Permanent or switch feed for dashcam.

[Steve82]

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice.

I bought a nextbase 322gw and the rear view camera from Halfords who fitted it to a switch feed on my Mercedes B180 2017.

I am finding that I have to charge the dashcam every 2 days to keep parking mode working and to stop the dashcam from turning on and off when my stop start kicks in.

I have spoken to nextbase who say that my dashcam should have been wired to a permanent feed and that there is no risk to the battery, as the Nextbase hardwire kit prevents a deep discharge by cutting the power to the dashcam when the battery gets to a certain point.

Halfords are saying Nextbase are wrong and they say only wire it to a switch feed. The permanent fees will drain any destroy my battery.

I don't know who to believe. I don't want to keep charging the camera as knowing my luck, the camera will be at home charging and someone could will hit the car on my street.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Tony Dyson]

You're the customer and Halfords should have confirmed with you how YOU wanted it connecting, not connected it how they wanted to connect it. The Nextbase website says it's either "If fitted to a "permanent live" supply, the inbuilt minimum voltage limiter will protect the vehicle's battery from going flat. With the Hardwire Kit installed on a "switched live" supply, the Dash Cam will power on and start recording automatically when the vehicle is opened or starts." I have my camera on a permanent live with the Parking function turned on and it doesn't cause me any battery issues.

 

[Gazwould]

How exactly does the Nextbase parking mode work ?

 

[Steve82]

You're the customer and Halfords should have confirmed with you how YOU wanted it connecting, not connected it how they wanted to connect it. The Nextbase website says it's either "If fitted to a "permanent live" supply, the inbuilt minimum voltage limiter will protect the vehicle's battery from going flat. With the Hardwire Kit installed on a "switched live" supply, the Dash Cam will power on and start recording automatically when the vehicle is opened or starts." I have my camera on a permanent live with the Parking function turned on and it doesn't cause me any battery issues.

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your reply. Is your dashcam also a nextbase camera?

Halfords didn't ask. I just assumed that was the whole point of having it hardwired, so that I didn't have to keep charging the camera or having wires on show. Apparently its Halfords policy to only use a switch feed when fitting nextbase dashcams.

I have passed what Nextbase have said to Halfords head office and I'm waiting for a reply.

It's not like the camers is constantly recording as it's my understanding if the car is not moving the camera goes into standby and only starts recording if it feels any movement.

 

[Steve82]

How exactly does the Nextbase parking mode work ?

Apparently the dashcam goes into standby after 5 minutes of no movement and should it sense any movement of the car it starts recording a 2 minute video.

 

[Gazwould]

So G shock ?

 

[Steve82]

So G shock ?

Yes.

 

[Gazwould]

No adjustment of 5mins standby ?

 

[Steve82]

No adjustment of 5mins standby ?

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[Gazwould]

Far from ideal , you want adjustable and at least 15 - 60 mins permanent recording parking mode to cover a supermarket visit as their car parks are high risk of damage .

A G Shock wake up might miss the action .

 

[Tony Dyson]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your reply. Is your dashcam also a nextbase camera?

Halfords didn't ask. I just assumed that was the whole point of having it hardwired, so that I didn't have to keep charging the camera or having wires on show. Apparently its Halfords policy to only use a switch feed when fitting nextbase dashcams.

I have passed what Nextbase have said to Halfords head office and I'm waiting for a reply.

It's not like the camers is constantly recording as it's my understanding if the car is not moving the camera goes into standby and only starts recording if it feels any movement.

Yes, mine is the Duocam.

14. Parking Mode When Parking Mode has been turned On the iN-CAR CAM remains in standby mode after it is powered Off. Should any physical movement of the vehicle be detected the iN-CAR CAM will power on and start recording a 30 second video, this recording will automatically be protected.

 

[Steve82]

Far from ideal , you want adjustable and at least 15 - 60 mins permanent recording parking mode to cover a supermarket visit as their car parks are high risk of damage .

A G Shock wake up might miss the action .

Possibly. Although I've noticed that when it works it literally takes a second to wake up and start recording. But at the moment I have to take the camera indoors and charge if up every couple of days to keep parking mode working.

My concern is how it's wired. My stop/start makes the camera shut down and restart when the engine starts again. Obviously junctions and traffic lights can be high risk so I need it to be recording.

I just want to know who is right. Halfords by saying a permanent feed would drain the battery or Nextbase who say it wouldn't drain the battery.

 

[Steve82]

Yes, mine is the Duocam.

14. Parking Mode When Parking Mode has been turned On the iN-CAR CAM remains in standby mode after it is powered Off. Should any physical movement of the vehicle be detected the iN-CAR CAM will power on and start recording a 30 second video, this recording will automatically be protected.

I have the 322gw plus the rear. Glad to hear yours doesn't drain the battery. It makes me more inclined to believe Nextbase and insist that Halfords change the feed.

 

[flowrider]

Does the dashcam have a battery or capacitor? If permanently powered a capacitor is required not a battery as the battery will likely balloon and pop. Parking mode rarely catches anything as by the time the dashcam has woken up the offending vehicle has gone out of view.

 

[Steve82]

Does the dashcam have a battery or capacitor? If permanently powered a capacitor is required not a battery as the battery will likely balloon and pop. Parking mode rarely catches anything as by the time the dashcam has woken up the offending vehicle has gone out of view.

Sorry, that's a little to technical for me.

I mainly want it for my street parking, which is narrow one way street. It would have enough time to power up and catch a car driving off as by the time the dashcam powered up the car still wouldn't be at the bottom of the street.

Also parking mode is not my only concern, it's the fact stop/start turns the dashcam off and then on.

 

[barry jones]

The NextBase hard wire kits come with a Fuse power adapter which just plugs into a spare fuse carrier to allow it to be removed easily when you sell the car. I have fitted them to my S Class and the wife's Mini JCW. Takes about an hour to do properly. Mine is connected to a permanent live and works fine with no battery issues at all. The kit comes with a normal fuse and the micro type adapters as you can see above

 

[Steve82]

View attachment 62312

The NextBase hard wire kits come with a Fuse power adapter which just plugs into a spare fuse carrier to allow it to be removed easily when you sell the car. I have fitted them to my S Class and the wife's Mini JCW. Takes about an hour to do properly. Mine is connected to a permanent live and works fine with no battery issues at all. The kit comes with a normal fuse and the micro type adapters as you can see above

Good to know. I'm waiting to see what halfords say. They should change it for me.

 

[EmilysDad]

..... Parking mode rarely catches anything as by the time the dashcam has woken up the offending vehicle has gone out of view.

I don't have my DDpai dash cam wired on a permanent live, but if it was, I believe the parking mode keeps the camera rolling but on a reduced frame rate.

 

[Gazwould]

It's selectable , normal 25 f/s with sound or a time lapse 1 f/s as is the shut down times selectable .

A camera might wake up in a second but when it actually starts recording is another thing .

No camera should have an internal battery , just a bad idea .

Had mine record 3 days solid with no battery issue . So in a parking mode stand-by ready to wake up with a G shock much , much longer I would think without starting issue.

Stop start , just another fail of this flawed over marketed bad system .

Nextbase are a marketing suscess but lack the tricks of some cheaper cameras if you do your research .

As above permanent live or you run the risk..




Best to have one that doesn't shut down at all whilst you're shopping .

 

[Steve82]

Thanks for all your replies. I got a reply from Halfords this morning and they've basically said they'll wire it to a permanent feed, but When my battery is destroyed then take it up with Nextbase not them.