Installing a Power Magic Pro

[kc1174]

I have a dashcam and am looking to hardwire a Power Magic Pro through the passenger fuse panel. This keeps the dashcam running but shuts off if it senses the car 12V battery drops below a certain threshold.

 

It needs an accessory fuse, an always live fuse (but am unsure which if any are always live), and an earth. Has anyone any experience installing one of these, or knows which fuse may be live and where an earth point might be in the passenger compartment?

 

My assumption is 59 (passive anti-theft) is live, but not so sure on pulling that.  Since our fuses are the mini ATM fuses, I'm going the "add-a-fuse/circuit" route, so limited to a 10A fuse.

 

I know the rear 12V point in the trunk is always live, but don't want to have to worry about the battery or install an extension through the headliner.

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

[mtb9153]

Im not sure where the passenger fuse panel is located, if someone can tell me I'll probe the fuses with my Volt Meter and find a full time 12V source

[kc1174]

Im not sure where the passenger fuse panel is located, if someone can tell me I'll probe the fuses with my Volt Meter and find a full time 12V source

 

Hey! I appreciate the help here. I'd take photos but a description is probably best anyway. The passenger fuse panel is under the glovebox. You have to remove the felt cover - there's two black plastic clips holding it up - press them in at the sides and pull the clips down - the cover should come down although it tends to stick on the left hand side sometimes (I think this is where the cabin air filter goes - maybe). The fuse panel is up almost behind the glove box, left of center. It's not easily accessible to be honest, so if it looks too much it's ok. I hadn't considered the volt meter. If you're able to help though this would be great! 

Edited October 24, 2013 by kc1174

[wab]

Page "272 Fuses

Passenger Compartment Fuse Panel

The fuse panel is located on the right side below the glove box."

 

Check fuse position 67 it's for the cell phone in an Energi, I'm guessing it's not keyed???

If it is try fuses 66, 67 and 80 it's unused but says (spare).

 

More info coming tomorrow

wab

 

 

 

 

 

[mtb9153]

According to a diagram I found online fuse 85 is a spare, question is does it have 12v all the time?  If so you could use an add a fuse and connect to the un-used pins.  Simple connection power source

 

Earth locations

E1 On engine

E2 On engine

E3 In Engine Bay behind LH headlight

E4 "A" pilar drivers side

E5 In luggage compartment

E6 LH side of luggage compartment

E7 In Engine bay behind RH headlight

E8 & E9 In passenger compartment, front of LH inner sill

E10 engine bay, by LH strut tower

E11-E13 In passenger compartment, front of RH inner sill

E14 Roof opening panel

E15 behind center of dash

E16 In passenger compartment, LH inner sill below B post

 

Edited October 24, 2013 by mtb9153

[mtb9153]

Hey! I appreciate the help here. I'd take photos but a description is probably best anyway. The passenger fuse panel is under the glovebox. You have to remove the felt cover - there's two black plastic clips holding it up - press them in at the sides and pull the clips down - the cover should come down although it tends to stick on the left hand side sometimes (I think this is where the cabin air filter goes - maybe). The fuse panel is up almost behind the glove box, left of center. It's not easily accessible to be honest, so if it looks too much it's ok. I hadn't considered the volt meter. If you're able to help though this would be great! 

My volt meter is how I found a fuse location to power my new LED DRLs in the engine compartment fuse box, which is the hardest thing to get too hidden under the hood. I broke the plastic latch trying to remove the cover.  It is up against the firewall in front of the drivers compartment completely not visible, you do it completely by touch.  Sounds like the passenger compartment fuse box isn't much better.  I swear Ford what were you thinking?  Just trying to keep the DIY owner from doing certain things themselves?  I will check this out tomorrow and let you know what I find.

Edited October 24, 2013 by mtb9153

[mtb9153]

I have a dashcam and am looking to hardwire a Power Magic Pro through the passenger fuse panel. This keeps the dashcam running but shuts off if it senses the car 12V battery drops below a certain threshold.

 

It needs an accessory fuse, an always live fuse (but am unsure which if any are always live), and an earth. Has anyone any experience installing one of these, or knows which fuse may be live and where an earth point might be in the passenger compartment?

 

My assumption is 59 (passive anti-theft) is live, but not so sure on pulling that.  Since our fuses are the mini ATM fuses, I'm going the "add-a-fuse/circuit" route, so limited to a 10A fuse.

 

I know the rear 12V point in the trunk is always live, but don't want to have to worry about the battery or install an extension through the headliner.

