Is power in the microphone area for a dashcam "always on" when Sentry is off?

[PhilDavid]

I'm going to have a dashcam installed for additional coverage and security and already bought the wiring kit on eBay to plug into the power available in the microphone area without having to splice cables.

Dashcam Power Cable for Tesla Model S (assembled) | eBay

I want to utilize the parking feature of the dashcam so I need the power to be always on.

Does the microphone area have constant power or switched power (only energized when the car is "on") and are the power sources affected by whether Sentry Mode is on?

 

[Bmac]

I believe the microphone is between the visors in the small grill area and while no expert at this, I have noticed a large number of threads showing pictures and wiring suggestions of 12v always on access in the compartment underneath the rear view mirror.

BTW, are you installing the dashcam or having a garage do it? I'd be interested in the name of the company installing it as I would like to do that but don't feel capable enough of doing it myself.

 

[berkeley_ecar]

I'm going to have a dashcam installed for additional coverage and security and already bought the wiring kit on eBay to plug into the power available in the microphone area without having to splice cables.

Dashcam Power Cable for Tesla Model S (assembled) | eBay

I want to utilize the parking feature of the dashcam so I need the power to be always on.

Does the microphone area have constant power or switched power (only energized when the car is "on") and are the power sources affected by whether Sentry Mode is on?

In my Mar 2017 Model S, Calibred Customs installed my Blackvue dashcams to the wiring in the microphone cavity, and it is always on. For "switched" (accessory rail) power, I used wiring that runs to the electrochromic rear-view mirror to power the illuminated vanity mirrors in my updated sun visors.

 

[PhilDavid]

So the more I think about this, I want the Dashcam to be "on" as long as Sentry is on.

Sentry is on for me everywhere but my home where the car is parked in the garage and I don;t want the Blackvue to be just recording the dark garage in my home.

So where can I tap power in the microphone area so that the dashcam will receive power as long as Sentry is active?

 

[whitex]

So the more I think about this, I want the Dashcam to be "on" as long as Sentry is on.

Sentry is on for me everywhere but my home where the car is parked in the garage and I don;t want the Blackvue to be just recording the dark garage in my home.

So where can I tap power in the microphone area so that the dashcam will receive power as long as Sentry is active?

It may not be as big of a problem as you might think - Blackview slows the recorded frame rate when in park mode, and all black picture compresses amazingly well so it takes very little SD space.

 

[PhilDavid]

It may not be as big of a problem as you might think - Blackview slows the recorded frame rate when in park mode, and all black picture compresses amazingly well so it takes very little SD space.

I realize that but I'd rather that Blackvue just not run and consume any power when it is in my locked and dark garage at home.

I basically has Sentry be avctive everywhere but home because the car is in a locked garage while at home so would like to duplicate the same activation model for the Blackvue.

So is there a power source in the microphone area that powers on with Sentry and powers off when the car is off and Sentry is not active?

 

[whitex]

I realize that but I'd rather that Blackvue just not run and consume any power when it is in my locked and dark garage at home.

I basically has Sentry be avctive everywhere but home because the car is in a locked garage while at home so would like to duplicate the same activation model for the Blackvue.

So is there a power source in the microphone area that powers on with Sentry and powers off when the car is off and Sentry is not active?

Fyi, sentry mode consumes a lot more energy than blackvue, When parking at the airport for many days for example, I leave dual channel BV on, but I would not leave sentry mode on. Full disclosure though, even though I have sentry mode on one of our Teslas, we just don't use it as it's not reliable enough, but does consume power and add wear to the MCU. While MCU2 is hopefully designed to last longer than MCU1, using sentry mode likely increases the time the MCU is ON very significantly, possible more than 2x. There must be a reason why Tesla removed the "Always On" option from MCU2, even though with Always On the car responds much quicker to the App, or opens the charge port door when locked (I know, it's very annoying that sometimes I have to wait a minute or more for the MCU2 car to wake up to plug it in, while my old MCU1 opens the charge port instantly).

 

[EVortex]

Hi PhilDavid,
The 12v connection from the mirror is switched, but is on when parked if Sentry mode is on. I had my dash cam wired to the non-switched 12v in the microphone area before Sentry mode was available and have since changed it to use the power at the mirror. I also bought the enhanced entrusion protection that uses the microphone power so that was another reason I wanted to switch to the mirror power. All works nicely together and the dash cam is only on when parked if Sentry mode is enabled.

 

[PhilDavid]

Hi PhilDavid,
The 12v connection from the mirror is switched, but is on when parked if Sentry mode is on. I had my dash cam wired to the non-switched 12v in the microphone area before Sentry mode was available and have since changed it to use the power at the mirror. I also bought the enhanced entrusion protection that uses the microphone power so that was another reason I wanted to switch to the mirror power. All works nicely together and the dash cam is only on when parked if Sentry mode is enabled.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

This is exactly what I want to do. Basically have the Blackvue follow the same activation profile as Sentry.

If Sentry is off, don't record Dashcam and if Sentry is on, record Blackvue. This allows me to use the Sentry exclusion settings also for Blackvue.

Could you please do us all a favor, open up your microphone area and post a few photos showing exactly how and where you tapped power from the mirror so that Blackvue is only powered when Sentry is on?

 

[EVortex]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

This is exactly what I want to do. Basically have the Blackvue follow the same activation profile as Sentry.

If Sentry is off, don't record Dashcam and if Sentry is on, record Blackvue. This allows me to use the Sentry exclusion settings also for Blackvue.

Could you please do us all a favor, open up your microphone area and post a few photos showing exactly how and where you tapped power from the mirror so that Blackvue is only powered when Sentry is on?

Just to be clear, switched power to the mirror is on when the car is on, but also when the car is off and Sentry mode is on. When the car is off and Sentry mode is off, power to the mirror is off. You access the mirror power by first carefully prying off the plastic cover on the back of the mirror assembly. I have the IRO dash cam that mounts in place of this plastic cover and has a connector adapter that is plug and play with the mirror power adapter. You would need to tap into the power wires for your Blackvue if it does not have a similar connector adapter. Here is a link to an installation video for IRO that provides more context and a better idea about where the mirror connector is located.

 

[PhilDavid]

Wow. What a clean install.

Is it possible to transplant a Blackvue into the housing of the IRO so you can have 4K, parking features with the clean installation look of the IRO dashcam?

I'd pay for the cost of the BlackVue + IRO + some extra for a super clean solution!

 

[EVortex]

Wow. What a clean install.

Is it possible to transplant a Blackvue into the housing of the IRO so you can have 4K, parking features with the clean installation look of the IRO dashcam?

I'd pay for the cost of the BlackVue + IRO + some extra for a super clean solution!

Interesting idea. Not sure, but I like the concept!

 

[Nick70d]

I'm going to have a dashcam installed for additional coverage and security and already bought the wiring kit on eBay to plug into the power available in the microphone area without having to splice cables.

Dashcam Power Cable for Tesla Model S (assembled) | eBay

I want to utilize the parking feature of the dashcam so I need the power to be always on.

Does the microphone area have constant power or switched power (only energized when the car is "on") and are the power sources affected by whether Sentry Mode is on?

Yes its always on