Has anyone installed a Power Magic Battery?

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Preface:

I have a dashcam that is connected to my Verizon phone plan with a SIM card and it will do basically what Sentry mode does, alert me to movement in or around the car when it's parked. This of course requires power to run the camera when the car is parked and off. By itself that's not a problem.

Problem:

The little battery in the MME doesn't run the camera for more than an hour or so before my safety mechanism (power magic pro) cuts the power to make sure I don't drain the battery on the car. This is done by a voltage cutoff. Obviously I want to be able to drive the car, so it's doing its job. Because the little battery is so little I wanted to install a dashcam battery in the car. Second problem is location. I've looked near and around the fuse box, and that's a no go. Under the passenger seat is too low. Frunk doesn't have any firewall access that's not hermetically sealed. I don't want to go all the way to the trunk just to come all the way back.

Request:

If you have installed one of these things where did you install it?

Conclusion:

I have decided against installing the battery all together. The reason for this is outlined here:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/has-anyone-installed-a-power-magic-battery.11823/post-291728
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There are soft rubber pass-throughs in the fire wall. If you poke a small hole in them and pull the wires through, it will still create a seal around the wire. To somewhere up front would work. Maybe in the frunk or behind, somewhere near the regular 12V battery.
 

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Preface:

I have a dashcam that is connected to my Verizon phone plan with a SIM card and it will do basically what Sentry mode does, alert me to movement in or around the car when it's parked. This of course requires power to run the camera when the car is parked and off. By itself that's not a problem.

Problem:

The little battery in the MME doesn't run the camera for more than an hour or so before my safety mechanism (power magic pro) cuts the power to make sure I don't drain the battery on the car. This is done by a voltage cutoff. Obviously I want to be able to drive the car, so it's doing its job. Because the little battery is so little I wanted to install a dashcam battery in the car. Second problem is location. I've looked near and around the fuse box, and that's a no go. Under the passenger seat is too low. Frunk doesn't have any firewall access that's not hermetically sealed. I don't want to go all the way to the trunk just to come all the way back.

Request:

If you have installed one of these things where did you install it?
I'm not really familiar with the power magic pro. Do you have it configured for time or voltage? If you are running a Blackvue camera, it also has a low voltage configuration in the app. Is the power magic pro redundant?

I know that isn't the question you asked, but my understanding is that the Mach-E HV battery will top off the LV battery in a vehicle non-powered on state, which is the biggest battery backup you can have. I've watched my LV battery via Car Scanner, and even with the occasional alert that there is a system drain, I never get a dangerously low battery reading. I'm running a Blackvue DR900X-2CH Plus, and I've not had my camera shut off because of voltage.
 
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I'm not really familiar with the power magic pro. Do you have it configured for time or voltage? If you are running a Blackvue camera, it also has a low voltage configuration in the app. Is the power magic pro redundant?

I know that isn't the question you asked, but my understanding is that the Mach-E HV battery will top off the LV battery in a vehicle non-powered on state, which is the biggest battery backup you can have. I've watched my LV battery via Car Scanner, and even with the occasional alert that there is a system drain, I never get a dangerously low battery reading. I'm running a Blackvue DR900X-2CH Plus, and I've not had my camera shut off because of voltage.
I'm currently using the Power Magic Pro with a setting of 12.5v/24hours and I'm always dropping below the voltage threshold. I am doing the battery reconditioning as we speak recommended by @Mach-Lee. We'll see if this resolves that issue. I considered dropping the Power Magic Pro to the 12v cutoff (as there's only 2 options). That would bring me down to 30-40% SoC. I'm not sure I really wanna take the battery down that much.

I've read countless forum posts about the big battery topping off the little battery via the DC/DC charger, but I haven't seen anything definitively that confirms this happening when a) not driving or b) not charging. In other words if I'm at work without a charger will it drop dangerously low?

My previous EV, which had a giant little battery was drained because of a camera. In that case I also assume that it was a battery issue because the car sat on the lot for 9ish months before I purchased it. But I will admit I'm probably overly sensitive to the issue.

I'm also wondering if the car is dropping below 12.5 in the first 20 minutes of being turned off because of the additional draw placed on the battery in this situation. This causes the voltage drop needed to trigger the cutoff. Then when the car sleeps, this number goes back up above the threshold. Unfortunately, the cam won't turn back on if it goes above 12.5 without the ACC triggering it.
 
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I've read countless forum posts about the big battery topping off the little battery via the DC/DC charger, but I haven't seen anything definitively that confirms this happening when a) not driving or b) not charging. In other words if I'm at work without a charger will it drop dangerously low?
This is what I'm going off of from page 149 of the manual.

