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Use LED dome light wires to power dashcam

jackalope

Ready to race!
Location
Austin
I'm looking for a simple power source for a dashcam without running cables along the headliner and A pillar. So far the one possibility seems to be to cut the wires for one of the LED dome lights and wiring that to a 12v to USB 5v converter tucked up in the console. The problem is I don't know how many amps the circuit board and/or wires can handle. The LED bulbs are very dim, I'm guessing under 1 watt. Anyone have any idea what a safe power draw would be?

https://i.imgur.com/OjRjvul.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pidtMi4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tJ9FaWO.jpg

Edit: Image tags removed because pictures showed up huge
 
Last edited:

jackalope

Ready to race!
Location
Austin
I suspect the LEDs are less than 12v, maybe 5V or 3.7V? I tried to power one of the LEDs with 12v from a hard drive AC adapter, and it burned out.

I plan to test once I get my "2 pin GPU fan wire extension" which I think is the same connector (I decided not to splice into the existing wires)
 

jackalope

Ready to race!
Location
Austin
I was able to get my multimeter probes into the white plugs and measured the voltage.

Car ignition set to on but engine off--
Car cigarette lighter socket: 11.8V
Dome light: 11.0V

Car engine on--
Car cigarette lighter socket: 13.8V
Dome light: 12.0V

It looks like there is a resistor to reduce voltage for the LED lights, or maybe just thin wiring
 
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