Battery Drain from Dash-Rear Cams + Advice?
 

Hello,

I am sick of dealing with vandals/hit and run drivers and worrying about my vehicle when I am not around so I want to buy a front and rear dash cam solution with a parking feature.

Having read through several threads on the topic here as well as at dashcamtalk.com I have realized that:

-It is better to have a camera wired to the battery vs with its own battery
-No one camera brand has entirely positive reviews - there seems to be no clear leader
-I need a device to monitor my battery charge and cut off power to the cameras if the charge on the battery is getting to a point where the car won't be able to start

My question is: how much drain on the battery will a front+rear camera set up cause? Can the the decrease in life of the battery be quantified in years if the parking mode feature is always on?

I am currently thinking of trying the following set-up:

-1 Power Magic Pro to stop the battery discharge problem
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Blackvue-Power-Magic-Pro-Prevention/dp/B008B8ERIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455392351&sr=8-1&keywords=power+magic+pro"]Amazon.com: Blackvue Power Magic Pro Vehicle Battery Discharge Prevention for Parking Mode: Car Electronics[/ame]

-2 of these cameras
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Street-Guardian-SGZC12SS-2016-Compatible/dp/B013L21VCO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455392313&sr=8-2&keywords=street+guardian+dash+cam"]Amazon.com : Street Guardian SGZC12SS (2016 - Next Gen Panorama S) 1080P 1+1 DashCam with Sony Exmor IMX322 CMOS Sensor & OTG Android Compatible via included reader : Car Electronics[/ame]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have never messed around with hard wiring anything to my fuse box before.

Thanks so much!

Invest in a Cellink Battery B or Lukas LP UPS I have the latter and it's easier and less disaster prone than say adding an accessory circuit, the Cellink Battery B and the Lukas LP both have under voltage protection, internal fuses etc. Also for my setup the Lukas lasts at least 8 hours and that's if I leave the radar detector on by accident because it's plugged into the same plug. If you spring for the $200 cellink you'd get 25-26 hours of constant recording which will definitely loop over a card.

If I only (unfortunately) drive 20 mins in the morning, 30 mins in the evening 5 days a week with sporadic short drives on weekends will the Lukas solution not be enough power to keep the cameras recording during all the time the car is parked?

Also, seems like if I want 2 cameras I would have to spring for the Cellink and not the Lukas correct?

Thanks again!

Here's a super under rated camera >> http://amzn.com/B010H0SL9O

Front and rear camera, doubles as a wide view rear mirror, records in two separate files/folders, has modes for motion detection and parking monitoring. I plug it into the USB under the A/c controls in my monogram and it turns on/off with the car no problem (when i don't have motion control modes on) It has a small built in battery that i'm pretty sure it uses to record when the car's off. I also love how the screen is built right into the mirror.

Oh and it's ~$80 for the whole thing.

Here's the review that sold me:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwIxbhPnLb4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwIxbhPnLb4[/ame]

I can show you guys how I routed the rear camera too if you'd like.

For both even if you drive 15 minutes you'll have enough power for most off the day, I come back from college to drive my car and start it up for a 15 minute drive and the dashcam is still running 5 hours later.

If you want to use the lukas for two cameras you have to get a splitter like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Insten%C2%AE-T.../dp/B0018NB3OK

So in parking mode, the front camera uses both the g shock sensor AND the motion detector to begin recording?

Does the camera in the back do the same in parking mode? Also is the camera in the back only for reversing, or does it also always run when the car is running?

hey man I apologize I think I have asked you some of this before but can't find the thread/post. Would it be possible for you to share pics of your set-up as well as links to the cameras you went with?

If I remember correctly you bought 2 dash cams and a battery that you store in the glove compartment, and have one camera in the front and one in the back.

Nope just one main frontal camera, it could of course be expanded to the rear as well but I'm more interested in what happens in front of the car as that is where most insurance scams occur.

