Dash Cam Power Outlet Issue

[ToyotaBrah]

Anytime I plug in my dash cam to either one of the two "120V" power outlets, the fuse underneath the hood blows immediately. I replaced it with another 15amp fuse, and it still does it. Any clues as to why this is occurring?

Is it possible that the relay itself is bad?

 

[jeremyc74]

Anytime I plug in my dash cam to either one of the two "120V" power outlets, the fuse underneath the hood blows immediately. I replaced it with another 15amp fuse, and it still does it. Any clues as to why this is occurring?

Is it possible that the relay itself is bad?

Does the fuse blow when the cam isn't plugged in, or does it pop when you plug it in? The relay gets energized as soon as the ignition is turned on. It's almost impossible that the relay itself would fail in a way that would blow the fuse. I'd suspect the dash cam is bad.

Can you try plugging it into another vehicle as a quick verification that it works?

 

[wc11]

Ummm...
Where did you get 120V dash cams ???
I thought all were 12 volt.

I hopes it's a typo. Otherwise your plugging in a 12 volt DC camera into a 120 Volt AC socket.

 

[jeremyc74]

Ummm...
Where did you get 120V dash cams ???
I thought all were 12 volt.

I hopes it's a typo. Otherwise your plugging in a 12 volt DC camera into a 120 Volt AC socket.

I just assumed it was a typo, as we don't have any 120V outlets. Hopefully that's the case!

 

[wc11]

Hopefully and inverter wasn't installed but that would explains a lot.

Otherwise, if it only blows a fuse when plugged in, then there's a dead short on the camera power supply or plug.

 

[ToyotaBrah]

Yes, that was a huge typo. I meant to say 12V, my apologies.

Do you think that it keeps on blowing the fuse because this dash cam requires more power than they can provide? It's a brand new dash cam, and it works fine in my other car.

 

[jeremyc74]

Yes, that was a huge typo. I meant to say 12V, my apologies.

Do you think that it keeps on blowing the fuse because this dash cam requires more power than they can provide? It's a brand new dash cam, and it works fine in my other car.

The outlets are good for 10 amps each. You're blowing 15 amp fuses. Do you have anything else plugged in? It really sounds like a problem with the camera to me.

 

[wc11]

There's no way even if it's got a built in LCD, that a dash cam would draw more than say 3 amps max unless there's a dead short.

It's working in your other car so I suspect there's something wonky with the outlet in the truck.
I can't recall if the socket in the back of my '98 truck was on a different circuit but it's worth a try to see if it pops a fuse as well.

 

[jeremyc74]

I can't recall if the socket in the back of my '98 truck was on a different circuit but it's worth a try to see if it pops a fuse as well.

I'm pretty sure it's on the same one, because they're both controlled with the relay that everyone bypasses.

It could be an issue with the socket itself though, so wouldn't hurt to try the back one.

 

[ToyotaBrah]

I'll try the one in the back and report what happens. I appreciate it, fellas!