A129 3-wire kit

[coolasmoo]

Installed my 3-wire kit (temporarily for testing a few days). I wanted to share my setup as it may help someone. In short, I wanted a way to have the camera in one of three modes (off completely, on only on ACC, and on all the time for parking). I wired up a SPDT ON-OFF-ON switch that let me do this. So now, I can select what "mode" the camera operates in. Normally, I can leave it on all the time for parking mode. However, if I am parking for a long time I can move it to ACC only since it wouldn't be able to cover the entire time anyway. And finally, for troubleshooting and/or to power off the camera completely, I can move the switch to the OFF position and it receives no power whatsoever.

Since a pic is worth a thousand words.

View attachment 43318

Hey all

Just wanted to update that I have finally installed my duo into my Mazda 6.

Everything works fine with 2 exceptions.

I have interference noise from my rear cam wire from my DAB Ariel. Also the DAB radio is muffled until I disconnect or power down the rear camera.

I am hoping a couple of ferrite cores installed close to the camera will solve that issue, however I will update if I need to relocate. (My DAB antenna is in the top rear window)

The other issue I have is a slight high pitch noise on all my recordings. I have recorded from a USB charger and the noise is not there. So I am wondering if I have a bad ground point from the hard wire kit?

Anyway, I just wanted to thank @kioneo for his info and all who contribute to making this forum so damn handy for advice

Just a heads up, I have had no problems with entering parking mode or any other issues using the wiring diagram above on firmware 1.5

I do have a boot delay of 10 seconds and can switch from Acc/Off/+Live without issues (So far)

 

[kioneo]

@Jonro2009 thanks for the kind words

I've done some modifications of my setup since. In short, I was having issues (like other folks) where the camera wouldn't power on after the car sat for a while and my switch was in "non-parking, ACC-only" mode. To fix this, I rewired my switch's "ACC-only" mode to use circuit which wakes up when the car is unlocked and which stays on for a few minutes after the car is locked. I then connected the hardwire kit's ACC cable directly to an ACC circuit which is only hot while the ignition is on.

So what does this accomplish? Basically, my "parking" mode still works as designed. The camera gets power from the battery all the time and the ACC is used to sense if the car is running. My "non-parking, ACC-only" mode is now different. The hardwire kit now gets power as soon as I unlock the car (but the camera doesn't start). Then upon turning the ignition on, the ACC goes hot and the camera boots up. Upon turning the car off, my camera enters parking mode (since the ACC is no longer hot and the hardwire kit still has power from the delayed circuit). Then, after a few minutes when the car goes to sleep, my camera turns off.

It's not perfect, but it's a work in progress for now. I recall someone saying they were going to wire up something inline to delay the ACC signal, but I'm not an electronics expert so I eagerly await the results of that experiment. If it sounds promising, I'll change my setup back. For now, just playing around to see what works reliably and gives me flexibility.

 

[kioneo]

The 3 wire cable setup not working for me connected the power cable directly on the camera (not into gps module) installed the bat wire to always 12v and the acc on a 12v only with ignition on but the camera does not go in parking mod after ignition off only after 5 minutes not moving the car (messiurt all Voltages with multimeter im sure i connected everythink right) @viofo

Are you sure the ACC circuit you tapped into goes cold immediately after you turn off the ignition? Have you checked it with a voltmeter? I ask because in my car I have two such types of circuits: one goes old immeidately and one stays on until the car sleeps a few minutes later.

 

[Jonro2009]

@Jonro2009 thanks for the kind words

I've done some modifications of my setup since. In short, I was having issues (like other folks) where the camera wouldn't power on after the car sat for a while and my switch was in "non-parking, ACC-only" mode. To fix this, I rewired my switch's "ACC-only" mode to use circuit which wakes up when the car is unlocked and which stays on for a few minutes after the car is locked. I then connected the hardwire kit's ACC cable directly to an ACC circuit which is only hot while the ignition is on.

So what does this accomplish? Basically, my "parking" mode still works as designed. The camera gets power from the battery all the time and the ACC is used to sense if the car is running. My "non-parking, ACC-only" mode is now different. The hardwire kit now gets power as soon as I unlock the car (but the camera doesn't start). Then upon turning the ignition on, the ACC goes hot and the camera boots up. Upon turning the car off, my camera enters parking mode (since the ACC is no longer hot and the hardwire kit still has power from the delayed circuit). Then, after a few minutes when the car goes to sleep, my camera turns off.

It's not perfect, but it's a work in progress for now. I recall someone saying they were going to wire up something inline to delay the ACC signal, but I'm not an electronics expert so I eagerly await the results of that experiment. If it sounds promising, I'll change my setup back. For now, just playing around to see what works reliably and gives me flexibility.