Firstly I have this splitter in my glovebox in the cigarette power outlet:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Charger-Lighter-Charging/dp/B00MJ27L90/ref=sr_1_13?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1458668058&sr=1-13&keywords=usb+cigarette+lighter+socket"]Amazon.com: Cable Matters 17W 3.4A Car Charger with Lighter Socket and Dual USB Charging Ports: Cell Phones & Accessories[/ame]

That allows me to have two usb ports and one cigaretter lighter port(which is used for my radar detector) The usb port has this plugged into the 2.4 amp one:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/USB-Cable-Garmin-GPS-Navigator-Nuvi-2555lmt-2595lmt-Streetpilot/dp/B004XNF1BI?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui _search_detailpage"]Amazon.com: Pwr+ 12 Ft USB-Cable for Garmin-GPS-Navigator-Nuvi 50lm 2555lmt 2595lmt 40lm 1300 255w 1450 1350 1490 500 205w 200 205 350 750; Garmin 500 800 200; Gpsmap 62s; Navigon 2100; Streetpilot C330; Zumo 550: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

A very long high quality usb cable designed for a constant draw of a gps navigation system , it is routed out of the glove-box through the Passenger A pillar/airbag trim using this method, it is very easy to do in fact my dash cam and radar detector wiring take the same exact path:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i2bEoTbjpA"]Brz radar detector install - YouTube[/ame]


Finally it terminates at a Rexing V1G in the center of the windshield:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Rexing-Dashboard-Recorder-G-Sensor-Recording/dp/B00X528FNE/ref=pd_bxgy_147_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RM70H99GVCH06NJD 1CA"]Amazon.com: Rexing V1 2.4" LCD FHD 1080p 170 Degree Wide Angle Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with G-Sensor, WDR, Loop Recording: Cell Phones & Accessories[/ame]

This is needed for this unit though it doesn't come with an SD card I recommend getting two with a usb 3.0 adapter to quickly transfer video to a computer:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultra-SDSDQUAN-032G-G4A-Memory-Adapter/dp/B00M55C0NS/ref=pd_bxgy_147_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1SZVFTQW5CW95JSAG SPK"]Amazon.com: SanDisk Ultra SDSDQUAN-032G-G4A 32GB UHS-I/Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Card With Adapter: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

Now you may be asking how does it power itself while the car is off? The above configuration only allows it to be powered for when the ignition is on and for the 3-5 minutes after the ignition is turned off as the rexing v1 turns off to prolong the longevity of the battery and save the file before the internal battery goes flat. All you do is plug something like a cellink battery b or in my case the Lukas LK-530 into the same plugs at the beginning:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/LUKAS-LK-530-12V-Battery-Potable-Blackbox/dp/B00CHYKOD0"]Amazon.com: LUKAS LK-530-12V Dash Cam Smart Power Supply Battery Pack (All in one Potable UPS) For Car Blackbox: GPS & Navigation[/ame]

So the lukas goes to the cigarette lighter socket in the glovebox and that splitter from the beginning plugs into the output of the Lukas battery, I have had it record around 6-7 hours parked with that. But keep in mind after this the glovebox won't have much space in it so if you have an FR-S with the medkit box you'll have to move it to the rear seats or something and the glove-box can only really be used for a plastic baggy with your insurance and registration in it. The configuration without the UPS setup allows the glovebox to function fine if the wiring is tidy

Thanks so much for the details man!

I may opt for the cellink for more battery since my main concern is while the car is parked. Do you think the Rexing V1G is the best camera for my main concern of catching vandals in parking lots?

Wait what? Why?

I have the blackvue front and rear dash cam with Power magic pro. I only turn on the battery if I am leaving it at some parking lot for an hour or so. It runs off the battery when am driving.

Otherwise I turn it off at Work and at home since those places are pretty safe anyway.

Cellink battery b is good heavy duty investment then they last around 24 horus and take an 1 to charge right off the cars 12 V system, thats almost 3 times the lukas pack but also triple the size, so it'll probably need to be mounted in the engine bay.

For your case the expensive blackvue may be the best option:

https://www.blackboxmycar.com/collec...ue-dr650gw-2ch

Choose the lower bundle with 32gb or 64 gb and it will be around $580-$595 for something that will record all day front and rear with motion sensing enabled to pinpoint "vandals"

Went for the Cellink with the Blacksys 2 channel system, waiting for them to arrive.

Plan to hook Cellink to my car via the cig lighter as opposed to hardwire, then the same from Cellink to the Blacksys system.

Haven't installed yet but wanted to point out the Cellink is actually pretty small, should be able to fit in the glove compartmenthttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6162a99ae8.jpg

Included small dvd remote for size comparison


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