer of the CAN bus.