That sounds very interesting, I am yet to fit my kit and switch so I could maybe take advantage of your new set up.

I am planning to use an on-on switch (pictured above) and currently have the ACC wire from the HK3 connected to one pin along with the ACC fuse tap. With your new explanation am I right in thinking that you have put the ACC wire from the HK3 to a fuse that gets power when the car is unlocked and another wire from an ignition live to the pin on the switch?

I’ve got myself confused trying to think about it. If you had a diagram that would really help.


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[kioneo]

That sounds very interesting, I am yet to fit my kit and switch so I could maybe take advantage of your new set up.

I am planning to use an on-on switch (pictured above) and currently have the ACC wire from the HK3 connected to one pin along with the ACC fuse tap. With your new explanation am I right in thinking that you have put the ACC wire from the HK3 to a fuse that gets power when the car is unlocked and another wire from an ignition live to the pin on the switch?

I’ve got myself confused trying to think about it. If you had a diagram that would really help.


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I can't whip up a diagram right now, but here's the text version of what I know. Take note that what you described won't work.

1. ACC on the hardwire kit should be wired to a circuit that gets power when the ignition is on, and loses power when the ignition is off. It's is a sensor wire. It never powers the camera or hardwire kit.

2. The B+ on the hardwire kit supplies power to the camera (it's also what is monitored for voltage cutoff). For the kit to function properly, the hardwire kit must see power on B+ before power on the ACC line.

• If you connect B+ on the hardwire kit to an always-on battery circuit, everything will work as expected and you'll get parking mode as designed.
• If you connect B+ on the hardwire kit to a circuit that switches on/off with the car, it must be on a circuit that gets power *before* the circuit on your ACC line mentioned above. My car has such a circuit, not all cars do; but I'd bet most modern cars do for things like the radio, lights, navigation, etc.

3. I use a switch to let me control where B+ on the hardwire kit gets power. That is, I can let it get power from the battery and run all the time, or I can have it connect to a switched circuit that loses power after the car turns off for a while. This means I have parking mode when I want it, and not when I don't.

Originally, I had my switch setup so that in one position, B+ and ACC of the hardwire kit got power from the same circuit. However, I noticed that after the car sat for a while, the camera wouldn't power on. Seemingly, it is related to #2 above: the hardwire kit must see power on B+ before ACC in order to power up properly. In this setup, they were seeing power at the same time and the kit wasn't powering up as expected.

P.S. I say B+ to refer to the Red wire on the hardwire kit. I can't recall if it is labeled B+ or Battery.

 

[coolasmoo]

Managed to get the DAB interference sorted with the rear camera. Had to re route the cable through the passenger side.

Still got slight high pitch noise on recordings from both cams, sounds like tinnitus.

 

[BudworthTDog]

Hello all, first post here. I'm planning on finally upgrading my dashcam and have pretty much decided on the Viofo A129 model. I'm also planning on hardwiring it this time, it will be my first time doing so. I just wanted to be sure I am correct in my understanding of how this hardwire device works. I then have a question about parking mode.

So the hardwire kit has 3 hookups. Ground, ACC, and bat. Ground goes to the body of the car while ACC and bat both go to seperate fuses in the fuse box. The bat going to one that is always active, whether or not the car is on or off. The ACC goes to a fuse port that is only active when the car is turned on. Is this correct?

Then a question about parking mode. My understanding is that this makes it so it only starts recording when it senses physical movement of the car (presumably from being hit), or movement in view of where the camera is pointed. My question is when you go to watch recordings made in parking mode is their a delay between when either sensor triggers, and when it actually starts recording? For example, let's say someone backs into my car in a parking lot and pulls off. When I go back to view the video will I just see the car driving off, already a few yards away from my vehicle? Will it start RIGHT when he hits my vehicle? Or is there some kind of buffer which will end up playing back the actual collision?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

 

[bitslizer]

Are you sure? The latest official release v1.5 should support the PM.




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Ah, did not realize 1.5 was released into public, thought it was still beta

 

[bitslizer]

Hello all, first post here. I'm planning on finally upgrading my dashcam and have pretty much decided on the Viofo A129 model. I'm also planning on hardwiring it this time, it will be my first time doing so. I just wanted to be sure I am correct in my understanding of how this hardwire device works. I then have a question about parking mode.

So the hardwire kit has 3 hookups. Ground, ACC, and bat. Ground goes to the body of the car while ACC and bat both go to seperate fuses in the fuse box. The bat going to one that is always active, whether or not the car is on or off. The ACC goes to a fuse port that is only active when the car is turned on. Is this correct?

