Do You Turn off Your Hardwired Dashcam Manually Every Time You Get Home (in The Garage) ?

[Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 16:41
Last edited 10/04/2023 - 16:56

Just want to ask the question as per the subject, if people manually turn off their dashcam manually every time you parked your car at home (in the garage)?

Hardwiring the dashcam does serve beneficial as it is powered constantly by your 12v battery, however for those who have their car parked at home majority of the time (i.e. 2 days in the office) and especially no drop-off and pickup during school holiday, it feels dumb to have it on constantly in the garage and chewing your battery.

Surely there's a smarter way to completely switch off the dashcam once we arrived home?

Automotive Dash Camera

Comments

  • Hackney on 10/04/2023 - 16:54
    +15

    Mine just shuts completely off, once the car is turned off.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 16:55

      Hard-wired or Cigarette plug?

      • Hackney on 11/04/2023 - 06:25
        +5

        Plugged into a USB port.Does not draw any power once car is completely shut down.I just couldn’t be bothered having it hardwired, cable goes up through the headlining & down the A pillar & under the dash, comes up into the console.All very neat.

    • m4gician on 12/04/2023 - 08:42
      +1

      Same. Hardwired.

  • Kukareku2 on 10/04/2023 - 16:57
    +13

    BlackVue Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit

    • photonbuddy on 11/04/2023 - 14:30

      This!

      Brilliant piece of kit. I like the ability to turn the camera off when the car is off, or have it run continuously when the car is off. For those times I forget … it'll shut off after 6 hours, or when the voltage drops to 12v (from memory).

      It would be nice to have something like a programmable beacon at home, so that when the car is within range, the camera automatically switches off, but that might be a tad expensive …

      • teamfletch on 12/04/2023 - 07:14

        Don’t the Blackvue cameras have this built in now?

        • mctubster on 12/04/2023 - 10:35

          Yes

        • photonbuddy on 12/04/2023 - 14:50

          They may do, but I started with the DR-400, then bought the revised version, then, when that failed, bought a cheapie as I was waiting for Street Guardian to release their dual unit. Then the cheap unit died, so I went with a Viofo a129 Duo.

          Still using my PMP after a decade, and going strong.

    • Mintee on 12/04/2023 - 17:20

      I actually have a cell-link battery which also works great. Avoids hard wiring but still provides sufficient recording in parking mode

  • kerfuffle on 10/04/2023 - 17:05

    No

  • SBOB on 10/04/2023 - 17:05
    +15

    Surely there's a smarter way to completely switch off the dashcam once we arrived home?

    Yep, most would have dedicated hardwire kits.
    e.g. Viofo with hardwire kit, shuts off if voltage detected below 'x' in car battery.

    • 87percent on 10/04/2023 - 17:13

      Viofo a119 user here, and it shuts itself off

    • HardQuiz on 10/04/2023 - 17:20

      Can you adjust/change the vale of ‘x’ ?

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 17:25

      say you're working 2 days a week in the office, which makes the remainder 5 days at home and you have your dashcam constantly running in your home garage?

      • apsilon on 10/04/2023 - 17:30

        It's likely the camera would shut off within 24 hours even on large batteries using the voltage setting.

      • HardQuiz on 10/04/2023 - 17:31
        +1

        It’s not constant, it shuts down by itself. Probably after few hours.

        • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 19:06

          Because it hits the low voltage value therefore shut down?

          • HardQuiz on 10/04/2023 - 20:16

            @[Deactivated]: Yes

            • BLAIL on 11/04/2023 - 10:18

              @HardQuiz: I've set mine to record only up to 12 hours after engine turns off. So it shuts off after that period.

  • Oldbugga on 10/04/2023 - 17:35

    Viofo A129 duo user, if hardwired correctly will switch off after ignition turned off. Same with cigarette plug as it is disabled by ignition on Subarus. Often vehicle not used for a week and never had a flat battery in close to four years.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 17:41

      If it is disabled by ignition, does that mean you don't have parking monitoring?

      • life is suffering on 10/04/2023 - 17:43

        Looks like it.

        Mine shuts off after it reaches 12v I think

      • sane on 10/04/2023 - 18:44

        Most have some kind of capacitor or battery to deliver parking monitoring for typical parking durations. Mine certainly does.

      • whyisave on 12/04/2023 - 00:07

        I used to have parking monitoring switched on on Viofo A129 Plus Duo,
        but I found out that it was chewing through my battery,
        the 'motion sensor' is not always the best,
        and Viofo themselves stopped updating the "parking monitoring" part of the firmware.

