Mini 0806 Overheating

[mr2lor]

I've purchased a mini 0806 from amazon and had it for a month. Today, I noticed that my camera is off for no reason. I thought it was a lose connection (hard wire) or maybe a blown fuse, but it turns out it wasn't. I grab a hold of my camera, trying to dismount it from my rear-view mirror and I got burned. I took the camera off and noticed a warp on the memory slot (B). Is this a normal issue with this camera?

 

[mr2lor]

Yes, I do have little vents on all three sides.

 

[mr2lor]

My camera is tapped into my ignition fuse box so whenever I start my car, my camera will be powered on and turned off when I turn off my car.

 

[Nigel]

First time I've seen an image like that for an 0806!

There were a few 0803s that looked very similar, almost certainly a battery failure, I don't think it could draw enough energy from the power supply to melt the plastic. One reason for not using an action camera in a car since they typically store 4 - 5 times the amount of power in their batteries.

Do you have it mounted upside down? Normally the heat rises but that is the bottom...

It may still work but it should be returned for the manufacturer to investigate, and then start fitting some decent batteries since they seem to be causing nearly all the issues recently!

Do you live somewhere hot where the battery may have got damaged by heat?

 

[Inafog]

My camera is tapped into my ignition fuse box so whenever I start my car, my camera will be powered on and turned off when I turn off my car.

If direct to your fuse box without a volatge reducer or the orignal cigarette lighter plug connected to an adapter means you are giving the camera a full 12 volts.
They run on 5 volts
You may have fried the camera.

 

[Nigel]

The mini 0806 is probably working fine for me because I only drive 20 to 60 minutes ea time and it's never subjected to heat over long durations. I still don't understand why it melted the plastic around only one of the card slots not both if it's the battery. Wish we could see the inside.

I've done 5 hour journeys with mine.

It is possible that the memory card got too hot and not the camera, I don't think that plastic has a particularly high melting point. If that card was on the bottom then given the very localised damage it is quite likely to be a card issue. If so then the camera probably still works fine... If it was on top then heat rises, but I think it would be more likely to melt around the cooling holes than the card slot.

 

[RavenManiac]

Wow! I haven't seen anything like that before, but I'm interested in the postscript. Please keep us posted.

 

[mr2lor]

I've done 5 hour journeys with mine.

It is possible that the memory card got too hot and not the camera, I don't think that plastic has a particularly high melting point. If that card was on the bottom then given the very localised damage it is quite likely to be a card issue. If so then the camera probably still works fine... If it was on top then heat rises, but I think it would be more likely to melt around the cooling holes than the card slot.

I used this to powered my mini 0806: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00U7BV8DKUsing a 5V fuse tapped into the ignition.

I've contacted the seller and will get a replacement, but I will have to pay for postage, both to and return.

The memory card was a cheap no name that was part of a deal that came with the camera, and was inserted in slot B or at the bottom of the camera.

 

[RavenManiac]

I used this to powered my mini 0806: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00U7BV8DKUsing a 5V fuse tapped into the ignition.

I would use a multimeter to test the output voltage of that bad boy–just to be safe.

 

[Nigel]

I used this to powered my mini 0806: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00U7BV8DKUsing a 5V fuse tapped into the ignition.

I've contacted the seller and will get a replacement, but I will have to pay for postage, both to and return.

The memory card was a cheap no name that was part of a deal that came with the camera, and was inserted in slot B or at the bottom of the camera.

That is a good voltage converter normally, I don't expect it to be the problem, no harm in testing it though.

Since it was on the bottom, I'll guess it was a card issue, they do get quite warm and different makes use different amounts of power. Maybe suggest to your supplier that they should use a decent quality card for dashcam use where it is constantly being written to and never gets a chance to cool. I've not seen one do that before though. When you get your replacement, use the card for something else and put a decent brand name one in it's place, a cheap one may have a relatively short life anyway.

 

[flash_xx]

Ouch, that camera is fried for sure. Are you sure it's an original one and not counterfeit? My 0806 seems to run only warm even under the Caribbean sun but just to be safe I keep one of my A/C vents pointed to it to keep it cool, that also kept my 0803 running just fine until I upgraded. The 0803 now resides on the rear window where it's cooler due to the window tint (I cut a hole on the tint for the lens) both work flawlessly, but reading some of the horror stories here I'm starting to wonder If I've been lucky or if counterfeits are more common than real ones in the forum.

 

[RavenManiac]

mr2lor, what's the postscript on your problem? Did you determine what the problem was? Did the supplier send you a replacement unit? Did you purchase it from an authorized reseller or somebody on eBay?

 

[mr2lor]

mr2lor, what's the postscript on your problem? Did you determine what the problem was? Did the supplier send you a replacement unit? Did you purchase it from an authorized reseller or somebody on eBay?

The seller is issuing a replacement, but I will have to pay for return postage. The seller is from amazon with positive reviews and also prime. I don't know if he is an authorized reseller since there's no mentioning in his listing.

I don't really know what cause the meltdown on the memory slot, but I can assume that it may have been the memory stick since it was a cheap brand.

 

[mr2lor]

Ouch, that camera is fried for sure. Are you sure it's an original one and not counterfeit? My 0806 seems to run only warm even under the Caribbean sun but just to be safe I keep one of my A/C vents pointed to it to keep it cool, that also kept my 0803 running just fine until I upgraded. The 0803 now resides on the rear window where it's cooler due to the window tint (I cut a hole on the tint for the lens) both work flawlessly, but reading some of the horror stories here I'm starting to wonder If I've been lucky or if counterfeits are more common than real ones in the forum.

I don't know if it is original or counterfeit. The camera was bought from amazon with 30 days back guarantee if anything happens to the camera (seller will pay for return postage). Unfortunately, the memory slot was burned after the 30 days, but I was still cover under the 1 year warranty. The weather can be hot here, but I find it strange that it melt where the memory stick was located. Who knows, heat + memory stick heat = meltdown?

 

[mr2lor]

Update:

I've received my replacement not too long ago. After a day of using it, the camera turns off and started blinking red. About a minute later, I started to see smoke coming out of the camera so I unplug the power cord and remove my camera from the rear view mirror. I inspect the camera and nothing melt like last time. The memory stick (Sandisk) seems fine, but for the camera, it is not powering on because the circuit board is probably fried.

My only conclusion right now is probably my hard wire cable. It is probably sending a higher voltage than it needed to that may fried the board. Oh well, this is probably my last dashcam from the mini 0806. I will probably find another dashcam.

 

[Stumpy]

You are definitely feeding in the wrong voltage level and totally smoking the internal voltage regulator of the camera.

If you have a multi-meter, measure the voltage level you are supplying to the camera.

Do not power up the camera any longer like this. You will start a fire in your vehicle. You could also electrically short other electronics in your vehicle.