Then a question about parking mode. My understanding is that this makes it so it only starts recording when it senses physical movement of the car (presumably from being hit), or movement in view of where the camera is pointed. My question is when you go to watch recordings made in parking mode is their a delay between when either sensor triggers, and when it actually starts recording? For example, let's say someone backs into my car in a parking lot and pulls off. When I go back to view the video will I just see the car driving off, already a few yards away from my vehicle? Will it start RIGHT when he hits my vehicle? Or is there some kind of buffer which will end up playing back the actual collision?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Parking mode can also be low frame rate 1, 5, 10fps mode, OR low bitrate 4mbps mode

 

[murdoc]

Managed to get the DAB interference sorted with the rear camera. Had to re route the cable through the passenger side.

Still got slight high pitch noise on recordings from both cams, sounds like tinnitus.

i do have same experience with high pitch noise - only on hardwire kit. With USB charger are recordings OK

 

[coolasmoo]

Same for me, USB charger is fine too.

 

[bodycount28]

Hello all, first post here. I'm planning on finally upgrading my dashcam and have pretty much decided on the Viofo A129 model. I'm also planning on hardwiring it this time, it will be my first time doing so. I just wanted to be sure I am correct in my understanding of how this hardwire device works. I then have a question about parking mode.

Welcome!

So the hardwire kit has 3 hookups. Ground, ACC, and bat. Ground goes to the body of the car while ACC and bat both go to seperate fuses in the fuse box. The bat going to one that is always active, whether or not the car is on or off. The ACC goes to a fuse port that is only active when the car is turned on. Is this correct?

Correct.

Then a question about parking mode. My understanding is that this makes it so it only starts recording when it senses physical movement of the car (presumably from being hit), or movement in view of where the camera is pointed. My question is when you go to watch recordings made in parking mode is their a delay between when either sensor triggers, and when it actually starts recording? For example, let's say someone backs into my car in a parking lot and pulls off. When I go back to view the video will I just see the car driving off, already a few yards away from my vehicle? Will it start RIGHT when he hits my vehicle? Or is there some kind of buffer which will end up playing back the actual collision?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Based on the latest FW (v1.5) There are 2 main options for parking mode:

1) Continuous Recording - Cam will continue to record with the available settings:
- Time lapse, at either 1, 3, 5 or 10 fps (no audio)
- Low bitrate (with audio)

2) Motion detection (non buffered)
- Cam will record upon detection of bump/hit. Based on G-sensor detection, sensitivity can be set to Low, Normal or High.

Many folks are not using motion detection due to gap between event detection and when recording starts, I'm currently using low bitrate and have been happy with it so far. I've installed a switch (details earlier in this thread) which I can control when to turn off PM when I don't need it (ie - in my garage).

 

[Jonro2009]

@kioneo

Ah right, that makes sense then. I think!

It’s the B+ that is controlling things.

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[Jonro2009]

@bodycount28 so you favour low bitrate over time lapse, why is that? What is the comparison when it comes to size of files? A 3minute file at 10fps will, for arguments sake record 12mins in real-time footage, would a 12min file at low bit rate be the same size as the 3minute file at 10fps?

I hope that makes sense


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[Harsh]

Time-lapse files are 2 minutes, 5fps = 12 minutes real-time, 10fps = 6 minutes. File size is the same, 250MB.

Low-bitrate has audio.

 

[bodycount28]

@bodycount28 so you favour low bitrate over time lapse, why is that? What is the comparison when it comes to size of files? A 3minute file at 10fps will, for arguments sake record 12mins in real-time footage, would a 12min file at low bit rate be the same size as the 3minute file at 10fps?

I hope that makes sense


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My initial quality vs size findings was posted on this thread. Additional explanation what I prefer posted here.

 

[Jonro2009]

Thank you @Harsh that’s great information.

Sorry @bodycount28 I didn’t look far enough back for the answer, my bad


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[mychin]

Hey all, first time poster (thanks to all who post valuable info!). I just installed my cam with the 3 wire kit. It enters parking mode immediately after I shut off my engine, but I get inconsistent results with the camera staying on. Currently it's set to the time lapse mode (5FPS). I know it's on a always on fuse. Does it have something to do with the voltage switch? It's currently set at 12.4V.

 

[coolasmoo]

@mychin I guess you could either check the battery with a multi-meter for the voltage drop or set the 3 wire kit to a lower voltage for testing?

 

[carguy4471]

Easy park mode On/Off wiring with one switch and one diode.