R231 - switched live from driver-side fusebox?

[W1Z]

Hi all

I'm trying to fit a dashcam to my SL400 R231. I've got all the cables nicely hidden and run down the pillar to the driver-side fuse box where I need a permanent and a switched live, the only problem is, I've tested all the fuses there with a meter and every one seems to be a permanent live. Has anyone else found a switched live in or near that box? If not, would anyone happen to have a fuse diagram for a R231?

TIA.

 

[Wighty]

There was no switched live in either of my two MB's on the drivers side . One of the Indys on here always says buy a seperate cigarette lighter socket and wire that into the existing ones wiring but behind the fascia and then you can plug the dashcam straight into that .
This is what I'll be doing next time I fit one .

 

[W1Z]

I think I’ve found a grommet through to the engine bay where I can use a piggyback fuse into a switched live. I’ll let you know if it works.

 

[W1Z]

So, just in case it helps someone else. There is a large grommet on the drives side bulkhead which you can push a wire through to come out near the driver side cabin fuse box. I then ran the cable to the passenger side engine bay fuse box and used a piggyback adapter to get a switched live. The fuse I used comes on when you unlock the door and goes off about 1 minute after the engine goes off, so makes for a perfect switched live for the camera. Not sure which fuse it as as I don’t have a map but you can see the location in the photo.

 

[Srdl]

Well done. This may help for the future
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/at...81734962-r231-fuse-chart-14-sl-fuse-chart.pdf

 

[W1Z]

Thanks a lot. I found that but it appears to be for an R230 not an R231 - certainly the fuse I used isn't shown on the map. I'll see if I can get the number, but it's the only 15 amp fuse in the location near where the piggyback block is.

 

[carnut13]

Just had a Garmin 55 Dashcam fitted by Halfords in Frome. Very pleased with the cam and the fit. It was fitted under the rear-view mirror and the wires run around the screen and into the fuse box behind the drivers seat, always on with a widget that stops battery drain. Halfords have a full fuse box plan for the R231

The Garmin is very small and the only one to conform to the rather ridiculous laws on dash cam fitting as apposed to satnav which can be fitted in more places.Comes with 8 gb but I upgraded it to 64gb micro SD at only £8!This gives about 6 hrs continuous filming before looping

 

[W1Z]

The Garmin is very small and the only one to conform to the rather ridiculous laws on dash cam fitting as apposed to satnav which can be fitted in more places.

After lots of research I fitted the Thinkware Q800, partly because it's pretty small and discrete but also because of it's night recording performance and 2k recording, which makes reading number plates easier. I placed it right at the top of the screen, just to the left of the roof console, so that way there are absolutely no wires showing and it's well inside the "green zone" for legality. I ran both the permanent live and switched live under the roof trim and down the pillar to the driver side fuse box where I got the switched live and then continued the permanent live through the grommet in the bulkhead into the engine fuse box. Very happy with the install as it's out of the way with no wires showing anywhere. Only annoying thing is that, as you can see from the second picture, there are already built in cameras on my car used for the Driver's Assistance pack. These do send video to the main unit because when it was in for service I saw the camera view on the centre screen! Why that can't be used as a dashcam and feed to the SD card I don't know, seems such a waste.

Nice to hear Halfords did a good job though. I'm always a little wary about their fitters because I think the standard can vary a lot but sounds like you got a good one so I'll definitely think of them for my next project.

 

[W1Z]

It was fitted under the rear-view mirror

If they fitted it under the rear-view mirror on an R231, I would say it's it's certainly in the swept area of the windscreen wipers and therefore not fitted lawfully - if that worries you...

https://www.roadhawk.co.uk/articles/product-placement-is-your-dash-cam-breaking-the-law

 

[alexanderfoti]

If they fitted it under the rear-view mirror on an R231, I would say it's it's certainly in the swept area of the windscreen wipers and therefore not fitted lawfully - if that worries you...

https://www.roadhawk.co.uk/articles/product-placement-is-your-dash-cam-breaking-the-law

Only issue with placing outside the zone, is that the camera will be blind in the rain.

 

[W1Z]

Only issue with placing outside the zone, is that the camera will be blind in the rain.

You can go 40mm into it. If you look at the second pic I posted, you can see the lens of mine is just under the swipe of the wiper so it's ok on both counts.

It's a bit of a pain ruling though and a bit ambiguous. I mean, are they saying that you can't have a camera that encroaches more that 40 mm into the swipe of the blade, or more than 40mm from the edge of a factory fixing? I mean, my factory cameras encroach more than 40 mm under the area wiped by the blade!