Still having battery issues

[USDashCamera]

So tried re hooking up my power magic pro plus to make sure it has a good ground.

Seems to have no issue. Brought my car to a shop and they tested the battery (image attached).

They said the battery may not be charging but it was giving good enough power. I drove over 100 miles in the day leading up to this.

They said return the battery.

O Reillys tested it and said it was fine and claimed it's my cameras draining it. But it seems unlikely since I can drive 40 miles and the cameras still turn off after a few min.

It had been below freezing the past month though could that cause enough issue to cause this?

 

[USDashCamera]

Forgot to say O'Reillys refused to exchange it.

The guy there also said I should never have anything hooked up to the fuse box (I just followed the instructions pittasoft gives) and that's why I'm draining the battery even though I NEVER had this issue until the day i put in the new battery. Even when my old battery was dying it still seemed to record in parking mode at least for 6 or so hours of getting 3-4 alerts per hour from the motion sensor.

I tested with a multi meter that after about a few hours of being off the battery was putting out 11.4 or so volts. My cameras were obviously off by then.

 

[reverend]

Have you had the alternator checked yet?

 

[USDashCamera]

The shop said the alternator was fine. O'Reillys said if the car is running and you disconnect the positive and it shuts off then the alternator is the issue but we tried that and it was fine.

 

[M---]

Unless you're talking *really* cold (i.e. -15C or colder), I don't think it should make this much of a difference.

if the car is running and you disconnect the positive and it shuts off then the alternator is the issue

Yes and no-- all this test would indicate is that the alternator is providing enough power to keep the car running. Not that it's providing the ~14V needed to charge the battery...

Can you remind me what your voltmeter showed:
-Car idling, all accessories turned off (lights off, dashcam off, heater off, etc.)
-High idle (e.g. 1200 RPM), all accessories off.
-After a long drive, engine off, accessories off.
-Then let it sit overnight, what is the voltage in the morning?

Consider also doing O'Reilly's battery-disconnected test, and see what voltage is on the positive cable (though this might be difficult to get a steady volt reading). Be careful not to shock yourself!

 

[kuoh]

How long had the battery been charging before they tested it? The result shows only 40% state of charge and voltage seems rather low. Also, unless the battery was tested at 0 °F (−18 °C), the CCA value is inaccurate. At warmer temperatures, the CA can exceed the CCA rating by 15% or possibly more. If your battery was warm when they tested, then the actual CCA could be as low as 390 or less. You also need to find out the exact CCA rating of your battery. The Oreilly tester just calculates health by dividing the rated CCA by measured CCA, so in your case 455/500 is how they arrived at 91% health. If they put in a lower CCA than your battery's rating, then it will give you a falsely better health rating. Drive another 40-100 miles, then have them test the battery again. If it doesn't get up to at least 75% SOC, then you either have a charging system problem or old / bad battery.

On a newer car, disconnecting the battery while running is said to be a not so good idea. The battery is there to smooth out the spikes and there is the obvious dangers with the cables inadvertently touching. If you have a decent DMM, try to measure the overall current draw from the battery with the car off. There may be more than the camera pulling power out of the battery. Anything over an amp, not including the camera and you may want to check for problems. What is the model of your car and battery? A 1 amp draw over 8 hours is 96 watt hours and typical car batteries have anywhere from 500-1000 watt hours, so a small battery can be completely dead in less than 48 hours with a 1 amp parasitic draw. You might want to upsize your battery if space allows.

Here's an interesting video about batteries and a battery analyzer.

KuoH

O Reillys tested it and said it was fine and claimed it's my cameras draining it. But it seems unlikely since I can drive 40 miles and the cameras still turn off after a few min.

 

[M---]

You might want to upsize your battery if space allows

If the daily driving isn't bringing the charge back up, a larger battery probably won't help this problem.

On a newer car, disconnecting the battery while running is said to be a not so good idea

I agree.

 

[USDashCamera]

Unhooked my PMP+ two nights ago, drove easily 100 miles since then. Battery was dead this morning. Luckily I bought that powerall charger few weeks ago since leaving for work at 430am doesn't give me many options to find someone else to jump me.

Going to O'Reillys today after work because they claimed the cameras were the issue even though they have no clue how they work.