        I think they acknowledge that there was some issue.

        Still, it was quite interesting to watch the videos while the car was in park
        ….and especially when it was at home, as you can see yourself putting the bins out,
        or see possums at night, walking along the carport, etc.

  • Oldbugga on 10/04/2023 - 17:40
    -1

    PS Viofo uses capacitor for power in parking mode surveillance and not battery supply. Shut off time on idle is relational to segment selection time unless ignition key is on for accesories.

    • bejahi on 12/04/2023 - 09:57
      +5

      Yeah that's completely incorrect. The capacitor lasts a few seconds and allows the camera to save the file and shut itself down cleanly.

  • happydude on 10/04/2023 - 17:46
    +3

    I have a Blackvue DR750X Plus. It was a voltage cutoff so I don't need to worry about it. A lot have similar features.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 17:52

      I don't think I understand the whole lot deal about this dashcam hard-wiring. Is the idea to set the low voltage value and let the dashcam run until it hits that low voltage value and shut down?

      • kerfuffle on 10/04/2023 - 18:05
        +6

        I have mine hard wired because I don't want ugly cables running all over my new car.

        • Hackney on 11/04/2023 - 06:29
          +4

          It all depends how you install it in regards to the cabling.

          • witheredcouch on 12/04/2023 - 11:20

            @Hackney: Also depends on the vehicle. In either of my cars there is no way, even tucking and hiding cables as much as possible, to plug in to a USB or 12v plug without ugly cables all over the place. But I'm one of those people that refuses to have any visible cables anywhere, so it depends on your tolerance for that.

      • John Kimble on 10/04/2023 - 19:20

        Yes

  • Oldbugga on 10/04/2023 - 17:55
    -1

    If hard wired to accesories battery supply on any brand camera it should provide the isolation protection you need, The capacitor supply for Viofo on power off was the reason I selected it as it covered parking surveillance. I cannot comment on other brands as to how they supply power for parking mode. Maybe a personal choice necessary!

    • photonbuddy on 11/04/2023 - 14:32
      +2

      The capacitor supply for Viofo on power off

      The Viofo still requires battery to run park mode. The capacitor exists to allow the camera to tidy itself up when battery power is lost, and only lasts a few seconds.

  • Wiadro on 10/04/2023 - 18:04
    +2

    mine shuts off 12 hours after the car is turned off with the BlackVue Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 19:01

      Because of timer or because it hits the set low voltage?

      • Wiadro on 10/04/2023 - 20:22

        Timer

  • MondaySleeper on 10/04/2023 - 18:14
    +1

    I ran into this scenario and there is a thread - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/760259

    My dashcam Viofo has a cutoff voltage. But I actually donnt want it to record at all when I am home. This setup actually dont drain the battery at all - even to the cutoff level that the dashcam usually have.

  • Surfsalot on 10/04/2023 - 18:56

    What’s the cost to get one hardwired roughly?

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 19:03
      -1

      Depends if you do it via AirTasker (cheaper) or the dashcam professional installer ($220~$250).

    • John Kimble on 10/04/2023 - 19:19
      +2

      DIY

    • andrek on 10/04/2023 - 19:59

      $50 or so for the kit and an hour of your time watching and following a YouTube video. How much is one hour of your time?

      • John Kimble on 10/04/2023 - 20:04

        Well, if it's your first time it might take longer, took me a few hours. Plus I had to buy a few tools I didn't have but needed, circuit tester, a wire crimper and a 10mm spanner to undo a hard to reach bolt for the earth wire that my adjustable one couldn't reach.

      • Surfsalot on 10/04/2023 - 20:53

        $100 plus gst. I don’t drive a Camry.

    • bbinc on 11/04/2023 - 08:54
      +1

      Front and rear hardwired was $130 for auto electrician. Took 1.5hrs. Excellent job. Plus the coffee and cake next door.

  • Unorthodox on 10/04/2023 - 19:25
    +4

    Viofo A129 duo hardwired.

    I used to leave it on and rely on the cut off on the hardwire kit but after I was away for a week, I came back to a dead battery and after getting it diagnosed etc. Thought it would last longer but apparently it's due to cars having more electronics etc. Was a pain to charge up and jumpstart + trickle charge.

    Also I found turning it off overnight easier so parking recordings are just when it's parked at shopping centre etc.

