12V and dash cam in sentry mode

flapjake314

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i'm trying to weigh the risks of getting a dash cam and leaving it on while i park the car, whether it be "motion activated" or "impact activated". my understand thus far is that if i plug the dash cam into the USB or the fuse box it'll be running off the 12V.

1. does the 12V pull charge from HV batteries if it gets low while parked?
2. is there any way to track the charge % of the 12V to keep it from going empty due to my dash cam?
3. i believe 12V batteries are around 1200W and a dash cam uses 0.5W when on (should be less in either mark mode), am i nuts or is this pretty safe?
4. which plugs on the MME are "always on" between the USB, fuse box, and the cigarette lighter?

on the one hand based on #3 it all feels pretty safe, but on the other hand people are already having so much issue with the 12V i'm not trying to poke the bear either... maybe i'll try running it through a power bank and then unplugging the power bank when i park or something...
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BostonPete

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I can say that the 12V Battery does get charged from the HVB when needed. So it shouldn't be an issue. The issues with the 12V Battery seems that for whatever reason they just go below the voltage that will allow the systems that depend on it (which is pretty much all of them) to operate.

As for putting in an Always on Dash Cam, you might get errors about the 12V battery depending on the load and probably time.

I've seen people put in Dash Cam systems that have a backup battery pack that mounts somewhere. The one I saw they mounted in the glove box. I believe it runs off the car when powered on and the backup battery when off.

I am not sure what the capacity of the Mach-E 12V Battery is.
 

GrumblesTheDog

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@Mach-Lee had a good post about what these kinds of slow, low draws can do to the 12V and the LVB battery management system:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/has-anyone-installed-a-power-magic-battery.11823/post-291668

I was also going to hardwire a dashcam to allow sentry mode, but reading his post convinced me to get a battery pack instead. I ended up going for the the Thinkware iVolt mini. It's a little less pricey than the alternatives, and I decided the brand name was worth it over having a cheapo no-name pack undergo a thermal runaway in my glove compartment...
 

ZuleMME

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I’ve been running my Vantrue N4 for months now with no battery pack and no issues. The 12v charges from time to time on its own. Not even a high draw warning yet…
 

DevSecOps

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@flapjake314

Read this thread, almost all of your questions are answered in it:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...hardwiring-a-dashcam-and-radar-detector.5542/

We have some more recent conversation regarding 12v issues towards the end.

I go over fuses to use here.

The thread that @GrumblesTheDog provided is another good thread (well of course because it's my thread) and I didn't go with a battery for many reasons. The Vico that I installed has been amazing, 10/10 recommend over the Power Magic Pro.

If you have questions after reading those two threads let me know.
 
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Murse-In-Airy

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@flapjake314

Read this thread, almost all of your questions are answered in it:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...hardwiring-a-dashcam-and-radar-detector.5542/

We have some more recent conversation regarding 12v issues towards the end.

I go over fuses to use here.

The thread that @GrumblesTheDog provided is another good thread (well of course because it's my thread) and I didn't go with a battery for many reasons. The Vico that I installed has been amazing, 10/10 recommend over the Power Magic Pro.

If you have questions after reading those two threads let me know.
Once again you provide the good and timely info. May be doing my dash cam on Monday or Tuesday. I was looking for the thread to bookmark. Thank You.
 

DevSecOps

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Once again you provide the good and timely info. May be doing my dash cam on Monday or Tuesday. I was looking for the thread to bookmark. Thank You.
If you have any questions or issues just message me. The A Pillar is the biggest PITA in the whole process so make sure you read my post regarding it and it'll be cake!
 
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flapjake314

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If you have any questions or issues just message me. The A Pillar is the biggest PITA in the whole process so make sure you read my post regarding it and it'll be cake!
i just read through that thread but i think i'm going to shy away from taking apart the trim and just have some exposed wiring... am i nuts?

and the thread focused on using the fuse box, but i'm still not clear how the USBs work? i was also thinking of avoiding the fuse box
 

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i just read through that thread but i think i'm going to shy away from taking apart the trim and just have some exposed wiring... am i nuts?

and the thread focused on using the fuse box, but i'm still not clear how the USBs work? i was also thinking of avoiding the fuse box
What camera are you planning on using? And my opinion on the wire is probably obvious. I would run it hidden.

