Dashcam Hardwire w/o Fuse Box *ALMOST* as easy as Dongar

[SnowmanJPS]

Are you talking about these?
90467-07215
https://wholesaledirect.moderntoyot...15?c=bT0xJmw9MSZuPVJlY29tbWVuZGVkIFByb2R1Y3Rz

I usually have better luck finding part numbers by searching through the Toyota part sites. Once you have the part number you can usually find it cheaper elsewhere or get a generic that works on Amazon in a box of 50.

I think its these but I'm not 100% sure, worth a shot though

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[Underground24]

Thanks for the post. Are you saying the Dongar Pro doesn't support parking mode for Viofo dashcams? This is contrary to what their website advertises. I don't see anywhere where it says pro not compatible with Viofo?

 

[BoboForShort]

Thanks for the post. Are you saying the Dongar Pro doesn't support parking mode for Viofo dashcams? This is contrary to what their website advertises. I don't see anywhere where it says pro not compatible with Viofo?

The Dongar Pro has it's own "parking mode" where it continues to provide power to the dashcam after the ignition is turned off. This is great for dashcams without their own built in parking mode.

The Viofo has a parking mode (when hard wired) where it detects that the ignition is turned off and it goes into one of several parking modes that either use less power or a lower memory usage.

When you power a Viofo with a Dongar Pro, the Viofo does not know when the ignition is turned off because all it sees is that it is getting USB power. So it will continue to record when parked, but you will not have the advantage of the low power or low memory usage state that the built in parking mode provides.

 

[Kjc]

Will one of the Dongar plugs work? I have the Dongar pro and a Viofo... A little upset parking mode doesn't work... Can I pull their wires from one of their connectors and hook to the hardwire kit?

Thanks for the write up... I did the fuse tap after getting pissed at the Dongar pro but I didn't wanna leave it uncovered...

Or splice the hardwire kit to one of these... I was hoping the one on the left?

 

[Underground24]

The Dongar Pro has it's own "parking mode" where it continues to provide power to the dashcam after the ignition is turned off. This is great for dashcams without their own built in parking mode.

The Viofo has a parking mode (when hard wired) where it detects that the ignition is turned off and it goes into one of several parking modes that either use less power or a lower memory usage.

When you power a Viofo with a Dongar Pro, the Viofo does not know when the ignition is turned off because all it sees is that it is getting USB power. So it will continue to record when parked, but you will not have the advantage of the low power or low memory usage state that the built in parking mode provides.

Thank you for the detailed reply Bobo that clears up a lot!

Looks like Viofo has a hardwire kit and two add a fuses for $22. The taco has mini low profile or mini ats fuses? Guessing there is a constant and switched fuse that I can easily tap into under the passenger side glove compartment box? Thanks!

 

[BoboForShort]

Will one of the Dongar plugs work? I have the Dongar pro and a Viofo... A little upset parking mode doesn't work... Can I pull their wires from one of their connectors and hook to the hardwire kit?

Thanks for the write up... I did the fuse tap after getting pissed at the Dongar pro but I didn't wanna leave it uncovered...

Or splice the hardwire kit to one of these... I was hoping the one on the left?

Yes, the one on the left will work perfectly. That connector is actually what gave me the inspiration to do this.

I believe the Dongar wires are 22AWG and the Viofo hardwire kits are 20 AWG. So just make sure you use a 22-20 size butt splice wire crimp.

The color codes are the same between the Dongar wires and Viofo hardwire. Just need to cut and crimp.

 

[BoboForShort]

Thank you for the detailed reply Bobo that clears up a lot!

Looks like Viofo has a hardwire kit and two add a fuses for $22. The taco has mini low profile or mini ats fuses? Guessing there is a constant and switched fuse that I can easily tap into under the passenger side glove compartment box? Thanks!

You will need mini low profile fuses. There are fuses in the interior fuse panel under the glovebox that will work. The problem is that there is not enough space between the fuse box and the plastic kick cover to fit an add a fuse so you will need to leave the cover off.

