audi-one

I've noticed that the USB ports provide always on power. Or at least it continues to power for a while after I shut down the ignition--I haven't sat there looking for hours.

How much of a risk of draining the battery would there be to use the USB port as the power source for a dashcam in parking mode?

scoopman

My understanding is that the USB ports provide power until you open the door or for a certain amount of time after you turn off the car. It's not continuous.

audi-one

You're absolutely right. My bad! It's probably a few minutes after the car shuts down. But at least I can use the USB port instead of a 12V DC adapter, with the right cable. (A functional data cable turns the dash cam into USB mode).

Since many of you are engineering types, I did measure the draw for the dash cam using my a USB multimeter. It's 5V @ ~0.5A. It would fluctuate between ~0.2-0.5A, but 0.5A was the max.

scoopman

The USB ports in our Audis will actually serve up to 1.5A in data mode with a device such as a phone that wants that much power (that's why your phone will charge decently fast, even though it's exercising lots of things when running AA). Most dashcams use the min USB standard of power which is 0.5A.

USB port would work fine to power the dashcam, assuming you have a very recent Audi where they started putting one USB port in the console above the cupholders. Your camera will shut down when you open the door to your car I believe. In my S5SB, there are 2 USBs in the center console under the armrest, and so running the cable out to there would be inconvenient.

audi-one

Good point with the USB locations. Is that an A5 vs. S5 variation then? We both have 2018s.

Mine still looks ugly compared to your install. I received my A119 this weekend and tried running the very hefty included cable where you did. I got as far as the upper window, but chickened out when I got to the A-pillar LOL =(.

Also found out that a suction cup mount on the the rear window is not feasible. I think the defrost lines break the seal.

scoopman

Mid-year 2018 Audi started putting one of the 2 USBs next to the 12V in the front of the cupholders. It's more convenient for many uses, including for CarPlay and Android Auto. I actually ran a cable from my armrest to a similar location to make it easier to plug in my phone.

What I did is run the cable around the top of the A-pillar and then down the outside of it embedded in the rubber seal. It's pretty easy with a trim kit tool. It's also best this way as it doesn't interfere with the operation of the airbag in the pillar.

On the back, I mounted the dashcam using 3M double-sided tape at the very top. suction cups won't hold anyhow in the summer with sunlight and difference in temps.