What is the AT Shift Indicator (AT IND) fuse?

I have a 2019 CX-9. I just had a dashcam installed and see that they wired it to the AT IND slot, but there's no preexisting fuse in the tap. So I'm not sure if I lost a fuse or if it was never there in the first place.

The shifter lights still turn on without it somehow. I have an automatic transmission if that matters. FWIW I have a family member with an automatic 2015 CX-5 and they do have a fuse in the corresponding location (which of course is different from the CX-9).
 
Didn’t physically check but according to the owner manual there should be a 7.5 amp fuse there. Is it possible that the shop that installed the dashcam removed it and bypassed it to complete the installation?
 
Yes, hence my concern, but you'd think the indicator light would be off if that were the case. So I'm thinking maybe it isn't used for automatics in the CX-9, although it is in an automatic CX-5...
 
I am thinking they bypassed the fuse altogether. I have a fuse in that location for my 2018 cx-9.

if they use a jumper or hardwire the connection behind the fuse then the lights would still be on.
5843BFB6-218B-4FD6-A061-EC2C7A39508C.jpeg
 
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How would I be able to tell if they bypassed it? Visually I don't see any difference compared to the other fuse sockets when I remove the tap.
 
I also notice on the fuse panel cover, the diagram of the fuses includes information that's not present in the owners manual: optional fuses are marked with parentheses. This makes me suspect the fuse was never there to begin with.

The other fuse they tapped (the dashcam requires two fuses to detect ignition off for parking mode) is the sunroof fuse, and I don't have a sunroof. In that case they seem to have put a non-original fuse for the original circuit in that tap. Strange that they wouldn't do it for both or neither.
 
How would I be able to tell if they bypassed it? Visually I don't see any difference compared to the other fuse sockets when I remove the tap.

the Tap may be (probably) closing the circuit without the fuse. When you remove the tap, does everything else still works?
 
I'll check it out, but that would seem to defeat the purpose of a tap, given that there's a slot specifically for the fuse to the original circuit.
 
If i understand what they did (without seeing it), The tap is an easy way to gain access to power instead of splicing cables. It is a cleaner solution overall, less prone to failures and more reversible. You use the fuse connectors to hook up to into instead. A fuse is just a bridge, you can replace by a straight connection and everything would still work. But the fuse is designed to cut the connection if there is an issue and the load is too high.

Ideally the circuit should still be protected by a fuse. A lot of taps have fuses to them which maintains the fuse protection. Either they deleted the fuse entirely, which is not great, or the dashcam is connected in series and contains its own fuse protection somewhere else along the circuit negating the need for a fuse in the fuse box.
 
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Thanks for the picture btw, for some reason it didn't load when I last checked this page.

As I understand, it's standard practice to add a fuse tap rather than muck with the internals of the panel and wiring. One slot on the tap is for the original fuse and guards the original circuit (if present), the other is for the circuit created by the tap itself. (Depending on the orientation of the tap, the fuses are either connected in parallel or series to the power source.)

In this case, the tap they added has a fuse in the spot for the added circuit (the dashcam) but not for the original circuit (the AT IND slot). Yet the shifter still lights up.

I wonder if the slot is vestigial in this car. For instance, the picture you posted shows a fuse in the sunroof slot. Does your car have the sunroof? And (if you're willing to pull fuses) does your shifter still light up if you pull the AT IND fuse?
 
As I understand, it's standard practice to add a fuse tap rather than muck with the internals of the panel and wiring. One slot on the tap is for the original fuse and guards the original circuit (if present), the other is for the circuit created by the tap itself. (Depending on the orientation of the tap, the fuses are either connected in parallel or series to the power source.)

your understanding sounds correct. It is strange to me as well that your tap doesn’t have 2 fuses on it, but the fuse tap doesn’t tell the whole story. The fuse tap is for the positive wire of the dashcam, it would be possible to connect the negative wire back to the AT Indicator circuit somewhere else to connect the dash cam and the AT indicator in series. If connected that way then the single fuse would connect both. I don’t know why you would set it up that way but it is a possibility.

It is also strange to me that the sunroof location has 2 fuses if there was no fuse in that location originally (unless they had to put the orientation of the tap fuses In series due to space constraint).

i do have a sunroof. I am not 100% confident what the AT Ind shift powers, it could be the little light on the transmission column or it could be the module that sends the gear selection information to the dashboard and start module. (Showing gears and preventing car to start when not in park). If everything is working fine then the circuit is likely closed somewhere. You can always ask the shop that did the job if it is normal that there is only one fuse on that tap. A good shop would have no issue explaining the installation, tell them you want to know in case you ever need to change a fuse.
 
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