I have a 2006 B7 A4, and I am having a difficult time hard wiring my new dash cam. The unit came with a cigarette lighter adapter that works just fine with the cam when I use the lighter sockets in the cabin. However, I would like to have a "set it and forget it" set-up in my car, so I would like to access switched power. Both of the B7's lighter sockets are always on, so hard wiring is my only option.

I currently have a Valentine V1 hardwired to my fuse box via an "add a circuit" connector, and it has been working flawlessly for years, so I decided to pursue a similar route.

As the camera's cigarette adapter has a 12v to 5v converter in it, I tried hard wiring a cigarette lighter socket to the fuse box with a similar add a circuit. When I hook it up to an always on fuse, all works well except for the fact that I have to manually turn the unit on and off. However, when I use switched power, it works intermittently. It seems when the battery is low, the unit does not receive enough power to record and charge at the same time, so the unit shuts off... especially after weekend in my garage.

I have tried 5 amp – 35 amp fuses all to the same effect.

Do any of my Audi friends have any suggestions? Many thanks!

 

It turns out that the cigarette lighter outlet that I installed was faulty. With a new one, the camera works perfectly.