G1W - Replace battery with capacitor

All your posts have been most helpful to me.

I went to Maplins as lunch time and the chap behind the counter got all the potential capacitors out and I tested each one in the case. The only one which was any good was the 5V 1.5F Capacitor so I decided to chance it.

I've removed the old battery, and soldered the cap in place, I then flashed the following firmware onto it : G1WC_2016.1021.11AM_12mbps (if anyone wants this I can attach it) and hey presto I now appear to have a fully functioning G1W converted dashcam that reacts exactly the same as my Mums G1W-C camera!

Saved myself £35 on having to buy another camera so I really appreciate it.

One of the questions here will be whether the camera continues to perform as expected in the long term.
 
One of the questions here will be whether the camera continues to perform as expected in the long term.

Yes thats a good question, will see how I get on with it, we have two of them and they cost £30 each about 4 months ago and the batteries are just shot in them already so if it gives us a bit longer without having to fork out on new dashcams then I'll be happy :)
 
Yes thats a good question, will see how I get on with it, we have two of them and they cost £30 each about 4 months ago and the batteries are just shot in them already so if it gives us a bit longer without having to fork out on new dashcams then I'll be happy :)

It's not quite so simple as getting a little longer life out of the cameras. If you should be so unfortunate enough as to find yourself in a traffic mishap or worse you don't want to find out after the fact that some or all of the files on your camera are corrupted and unplayable. DIY camera experimentation is all well and good but should be avoided on your primary daily use camera. Being penny wise on dash cams may be pound foolish in the long run as it carries risks that may not be worth the apparent savings. Wish you good luck here.
 
Last edited:
It's not quiet so simple as getting a little longer life out of the cameras. If you should be so unfortunate enough as to find yourself in a traffic mishap or worse you don't want to find out after the fact that some or all of the files on your camera are corrupted and unplayable. DIY camera experimentation is all well and good but should be avoided on your primary daily use camera. Wish you good luck here.

Well yes you are right I suppose thats the risk you take though :-S
 
that would be sufficient

They did also have https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/25f-5v-super-capacitor-module-n55qq but it was too big to fit in the casing. But strangely the description says the same as the one I bought : two 2.7V 3F cells connected in series which I don't understand, maybe it's a typo.

I also see the descriptions say Voltage equalizing managed through integrated PCB, so I don't know if that would alleviate the issues that people have said that swapping out the battery versions could cause?
 
They did also have https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/25f-5v-super-capacitor-module-n55qq but it was too big to fit in the casing. But strangely the description says the same as the one I bought : two 2.7V 3F cells connected in series which I don't understand, maybe it's a typo.

I also see the descriptions say Voltage equalizing managed through integrated PCB, so I don't know if that would alleviate the issues that people have said that swapping out the battery versions could cause?

Yes, voltage equalized is what you want. It was what I was talking about when I mentioned using a balancing resister. (between the caps)
 
Yes, voltage equalized is what you want. It was what I was talking about when I mentioned using a balancing resister. (between the caps)

Well time will only tell how the camera performs long term but so far tonight all absolutely fine and is running the same firmware as my Mums G1W-C.

I know earlier on the risks were discussed about corrupting files could occur etc but the exact thing happened with my wife's a couple of days ago, someone pulled out on her just a minute or so before she got home and gsensor didn't pick up on it and lock the file and start a new one, so as soon as she got home and switched the engine off the camera went off and corrupted that file. So really I don't see us been in a worse position as if something bad happened with the camera with a knackered battery and power was suddenly lost to the car then chances are the camera will just go straight off.

At the end of the day the G1W are a very cheap camera and they have their shortfalls, you get what you pay for and I think deep down we have always said if something happened and we have the evidence then great but if they let us down for some reason then that's the price you pay for getting a cheap camera I guess.
 
They did also have https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/25f-5v-super-capacitor-module-n55qq but it was too big to fit in the casing. But strangely the description says the same as the one I bought : two 2.7V 3F cells connected in series which I don't understand, maybe it's a typo.

I also see the descriptions say Voltage equalizing managed through integrated PCB, so I don't know if that would alleviate the issues that people have said that swapping out the battery versions could cause?

it's the same rating as the caps you have but is marked incorrectly, the PCB will be to equalise the caps but won't solve issues related to the power circuit (if there are any) due to be a battery version originally

cheap enough experiment though
 
(...) someone pulled out on her just a minute or so before she got home and gsensor didn't pick up on it and lock the file and start a new one, (...)
The capacitor swap won't solve the problems you had before if you don't switch off the G-Sensor function. It's just a crappy gimmick, especially in the G1W series cameras.
 
The only issue I've noticed this last few days is the camera time and date resets overnight so something must be draining the capacitor fully compared to an actual G1W-C so I might have to turn time stamp off. Its been quite fun tinkering though.
 
My G1W-H started having trouble holding the correct date and time for more than a day, so I pulled the capacitor from my old broken G1W-C and placed it in the H. I just replaced the battery in my other H, and am too impatient and cheap to order another battery and wait for it to ship. It took a bit of trial and error to successfully update it to a G1W-C firmware. For any firmware update on an H, you have to change the file name to either FWDM800H or FWS1088. Neither the 2014 or 2015 version worked properly, as predicted by previous responders. The screen stayed completely black with both, but the camera did apparently record video with the 2015 version. I ended up installing this firmware from 2016, which works so far. https://wr24support.freshdesk.com/helpdesk/attachments/8003269087 The menu and record buttons were flipped, however, which can get a bit confusing. The real problem is that it does not appear to shut down properly. The screen just goes black immediately without that characteristic sound. This leads to the dreaded last file corruption, which defeats the purpose of updating the firmware in the first place. If anyone knows of another firmware version that I can try, please let me know. Is there a firmware for the HC out there perhaps? If all else fails, I'll probably end up going back to the H firmware so it can at least have the correct button mapping, and maybe looking for a replacement battery in stores.
Edit: It took me multiple tries plugging and unplugging to get the camera to turn back on. It turns on every time now, but I've lost the date again and all settings have reset to default. I'm starting to wonder if the battery was even the problem, or if this firmware is just letting me down.
Edit: Every single time I powered it back on, the settings were back to default. The date remained intact though. I ended up giving up and flashing an H firmware, which made no difference. Now it's losing the settings AND the date every time. I may just end up calling it and putting the original battery back in while I look for a suitable replacement battery.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top