3rd FineVu CR-500HD fault (seems to have killed my car battery)- any ideas?

d550

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I've owned FineVu CR-500HD dash cameras for several years now, and while the video quality is very good, and the design meets my specifications (no GPS, wifi, or LCD screen- very low voltage draw for prolonged parking mode use), I think it's clear I have to find another option. My first unit had a faulty motion sensor, my second unit had an internal battery failure in less than a year, and now my third unit has begun to malfunction (randomly beeps, a couple corrupt Motion mode video files, announcing "video recording starts" even though I've already been driving for 20 minutes, etc.) DJ at FineVu USA has provided excellent support and replaced the unit twice before, but this last dash cam fault appears to have caused my car battery to fully drain, stranding me this morning.

I went thru the video footage (which conveniently records the car battery voltage); the last video is intact, without corruption, and is in Normal mode. The car battery had plenty of charge, and then no subsequent video files are recorded after ~1130a yesterday morning, despite the memory card only being 60% full. My car was parked in my building garage for the rest of the day, so typically there would be multiple Motion video files captured; I accessed the trunk in the evening, which should have been captured on video. I suspect when the dashcam tried to switch into Parking or Motion mode around 1130a, it experienced some type of fault which then fully drained my car battery. If there was some type of parasitic drain from the car itself, I would expect the dash cam to have continued recording and capture the dropping voltage on video. Likewise, if there was a sudden car battery failure at 1130a that prevented any further video recording, I would not have been able to access my trunk via remote key yesterday evening.

Has anyone experienced this type of dash cam fault? I'm not eager to start shopping for a new camera and bin my FineVu, but I don't see any other explanation for what happened. Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
What hardwiring kit are you using with the CR500HD?
 
Hi BlackboxMyCar- when I first installed the FineVu in my previous car (2013), I already had a 12V socket kit on hand, so I tested the dash cam directly hardwired (no external voltage shutoff), and monitored the voltage for a couple weeks. Sure enough, as advertised, the CR500HD's power draw was very low, and didn't have any impact on the car battery. I drove the car daily, and unplugged the dashcam if the car was going to sit unused for more than a few days, and never had a problem. Well, not with power draw anyway- I had a motion detector go bad summer of 2014, and then an internal battery go bad summer of 2015, and now the dash cam experienced some type of fault last week- I'm in New England, not CA, FL, or TX, so the internals just don't seem adequately robust to withstand realistic heat conditions.

I purchased a new daily driver two months ago (so the car battery is brand new), and transferred the dash cam setup directly over. Obviously, now I realize I need to install an external voltage shutoff to protect the car battery not from standard usage power drain, but against any type of short or malfunction; in this case, the FineVu experienced some type of fault or short when it tried to switch from Normal to Parking/Motion detection mode, and drained the car battery- the last video recorded was right before it would switch from Normal to Parking mode, the file is fully intact, and the car battery voltage looked fine. Lesson learned!

But I don't trust the CR500HD anymore, and would appreciate some guidance on a good replacement unit. I posted in the "What Should I Buy" forum, but briefly, I use the camera primarily for parking surveillance, so I need one with minimal power draw, good motion detection and video quality; I don't need wifi, GPS, LCD screen, 2 channel etc., I just want to absolutely minimize the power consumption. I did see that you carry a 2nd generation CR500HD with an upgraded battery, but am concerned that battery aside, the electronics just can't withstand even a New England summer heat given my experience. Any advice or recommendations? Thanks in advance.
 
Yeah I wouldn't recommend not having a battery protection device. Most popular one for the CR500HD is the Fine Safer/Multi Safer.
Just because the battery is new doesn't mean it can last overnight, especially with Japanese vehicles which tend to run for the shortest amount of time before hitting the 12.0V cutoff we typically use
If you want something energy efficient I would check out Thinkware F750 or F770, I'm shocked at how long these last in parking mode.
In my personal car I went from CR500HD in 2014, DR650GW-2CH in 2015, and F770 for 2016. And despite my battery getting older the F770 2-CH still runs significantly (6 hours) more than my DR650GW-2CH

2nd Gen CR500 battery will still need to be replaced after about a year or so and I wouldn't really recommend it anymore considering you can get much newer cameras with better features for the moeny.
If you don't mind the bulkier design, the Thinkware F750 is a pretty good choice.
 
The size (and therefore the capacity) of the new car's battery could be smaller. Manufacturers minimize car batteries now to save weight and space, creating a more efficient car. That doesn't help us at all, but it's good for most folks.

Phil
 
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