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

I have my Go Pro mini HD cam mounted on top of the CD Player

[jdbob]

 

According to a diagram I found online fuse 85 is a spare, question is does it have 12v all the time?  If so you could use an add a fuse and connect to the un-used pins.  Simple connection power source

 

According to the wiring diagrams in the workshop manual F85 feeds the heated seat modules and switches as well as the TCS (Transmission Control Switch), whatever that is. It is a 7.5A fuse and only hot when the ignition relay is energized.

[mtb9153]

strange my diagram shows F85 as a spare and F86 for the heated seats with a 20amp fuse.  This is per the manual for early adopters since my SEL was built on September 9th 2012

Edited October 24, 2013 by mtb9153

[jdbob]

The owner's manual (3rd printing) agrees with the wiring diagram. What size fuses are actually in your car? I can't imagine they would make such drastic changes.

[wab]

Finding a non-keyed fuse is probably going to be a problem, with the car going to sleep several minutes after key off/door open close.

 

70 Central lock and unlock supply

74 Headlamp supply

83 Central lock and unlock supply

 

 

[kc1174]

Made some progress today - found an always live fuse - 65 10A liftgate release. Got a multimeter and just waited until the interior lights went out - maybe 10 mins or so. I'll likely use 62 (the autowipers/auto mirror I don't have in my SE) for the accessory power. The spare fuse location I didn't check simply because the add-a-fuses don't support greater than 20A total, so wanted to stick with the 5, 7.5, and 10A fuses. Will post back later when it cools down and I get chance to put this together and see how things go. Thanks!

[wab]

Where did you get your ground (earth)?

[kc1174]

Where did you get your ground (earth)?

Hey, I found that the whole metal bar just behind the plastic trim under the glovebox is an earth. There are a couple of bolts on either end, so used the one on the right.

 

Just finished installing the power magic thing and everything seems to be working ok. Ended up using the 5A 81 power sun shade (again SE and no panoramic roof), as 62 didn't allow me to get the add-a-fuse in. Basically the box runs on accessory power when the car is running, and drops down to live when the car's off. Tested the live by leaving my cell in the car, plugged in and having an S4, there's a light to show it's still charging or full. Left it in for an hour with a low battery and it was still charging. Got back in, the Scangauge gave me 12.5V, and the power magic went into accessory when I started her up. The power magic is now safely tucked away in the glovebox. Am on my cell at the moment, but I took some photos and will post them up later. The whole thing was actually pretty simple to throw together once I had the fuses figured out (and simple to unhook and hide should I ever need warranty work...)

[drdiesel1]

By connecting to a 12V power source, you'll be draining the battery whenever the load is active.

This might lead to a dead/discharged battery and will eventually cause battery failure due to a lowered SOC.

[kc1174]

Trying to upload some photos, but getting a message "You can upload up to Uploading is not allowed of files (Max. single file size: 10MB)". Anyone know what this means?

[kc1174]

By connecting to a 12V power source, you'll be draining the battery whenever the load is active.

This might lead to a dead/discharged battery and will eventually cause battery failure due to a lowered SOC.

Yup the power magic pro (should) take care of this. You set the minimum voltage threshold in parking mode and if/when the voltage drops below that figure, it cuts the power. The threshold values set via jumpers are 11.8V, 12V, 22.8V and 23.2V. I went with 12. It only uses power if the dashcam is running and it only runs in parking mode if it senses movement. There's some power in the dashcam to sense movement without the 12V, but to run it needs the 12V.

[fbov]

Interesting... wondered why you'd go through all the trouble. My dash cam simply runs on battery in the event the g-sensor is activated; no need for an always-on source and this thing won't run down the battery even if left on. I had it plugged into the carge by outlet for a while, but it only holds ~2.5 hrs, and I dont' need to record a continuous view of the parking lot.

 

What you've done will have wide application; nice write-up!

 

Have fun,

Frank

[CarpeNivem]

What direction do you have the dashcam facing, and are you concerned about the directions the camera is not facing? I'd love to do something similar, but I feel like I wouldn't be comfortable unless I had at least 3, maybe 4, cameras.

[kc1174]

 

What direction do you have the dashcam facing, and are you concerned about the directions the camera is not facing? I'd love to do something similar, but I feel like I wouldn't be comfortable unless I had at least 3, maybe 4, cameras.