See the detailed post by Dongar in this thread to see what I mean.

https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/dash-cam-solutions-for-2024-tacoma.1869/page-2

 

[Underground24]

You will need mini low profile fuses. There are fuses in the interior fuse panel under the glovebox that will work. The problem is that there is not enough space between the fuse box and the plastic kick cover to fit an add a fuse so you will need to leave the cover off.

See the detailed post by Dongar in this thread to see what I mean.

https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/dash-cam-solutions-for-2024-tacoma.1869/page-2

Appreciate the post and info!

 

[Kjc]

Yes, the one on the left will work perfectly. That connector is actually what gave me the inspiration to do this.

I believe the Dongar wires are 22AWG and the Viofo hardwire kits are 20 AWG. So just make sure you use a 22-20 size butt splice wire crimp.

The color codes are the same between the Dongar wires and Viofo hardwire. Just need to cut and crimp.

I wonder if it works also from the rearveiw mirror plug? Did you try there or only from the dome light area? I'm thinking of cutting off the Dongar and splicing to hardwire kit from there

 

[BoboForShort]

I wonder if it works also from the rearveiw mirror plug? Did you try there or only from the dome light area? I'm thinking of cutting off the Dongar and splicing to hardwire kit from there

That would work just fine. It's the same concept. Since you have a premade splitter it should be no problem.

 

[Josh256]

I went the FitcamX route which replaced the mirror cover (eg. stealth dashcam) and also included a pass-through power adaptor. It's pricey but nothing on the windshield. Install took 10min.

 

[TrustButVerify]

I’ve been enjoying my 2024 Trailhunter for about a month now, and one of my first priorities was installing a dashcam. I initially bought a Dongar Pro after seeing it heavily recommended online. It’s a great product, but it’s not fully compatible with VIOFO cameras, which I wanted to use—specifically, it doesn’t support their built-
in parking mode. I still wanted a clean install, so I started exploring alternatives that didn’t require tapping into the fuse box, which seems to have limited space.

**If you just want to power a camera and don't care about parking mode, use the Dongar adapters. If you want to add a parking mode to a camera that doesn't have a built in one then go with the Dongar Pro. If you have a camera with a built in parking mode and want to use it, read on.**

Here's what you'll need:

A dashcam. I like the VIOFO A229:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MRVP2PX

A hardwire or fusetap for your camera. This is the one for the VIOFO A229
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MRVP2PX

A plug for the OEM dashcam power (90980-12366). Get the female plug with the wires already pinned, trust me. I'm an electrical engineer and thought I would be slick by pinning it myself and it was a huge pain and I gave up after pinning just one wire. You can use a wire tap/splice if you would like but I did not want to cut into the wire harness:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806039270154.html

Some sort of crimp or solder connector and whatever related tools you need to connect the wires on the plug to the wires for the hardwire kit.


Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Connect the wires from the plug to the wires for your hardwire kit. Black is ground, red is 12VDC constant, and yellow is 12VDC accessory. Wire them as shown in the photo. You can cut the other wires short.

2. Remove the dome light. Pull straight down on the front on both sides. There are 2 red clips that hold it in. I was unlucky and broke one after removing it a few times. You can buy them on amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGPHRJ8T

3. Plug it into the OEM dashcam plug that should be present on all 2024+ models. Maybe not SR, but I'm not sure. I'd recommend testing it first before mounting and wiring everything in.

ALL DONE! That's it. Pretty plug and play, the only hard part is crimping the wires and waiting for the slow boat from China to deliver the connector.

Some notes on cable routing. The space next to the dome light is fairly cavernous and you should be able to stash most of your excess wire up there.

The clip for the visor comes off with a quarter turn counter clockwise and it lets you pull the headliner down a little to tuck cables and do the final wiring.

If you have a rear camera I would recommend starting from the back and stashing any excess in the headliner once you get to the front. Otherwise it's pretty standard, follow the headliner around to the door seals and then go from door seal to pillar to door seal to pillar in the rear and then tuck the rest into the headliner in the back.

This is great. I have the Dongar, but the camera I have won't work in sentry mode with their system. The system the Pro uses to provide always on power is suboptimal. Cameras are not configured to use parking mode the way the Dongar provides power when the truck is off. Their idea was interesting, but the consequences of it didn't work.

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