    Easy enough as you just hold down the menu button to turn it off. I wish there was an easier method though haha

    • TheOtherLeft on 11/04/2023 - 07:30
      +1

      Rewire the power to the accessories only not constant 12v. That way it'll turn off when you turn off the car

      • photonbuddy on 11/04/2023 - 14:34

        Rewire the power to the accessories only not constant 12v. That way it'll turn off when you turn off the car

        No good if you want park mode …

    • bbinc on 11/04/2023 - 09:01
      +1

      My dash cam is on driver’s side, hardwired. I pull out the power cord in the cam when parking at home. I hang something over the camera so I remember to plug it back in. Yes, there is a cut-off at any nominated battery level, but I learnt during lockdowns and our stupid 5km restrictions (ie. short trips only) that the battery eventually dies. So unplugging dash cam became and remains a habit when at home.

  • glide on 10/04/2023 - 19:40
    +1

    I had a Viofo A129 pro duo with hardwire kit (installed myself). It had an adjustable setting that would turn it off based on battery voltage. You could set low med and high from memory. I had situations where it would turn off and never had a flat battery.

    If your hardwire kit doesnt have a low voltage detection feature then you are likely to get a dead battery at some point …

    • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 19:50
      +1

      Ok i think i get it now. Rather than letting the dashcam to consume the 12v until it hits that low voltage value, I think I just have to remind myself to shut it down manually everytime I'm home.

      I have no issue in having the car hardwired and setting that low voltage value but I thought there be a smarter way to do it than letting the dashcam hitting that Low Battery Protection value.

  • animasoIa on 10/04/2023 - 21:11
    +1

    Combine parking mode auto-shutoff (after x hours) with hardwire kit set with min voltage cut-off. Have this on my viofo.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/04/2023 - 21:21

    Now am thinking of external add-on battery pack, anyone here have their Viofo's paired with battery pack?

    • dji1111111 on 12/04/2023 - 10:29

      Yes i didnt want to hardwire to my car in case there are electric issues in the future and the manufacturer tries to blame the hardwiring and void warranty.
      Using cellink neo with viofo a129 duo plus and it works flawlessly

  • dcep on 10/04/2023 - 22:53
    +2

    you could ask the installer to install a manual or timer kill switch for the hardwire

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/760259

    but …. things happen

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nQCHw6Tqt0

  • Richardc on 11/04/2023 - 01:12
    +1

    I turn it off from the dashcam, just hold the power button for few seconds.

  • Spending2Much on 11/04/2023 - 08:21

    I used to switch off my BVue PMP manually, once arrived home and knew I wouldn't use car for another day or so…
    …till I forgot to turn it back on, so now I just leave it on.

    • photonbuddy on 11/04/2023 - 14:37

      till I forgot to turn it back on, so now I just leave it on.

      At least it would have still recorded while your car was on. A true manual switch may not have.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2023 - 09:33

    As previously mentioned by 'TheOther Left' have it powered by accessory power.
    Also get one that when it loses power comes up with a message saying power has been lost, & gives you the option to select 'Stay On" or 'power off'.

  • Boioioioi on 11/04/2023 - 11:10

    I wired mine with a switch. I kept forgetting to turn it back on though, so yeah just leave it on now. It shuts down on its own once battery is low enough. DDPAI Z40

  • paulnojustpaul on 11/04/2023 - 11:28

    I'd recommend going for a dedicated backup battery pack if your dashcam supports parking mode. They're not cheap but ours paid for itself when another driver did some remodelling of our car while it was parked in a parking building.

    Started out with a Blackvue PMP but it was tricky/impossible setting a time threshold that didn't drain the battery too far yet provided a decent standby time for parking mode.

    • HardQuiz on 11/04/2023 - 11:58

      Blackvue PMP but it was tricky/impossible setting a time threshold that didn't drain the battery too far yet provided a decent standby time for parking mode.

      I agree. I tried tinkering with the parking sensitivity settings but sometimes in a busy car park it drains the battery and shuts down by itself.

      What backup battery pack do you use ?

      • paulnojustpaul on 11/04/2023 - 12:59
        +1

        I have a Blackvue DR650-2CH dashcam but I ended up using a Cellink Neo Thinkware ivolt mini battery pack over the Blackvue offering since it was higher capacity and seemed better value. It can be charged via a cigarette lighter/accessory port or at a higher rate hardwired in to an accessory circuit, which is what I ended up doing.