Screen Shot 2021-11-28 at 12.46.25 PM.jpg
 


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This is what I'm going off of from page 149 of the manual.

Screen Shot 2021-11-28 at 12.46.25 PM.jpg
Thanks for that snippet.

Well... I might just set power magic to 12v and see what happens. Worst case scenario I need a jump ?

Best case scenario, I return the $400 battery and never have an issue.
 

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I put my Cellink Neo in the lower console area of the car. The area that is below where your phone charger and such are. Fits perfectly down there and I never used that area for anything but a cloth to wipe down the interior. Plus its also a very short shot over to the fuse panel.
 
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I put my Cellink Neo in the lower console area of the car. The area that is below where your phone charger and such are. Fits perfectly down there and I never used that area for anything but a cloth to wipe down the interior. Plus its also a very short shot over to the fuse panel.
I was hoping to hide it completely. But thanks for the suggestion.

Another thing I worry about there is right below that is your interior front PaaK Bluetooth sensor and the RFA module. I don't want to inject any interference in that area. Not saying it would, but just being cautious.
 
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So I saw someone else say they installed their battery bank up and behind the glove box.. I thought it was in the DIY Tutorial for Hardwiring a Dashcam and Radar Detector post but I'm not seeing it. Then again that post is huge so I might of read past it lol

I'm about to go hard wire mine so I'll look when I'm under there.
 

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Thanks for that snippet.

Well... I might just set power magic to 12v and see what happens. Worst case scenario I need a jump ?

Best case scenario, I return the $400 battery and never have an issue.
I don't know what your situation is, but if you can try it at home that might be the most risk-free way to test it. that is what I've done. I even left my hood unlatched, just in case.
 

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So I saw someone else say they installed their battery bank up and behind the glove box.. I thought it was in the DIY Tutorial for Hardwiring a Dashcam and Radar Detector post but I'm not seeing it. Then again that post is huge so I might of read past it lol

I'm about to go hard wire mine so I'll look when I'm under there.
Yeah I saw that too and texted him off line and he said he didn't install one so I think maybe he was referring to the voltage monitor ... Power magic pro vs power magic battery

I tried behind the glove box and it was a no go due to thickness
 

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The car will try to recharge the LV battery when the voltage drops to about 12.1V (30%). This may trigger a FordPass notification or warning about a battery issue. The voltage increase from charging will also trigger a power restoration event in the Power Magic Pro box, resetting the countdown timer (appears as if you started the car). In this way, the camera may not ever shut off if the vehicle is driven daily with a 12 hour setting. This is a problem because it will prevent the battery management system (BMS) from accurately detecting the charge state and capacity of the 12V battery, and may cause additional issues.

What it comes down to is the camera/all loads must be powered off for at least 4 hours per day to keep the BMS happy. Consider this with whatever control strategy you choose. An 8 hour timeout setting would be optimal, but that's not available. Likewise there are only two voltage cutoff points, 12.5V and 12.0V. I'm not that familiar with the options of other dashcam cutoff boxes, but I'd suggest finding one that has more finely adjustable settings. Cycling a battery below 12.3V dramatically reduces its lifespan.

As always, follow good protocol when measuring resting battery voltage, waiting at least 15 minutes after opening a door/hood or approaching with a PAAK phone before taking a voltage reading.
 
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The car will try to recharge the LV battery when the voltage drops to about 12.1V (30%). This may trigger a FordPass notification or warning about a battery issue. The voltage increase from charging will also trigger a power restoration event in the Power Magic Pro box, resetting the countdown timer (appears as if you started the car). In this way, the camera may not ever shut off if the vehicle is driven daily with a 12 hour setting. This is a problem because it will prevent the battery management system (BMS) from accurately detecting the charge state and capacity of the 12V battery, and may cause additional issues.

What it comes down to is the camera/all loads must be powered off for at least 4 hours per day to keep the BMS happy. Consider this with whatever control strategy you choose. An 8 hour timeout setting would be optimal, but that's not available. Likewise there are only two voltage cutoff points, 12.5V and 12.0V. I'm not that familiar with the options of other dashcam cutoff boxes, but I'd suggest finding one that has more finely adjustable settings. Cycling a battery below 12.3V dramatically reduces its lifespan.

As always, follow good protocol when measuring resting battery voltage, waiting at least 15 minutes after opening a door/hood or approaching with a PAAK phone before taking a voltage reading.
Thanks for scaring me ?

I just ordered a vico power plus. It has a much better range.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Has anyone installed a Power Magic Battery? Screenshot_20211128-150018
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