Hardwired to vehicle with no Fuses

[MrUgeneIII]

Hello all.
I am new to the dash cam scene and just purchased a brand new Kia Telluride for my family. My wife and I wanted a larger vehicle to accommodate our growing family and with that, we wanted a front and rear dash cam for the added security in our bumper to bumper city traffic.

We took the Viofo A129 Duo with all the bells and whistles to Best Buy to let the professionals install it for us as we did not want to risk damaging our new vehicle. Long story short, they threw the supplied hardwire kit aside and hardwired the camera to the OBD sensor plug wires with NO fuses. This causes great concern to me on multiple levels but I wanted to get the communities response to whether this is safe or not. The supplied kit does have the adjustable voltage low protection function, which I can assume will work as intended being wired in this way but this still does not make up for the fact that the cameras are wired with no fuses.

My two main concerns are; 1) Risk of fire, 2) Risk of warranty being voided due to the guy "military splicing" my OBD plug wires.

The supplied hardwire kit was noninvasive AND incorporated FUSES!

I have zero expertise in electronics but I feel like there are so many red flags waving in the air on this installation.

Thank you all in advance for your responses and helping me decide how to proceed.

 

[benkar]

Hello all.
I am new to the dash cam scene and just purchased a brand new Kia Telluride for my family. My wife and I wanted a larger vehicle to accommodate our growing family and with that, we wanted a front and rear dash cam for the added security in our bumper to bumper city traffic.

We took the Viofo A129 Duo with all the bells and whistles to Best Buy to let the professionals install it for us as we did not want to risk damaging our new vehicle. Long story short, they threw the supplied hardwire kit aside and hardwired the camera to the OBD sensor plug wires with NO fuses. This causes great concern to me on multiple levels but I wanted to get the communities response to whether this is safe or not. The supplied kit does have the adjustable voltage low protection function, which I can assume will work as intended being wired in this way but this still does not make up for the fact that the cameras are wired with no fuses.

My two main concerns are; 1) Risk of fire, 2) Risk of warranty being voided due to the guy "military splicing" my OBD plug wires.

The supplied hardwire kit was noninvasive AND incorporated FUSES!

I have zero expertise in electronics but I feel like there are so many red flags waving in the air on this installation.

Thank you all in advance for your responses and helping me decide how to proceed.

Did you ask why they didn't use the 3 Hardwire kit? Did they say anything to you? Using the OBD socket to connect the camera seems to me somewhat odd and inappropriate.

 

[MrUgeneIII]

I assumed that they were the professionals and knew better than me. I had already inserted the fuses into the supplied wires that matched what fuses were in my vehicle and had everything ready for them. They stated that they didn't like using that type of connector but with more conversation it sounded like they were unfamiliar with them at all. I arrived home around 9pm last night and then looked at it all closer this morning. That is when I realized that there were no fuses.

This is only ONE thing that is concerning me... the camera fell off on my way home from the store and there are black marks all over my upholstery where they removed the seal in the back and replaced it.

 

[benkar]

I assumed that they were the professionals and knew better than me. I had already inserted the fuses into the supplied wires that matched what fuses were in my vehicle and had everything ready for them. They stated that they didn't like using that type of connector but with more conversation it sounded like they were unfamiliar with them at all. I arrived home around 9pm last night and then looked at it all closer this morning. That is when I realized that there were no fuses.

This is only ONE thing that is concerning me... the camera fell off on my way home from the store and there are black marks all over my upholstery where they removed the seal in the back and replaced it.

Perhaps they were concerned that other devices on a common fuse could overload the wiring and could affect the car's warranty. But camera has a small current consumption and the wiring is designed with sufficient reserve.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Dash Camera should be fused. Also, if the kit you provided was the Viofo 3-wire kit, then you will not be able to benefit from the cameras parking mode or the kits voltage cutoff feature.

 

[MrUgeneIII]

Dash Camera should be fused. Also, if the kit you provided was the Viofo 3-wire kit, then you will not be able to benefit from the cameras parking mode or the kits voltage cutoff feature.

As of right now, it seems to be working in parking mode. I activated a random parking mode to test it. But I cannot test the the voltage cutoff feature that I am aware of without a voltmeter. I have sent an email stating my concerns to Best Buy and will await their response as well.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Parking mode activation based on no movement for about 5 minutes may work, but the instant parking mode activation based or the 3-wire kit will not work without it. Parking mode is much more reliable with the 3-wire kit and is safer for your battery with the voltage cutoff.

 

[MrUgeneIII]

Parking mode activation based on no movement for about 5 minutes may work, but the instant parking mode activation based or the 3-wire kit will not work without it. Parking mode is much more reliable with the 3-wire kit and is safer for your battery with the voltage cutoff.

They did use the three wire kit from Viofo. They just didn't connect it with the supplied add-a-fuse that came with the kit. See image for reference.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Long story short, they threw the supplied hardwire kit aside

Ahhh, you see my confusion.

Should still have an inline fuse connected.

 

[MrUgeneIII]

Ahhh, you see my confusion.

Should still have an inline fuse connected.

I apologize for the confusion.

 

[Disast3r Dave]

Does anyone have a video of the hardwire install? I'm a visual dude.

 

[Capture Your Action]

 

[Disast3r Dave]

Thanks. I saw that video and found it very confusing. I located a competitor video that was very informative and explained step by step the process about fuses and the procedure. Thanks for you help.


Dave

 

[Capture Your Action]

Thanks. I saw that video and found it very confusing. I located a competitor video that was very informative and explained step by step the process about fuses and the procedure. Thanks for you help.


Dave

Care share that video?

 

[Disast3r Dave]

Sure can. Didn't want to upset anyone sharing competitor video .