While the USB stays on for a bit, I think it's less than 30 minutes so if you wanted to have "sentry mode" then it wouldn't work by going with the USB method. It's really not that hard to hard-wire the entire setup and it's much cleaner. If you plan on keeping the car for a while I would recommend it.

Don't let the threads scare you. If you really got stuck I could give you my number and walk you through it.
 
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flapjake314

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What camera are you planning on using? And my opinion on the wire is probably obvious. I would run it hidden.
was looking at the vantrue... i'm trying to balance functionality with the fact that if i get something too nice someone will smash my window (i'm in a city)

maybe it's just not worth it for me then? i don't have much experience with this stuff so was not thinking i should try to take apart the trim
 

DevSecOps

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was looking at the vantrue... i'm trying to balance functionality with the fact that if i get something too nice someone will smash my window (i'm in a city)

maybe it's just not worth it for me then? i don't have much experience with this stuff so was not thinking i should try to take apart the trim
Ok well then let's remove the sentry mode requirement. A dashcam will still help you with any accident that you might have while driving and it could by a deterrent just by being visible in the window.

But here's something else to consider. Unless you go with something like a BlackVue LTE or you install a hotspot to an always on circuit you won't get notifications and the footage would be stored on the device that they stole. So in order to have a true Sentry mode you would have to provide the cam with a form of internet, internally or via hotspot, and then you would have to keep it powered.

All of that being said you might just be better getting something cheap that's a deterrent and can be used as evidence in the, hopefully, unlikely chance of an accident. Just plug it into the USB port.
 

DaMeatMan

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i'm trying to weigh the risks of getting a dash cam and leaving it on while i park the car, whether it be "motion activated" or "impact activated". my understand thus far is that if i plug the dash cam into the USB or the fuse box it'll be running off the 12V.

1. does the 12V pull charge from HV batteries if it gets low while parked?
2. is there any way to track the charge % of the 12V to keep it from going empty due to my dash cam?
3. i believe 12V batteries are around 1200W and a dash cam uses 0.5W when on (should be less in either mark mode), am i nuts or is this pretty safe?
4. which plugs on the MME are "always on" between the USB, fuse box, and the cigarette lighter?

on the one hand based on #3 it all feels pretty safe, but on the other hand people are already having so much issue with the 12V i'm not trying to poke the bear either... maybe i'll try running it through a power bank and then unplugging the power bank when i park or something...
I dished out for a dedicated lithium iron phosphate dash cam battery so that I would not run into issues with a dead 12v vehicle battery. Lithium iron phosphate is incredibly stable, and very safe and can be drained completely for thousands of cycles while retaining significant capacity.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B06ZZ4W66R?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

That battery runs my setup for about 12 to 14 hours, which is less than the claimed 24 hours. But I'm running a 3 camera setup, so it obviously draws more power. But as long as you drive your car once per day it recharges fairly quickly even if charged via the 12v accessory plug, and covers me all day and night.

This is the dashcam I'm running:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0861M2VXT?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image
 
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DevSecOps

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I dished out for a dedicated lithium iron phosphate dash cam battery so that I would not run into issues with a dead 12v vehicle battery. Lithium iron phosphate is incredibly stable, and very safe and can be drained completely for thousands of cycles while retaining significant capacity.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B06ZZ4W66R?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

That battery runs my setup for about 12 to 14 hours, which is less than the claimed 24 hours. But I'm running a 3 camera setup, so it obviously draws more power. But as long as you drive your car once per day it recharges fairly quickly even if charged via the 12v accessory plug, and covers me all day and night.

This is the dashcam I'm running:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0861M2VXT?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image
There's been quite a few people who I've talked to offline and we all decided against the battery.

I've outlined basic reasoning for this here: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/has-anyone-installed-a-power-magic-battery.11823/post-291728

I'm not discounting your choice, just providing another perspective that we tossed a lot of money and time at.
 

ZuleMME

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I wanted to note here that I noticed today after my car was sitting for 2 days without driving and went into a deeper sleep that the fuse location number 4 (in the cabin) seems to have turned off! I could not power back on my dashcam until I woke the car up. Kinda interesting, just for reference here.
 

Stang68

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I assume just keeping a dashcam plugged into the cigarette lighter-style plug won't drain the 12V? It turns off when the car is off, right?
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