Can running your dashcam indefinitely (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) destroy your car electronics?

DashcamFreak

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I am planning on running my dashcam indefinitely, but I am concerned about the electronics in my car. Currently, I have 2 dashcams hardwired to my car, front and back. I have a Mobius Action Camera with battery capacitors installed in them.

I'm not particularly worried about my dashcam overheating or draining my car battery (I have a car battery jumper), but can my car electronics feature and components (such as the ECU) be affected if I decide to make my dashcam run indefinitely?
 
Not exactly damage, but if you discharge the battery too far in some cars the radio anti-theft system may have to be reset (a dealer-only job with certain cars) or the car may have to re-learn the idle parameters (occurs automatically as you drive it). Plus that is very hard on the car battery which can drastically shorten it's lifespan. This is why most folks use a battery discharge preventer (BDP) that shuts the cams off at a pre-set voltage above where battery damage occurs. I'd highly recommend you use one too ;) Plus some cams will act weird when their supply voltage goes low, giving corrupted vid files, losing it's settings, or causing a need to do a hard reset once you are operational again.

Phil
 
I agree, several UK vehicles go a bit strange if you get a very low / flat battery. Example a VW Golf can show 'Steering angle sensor' fault after, Electric windows can need resetting (the one touch feature) Also some automatic gearboxes Learn how the driver drives the car so it may need to relearn that. I wouldn't personally allow a dash cam to flatten my battery that low....
 
Youll probably also have to replace the memory cards yearly, if running them 24/7
 
Youll probably also have to replace the memory cards yearly, if running them 24/7

Or more often than that based on the card's ability. Based on some rough figures. the 400X card I used for my 24/7 Mobuis went well beyond it's predicted lifespan but I replaced it anyway just to be safe. I saved the old card for a spare in case a card in use goes bad unexpectedly. Or you can use your old cards for less critical purposes (digicam, phone cam, extra PC storage). And eventually the cam itself will die as everything electronic does. Running a cam 24/7 will probably void it's warranty; they really aren't built for that kind of service although a few are capable of handling it pretty well.

There is a cost to doing anything and it is up to you to decide whether that cost is acceptable for what you get in return ;)

Phil
 
(...), but can my car electronics feature and components (such as the ECU) be affected if I decide to make my dashcam run indefinitely?
You should be more worried about the cameras than your car's electronics.
 
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