 

Just the usual forward facing camera. It's got a good wide angle like a GoPro. Agree it would be nice to have more but not really feasible or cost effective. If Google have any 360° street view cameras spare that go on the inside with a parking mode at maybe 4K resolution, I'd swap out, but for now I'm happy. The camera flashes so in addition to the OEM perimeter alarm I had installed, this gives me a bit more confidence. Also, here in FL, there's only rear license plates, so a rear cam won't do much and if someone rear ends me, it's usually a given it's their fault especially if I have the front end video to back up I wasn't driving badly.

 

If I had the ability to upload a photo, I would but it still says I can't. Sucks...

Edited November 10, 2013 by kc1174

[kc1174]

Since it's been a few weeks, figured I'd give an update on the Magic Pro and battery. Have it set to 12V and 12 hours (whichever happens first, it cuts out). Absolutely no issues whatsoever. It recorded a storm for 3 hours last week at night (sensitivity settings on the cam were a bit too sensitive I guess), and the battery was at 13.1V when I fired her up. The hardwiring/fuse taps are holding up too, and after spending so long under the glovebox, I now know where the cabin air filter is (black panel to the left - undo silver screw at the bottom, pop off the panel and it's in there). Looks a pain in the rear, but at least now I know. Have to find that thread where folk were asking..

Edited November 10, 2013 by kc1174

[ScubaDadMiami]

 

 

 

If I had the ability to upload a photo, I would but it still says I can't. Sucks...

 

I have the same problem.  The only way to do it is to create an album, which gets to be cumbersome for simple one off pics.

[kc1174]

I have the same problem.  The only way to do it is to create an album, which gets to be cumbersome for simple one off pics.

 

Thanks!  Finally some photos!  :happy feet: Now to see if this works...

 

[CarpeNivem]

That dashboard shelf looks like stuff will fall off of it. ;) ;)

No, but seriously, thanks for the pictures! Great job. Are you concerned at all about the angles the camera doesn't cover? I want to do this in my own car (ever since we got hit in that parking lot) (which, btw, was the second time this year that happened!) but I feel like, if I'm not covering all angles, what happens when someone hits me on another side?

(* the other time it happened was in the car we owned before the CMax, and we just so happened to see it go down, but the person almost certainly would've fled the scene if we hadn't. I say this with quite a bit of certainty, based on my experiences with her over the days that followed.) But yeah, point is, twice in only a few months, our car struck and damaged in a parking lot, so I've definitely been giving security cameras a lot of thought. I just wonder if I'm being silly/excessive by wishing I had 3 or 4 of them. So, what are your thoughts on only having 1?

Edited November 11, 2013 by CarpeNivem

[kc1174]

That dashboard shelf looks like stuff will fall off of it. ;) ;)

 

No, but seriously, thanks for the pictures! Great job. Are you concerned at all about the angles the camera doesn't cover? I want to do this in my own car (ever since we got hit in that parking lot) (which, btw, was the second time this year that happened!) but I feel like, if I'm not covering all angles, what happens when someone hits me on another side?

 

(* the other time it happened was in the car we owned before the CMax, and we just so happened to see it go down, but the person almost certainly would've fled the scene if we hadn't. I say this with quite a bit of certainty, based on my experiences with her over the days that followed.) But yeah, point is, twice in only a few months, our car struck and damaged in a parking lot, so I've definitely been giving security cameras a lot of thought. I just wonder if I'm being silly/excessive by wishing I had 3 or 4 of them. So, what are your thoughts on only having 1?

Thanks! Yeah the shelf didn't look like a load bearing structure, so it has 2 microfiber cloths :)

Sorry about the cars getting hit. Sadly there are inconsiderate people about who don't care about other people's property.

As for the one camera, I'd maybe prefer 2 - one front and one rear (for the tailgaters), but my concern is really the possibility of someone pulling out on me or those who want a new car and like to slam on brakes to get a payout (FL is a no fault state), so some proof I think would help insurance wise. I only have the SE and added the OEM perimeter alarm with the dealer, and with the one dashcam, feel a bit happier. Of course, doesn't help with folk opening doors or people backing out of spaces and into my car, but for the cost of 4 total cameras vs. one and my decductible - if it happens and the camera doesn't catch anything, at least the insurer will see it wasn't anything I did. The dashcam I got was a Blackvue DR500-GW from Amazon - around $250, so while I could have 4, I don't feel it's cost effective overall (plus I wouldn't know where to put the side cameras) :) Hope things go better and if you do get one, let me know if you have any questions. :)

Edited November 11, 2013 by kc1174