Sandi587

I currently have a mirror tap in place for my radar detector. Am planning on dash cam install in next couple of weeks. My question is, does anyone know the power limits of the mirror tap circuit? I’d like to tap into the same circuit to power both rd and dash cam, to avoid routing wires through the pillars and panels from the rear fuse box. Not sure if it would draw too much in amperage though.

Has anyone done this? Run two units off the the mirror tap?

Thanks for any input.

Dcasole

Sandi I got to believe that the fuse is at least a 5 amp fuse , I am confident that your radar detector and dash cam are not even pulling close to 5 amps ,and whatever that wire is powering in the mirror as to also be a very small draw , so you should be fine
Worse that's going yo happen is u will pop the fuse
Dave

erick_e

There is a 2 amp inline fuse internal to the Mirror Tap.

https://www.blendmount.com/mirrortap.html

davepl

5 amps would be 60W. You could run an old incandescent light bulb and power an EZBake Oven with a 60W bulb, so I sure hope your detector and dash cam don't take that kind of power!

Pretty sure you're safe.

Also, I have both a dash cam and V1 connected to mine.

Flame Red

May I please inquire which Dash Cam you are considering?

Many of them require a little box to do voltage conversion, and to turn off the camera when the battery runs low in parking mode. I found a couple that seem to work off of 12V and might be candidates for Mirror Tap.

But there does not seem to be a "perfect" dash cam. They all seem to have their pluses and minus.

Sandi587

Still researching. Have to decide if I want dual front/rear or just front. Good point on the voltage conversion, hadn’t thought of that aspect, have to keep that in mind. Not worried about the battery protection as the mirror tap has no power when vehicle is off. I did use a battery protection setup in the truck.

Sandi587

That might be a concern. I’ll have to calculate power draw from rd and any potential dash cam. 2 amp isn’t much.

CubPilot

The red wire to the inside mirror (self dimming) is always hot and it is a 10 amp fuse.
The purple wire to the inside mirror is a switched (has power when the ignition is turned on) 12v wire and is a 5 amp, fuse #51 on the fuse block in the engine compartment.
I know the owners manual says that fuse #51 is for the instrument panel and it is. But that fuse is actually TWO fuses protecting TWO circuits in what looks like one fuse, the other circuit being the purple wire that goes to the inside mirror.

Some photos here at post 19. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-detector.html

kenward

Thank you very much. I just did the Blend Mount install and the RD worked initially, but unfortunately, not when I when I buttoned things up. One leg of #51 5 amp fuse was indeed blown. Saved me countless hours of diag time and associated stress. You are my hero today.