        You do need to do some manual wiring but some careful crimping and a correctly rated fuse doubler makes the install non-destructive. I also installed an inline fuse between the battery pack and the dashcam since I think the Cellink Thinkware assumes your camera has an internal fuse.

        Capacity-wise this allows all day running time in a carpark and with about a 40 mins each way commute it maintains enough charge to still be running the next morning after being parked facing moving trees (ie. usually recording) at home.

        Edit: apologies, I remember I was looking at both these batteries but my order history tells me I went with the Thinkware in the end. Still happy with it after 2 years of reliable running.

        • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2023 - 16:16

          Thinkware ivolt mini battery pack

          can you see SoC via Bluetooth on Mobile app?

          • paulnojustpaul on 12/04/2023 - 16:37

            @[Deactivated]: No, that was one point of difference between this and the Cellink Neo, but at the time so was price, and I thought that I can't do much to affect how much charge the battery has - short of driving the long way home - nor how quickly it discharges (e.g. parking facing traffic or moving trees) so in the end just went with the Thinkware.

    • photonbuddy on 11/04/2023 - 14:40

      Started out with a Blackvue PMP but it was tricky/impossible setting a time threshold that didn't drain the battery too far yet provided a decent standby time for parking mode.

      Have mine set to 6 hours, and the highest voltage. However, on rare occasions, it will ignore the voltage cut-off. That's why I carry a battery jump starter. Never had it fail to start my car.

  • knk on 11/04/2023 - 12:31

    If you've hardwired it properly they will go into power saving mode and should drain next to nothing unless motion is detected.

    Some required switched + constant 12volt so they know, others read battery voltage and you can adjust cutoff to where you want it.

  • FuzzyWolf on 11/04/2023 - 12:49

    I’ve got the thinkware u1000 and hardwired but with a separate add on battery. I have mine on parking mode to always record with motion in case anything happens that might get missed by the gsensor. I turned mine off when I get home because my commute home(but going both ways is enough) is usually not enough to fully charge the battery and I would rather it record when in the parking lot vs at home.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2023 - 12:57

      what battery pack have you got there for your Thinkware U1000?

      • FuzzyWolf on 11/04/2023 - 13:40

        I have thinkware’s own ivolt mini just to make sure it is 100% compatible and no issues. When I was looking them up I was also considering the cellink neo(i did see forums say they were compatible but didn’t want to risk it). Cellink neo seem to be better because it is possible to have a battery extension + it has bluetooth with an app you can tell %charge but it is more expensive than the ivolt mini. At the moment with thinkware I’m just assuming its 100% once i have about 45mins driving time.

        • [Deactivated] on 12/04/2023 - 05:11

          At the moment with thinkware I’m just assuming its 100% once i have about 45mins driving time.

          There is no other way to see SoC with Thinkware's iVolt mini other than just an assumption?

  • Dreamcast on 11/04/2023 - 13:16

    When I purchased my car, it had one hard wired in to run all the time. It killed the battery.

    I replaced with a Blackvue and decided to hook up the Blackvue battery. Enough juice when out and about, but shuts down when parked in the garage for awhile.

  • ColtNoir on 11/04/2023 - 13:45

    My hardwired dash cam has multiple options. I either set it to voltage or to shutoff after X minutes/hours. Since Covid I’ve just set it to 1 min as it killed a couple of batteries leaving it on longer.

  • Vent89 on 11/04/2023 - 16:02

    Viofo a229 duo with hardwire kit on my car. It shuts off when voltage reaches about 12.4v or up to 3 hours in parking mode whichever occurs first. Both adjustable that's just how I've currently set it. I've also set my parking mode to about 3fps to reduce file size. Even with a 128GB card I find I only get about 3 days of recording (max bitrate and 1440p front and rear).

    Like the OP suggests. What I would like to see is a geofencing feature so we can tell it to do certain things in certain locations (like not record parking mode when I'm at home). It's already got a gps in it so I can't imagine the feature be too difficult to implement.

  • 2esc on 11/04/2023 - 16:07
    +2

    I have heard of a person caught after they broke into the house they were identified by the dash cam they went they went into the garage to pinch tools

  • 2025 on 11/04/2023 - 20:12

    My Viofo has 3 wires. One 12v always on, one ground, and one wire that goes to a circuit that shuts on and off with the car being acc/on.

    The camera has 12v going to it 24x7, but I’ve disabled parking mode.

