Dashcams have become standard equipment in any vehicle. More and more people are constantly purchasing and installing these pieces of tech into their cars.
The wiring can be simple or complicated. But what kind of cable for dashcam will you need? There are three cable variants that you can pick from, and I will explain all of them in the following sections.
By the end of the article, you will clearly understand which cable type is best suited for you and your needs.
What Kind of Cable for Dashcam Do You Need?
There are three different cable types you can use to connect the dashcam to your car:
- A standard USB charging cable with a USB-A plug
- A USB charging cable with a cigarette lighter socket charger
- A special dashcam hardwire kit
Dashcams usually come with all the necessary cables supplied right out of the box. Depending on the model, these cables often consist of a standard USB cable with either a cigarette lighter socket charger or a USB-A plug.
What kind of cable for the dashcam you choose depends on how you want to connect it to your car and whether or not you want the cables to be visible.
3 Cable Types to Connect Your Dash Cam
Therefore, what kind of cable for dashcam do you need? Well, your choice mainly depends on your personal preference and what you want to achieve. Let’s look at the three cable types most often used to connect a dashcam to a car.
A standard USB-A charging cable
Since most dashcams have a built-in USB port (often a Mini USB port), it is quite easy to connect them to the vehicle using a standard USB-A cable.
The advantages of a standard USB-A cable are that you can plug it into a cigarette lighter socket adapter to connect the dashcam, or you can use an external power bank to connect the dashcam.
However, this versatility has its aesthetic downside since a cable will be visible and hanging at all times in front of your car’s dashboard. This cable may not be the best choice if you’re thinking about frequently using your dashcam.
Note that the USB-A cable will only work when your car is running. Once you turn it off, the camera will also power down and stop recording.
Read more: Can A Dash Cam Be Powered By USB?
A USB charging cable with a cigarette lighter socket charger
Most dashcams come packed with cigarette lighter socket chargers out of the box. This is also how people connect their dashcams most frequently.
Depending on the dashcam model, one end of the cable might have a Mini or Micro USB port, while the other will have a fixed cigarette lighter socket adapter.
Cables of this type vary in length; most are between 10 and 15 feet long, so you have enough length to hide the cable under the car’s dashboard trim.
Note that once the car is not in operation, the dashcam will not receive power since the cigarette lighter socket is also turned off.
A special dashcam hardwire kit
If you want to permanently install and permanently use a dashcam in your car, then opting for a special cable kit with dedicated fuse pins is the best choice you can make.
A special dashcam hardwire kit is fitted and installed under the car’s interior trim, and the wires are not visible or in the way. I’ve included a well-explained tutorial with images for you, so I will not go into much detail about the installation process.
The great thing about the dashcam hardwire kit is that you can wire it directly into the car’s electrical system and choose to power it at all times, even when the car is not working. This is best if you want to constantly record everything in front of your car.
The downside of using a hardwire kit is that the dashcam constantly drains power, so your car battery may significantly discharge. Please note this when installing your dashcam and wiring it directly to the car’s power source.
Also read: Can I Power A Dash Cam With A Power Bank?
Conclusion
So, what kind of cable for dashcam will you possibly need? Well, I hope you have found the proper answer above, and now you can choose the most suitable cable for your dashcam.