    The camera shuts down as soon as it doesn’t sense voltage from the acc wire. Its draw from the battery, in this “soft off” state, would no doubt be tiny. The LEDs go out and it makes the shutdown sounds as soon as I turn the car off. I’ve also set the voltage cutoff to something pretty cautious incase something goes wrong.

    The camera comes out of this soft off state as soon as it senses 12v on that acc line.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2023 - 20:28

      The camera has 12v going to it 24x7, but I’ve disabled parking mode.

      ok I guess the key here is either completely switch off the dashcam or disable the parking mode from the app when we're home?

  • Tomhaigh1 on 11/04/2023 - 20:25

    I have my Viofo 129 plus duo connected to cellink neo battery pack, which is hard wired to car battery.
    If I go out for a week then I usually turn it off, otherwise it just record continuously and then auto cutoff based on car battery voltage, it gets charged to 100% only with 15-20 mins drive.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2023 - 20:27

      cellink neo battery pack

      can you see the SoC from your mobile app?

      • Tomhaigh1 on 11/04/2023 - 20:29

        Yup, connects via bluetooth, not via internet

    • tororm on 12/04/2023 - 09:42

      I have the same, but connected the battery to ACC mode only.

    • dji1111111 on 12/04/2023 - 10:32

      I have the exact same set up. It's very good. Plus it's easy to remove everything in the future if you want to transfer to a new car

  • amzinguserman on 11/04/2023 - 20:32

    I was thinking of somehow rigging a portable charger to the dashcam then when the car turns on it charges the charger but never tried it.

    • bigbadboogieman on 12/04/2023 - 07:36

      I had a battery bank setup but the battery bank cuts output off in charging mode. So when charging while car is running the output to camera cuts off. May be it's just my battery bank.

  • ECE on 11/04/2023 - 20:37

    No, it cuts off at a certain voltage before the battery depletes ⚡🤣

  • ozmian on 12/04/2023 - 08:29

    See https://support.viofo.com/support/solutions/articles/1900012…

    Use https://www.jaycar.com.au/double-mini-blade-fuse-socket-wire… to wire it into two appropriate fuses (one for accessories, one for constant 12v)

    When you switch ignition off it tells the camera to switch to 'parking mode'. In the app you can configure parking mode to be off, low bitrate, record for a preset amount of time and then switch off etc.

    If you wanted a manual override you could wire a standard switch into your constant 12v line to mount on the dash and flick it to cut the 12v and force it off if you wanted. Something from https://www.jaycar.com.au/components-electromechanical/switc…

  • skillet on 12/04/2023 - 10:44

    Originally I had my cams wired with parking mode enabled meaning the red positive to the battery and yellow wire connected to ACC so when the car shutsoff the camera goes into parking mode. Everything was working well for many months until one day my battery was struggling to start the car.

    So I charged up the battery but it lose charge again the next day. Struggle to start the car again. Battery tyre shop guy load tested the battery healthy.

    I suspected the cam so I reset the camera to factory setting. This fixed the problem but I am not going to let it suck the battery so I rewired the car so both ACC and positive wire goes to a fuse that does not have power when the car is off. The firmware in the camera has bugs so I am not going to trust that.

  • 69dollars on 12/04/2023 - 12:21
    +1

    Mines hard-wired and I manually turn it off every night or if I know I won't be going anywhere for the rest of the day (parked in a garage). I do this now out of habit and only takes an extra 10 seconds out of my day.

  • Androo305 on 12/04/2023 - 21:32
    +1

    Blackvue DR900s-2CH, hardwired and attached to 2 cellink battery packs rated together at 12,600mah. Will last approximately 35 hours on battery and chargers while car is on. In the garage I have a switch on it I flick it off.

    • Tregetour on 05/05/2023 - 05:22

      Do the cellinks stay charged with your general day to day driving? Am thinking of this same setup for my new car as the older cams + PMP only ate through my battery/switched off after a few hours. Became a bit of a hassle in the end.

      • Androo305 on 05/05/2023 - 12:03
        +1

        Yes, they remain charged. 30 minute drive you are looking at approximately 9 hours of charge, I generally do 30-40 minutes to/from work. Amy other drives it keeps it topped right up!

        Well worth it, have had it in my wife's car with the same setup and she's still on the cars original battery, 7 years old in 20 days!

  • Thinkswithelbow on 12/04/2023 - 22:23
    +2

    I remove the car battery overnight just to be safe

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