A119 overheating and constantly restarting after FW 2.0 update

[Macintologist]

Just chiming in that I'm having a similar problem. I have the SpyTec (Viofo) A119 with the GPS mount and the first week my camera worked just perfectly fine, but lately it has been constantly rebooting while driving! I upgraded to the latest firmwire upon unboxing and prior to installation.

Here is a video I took of what it does: https://vid.me/muT8

My settings are:
- Sound: button press only
- LED - off. (So why is the Record button LED light coming on??)
- GPS display - GPS coordinates only
- Screensaver - 3 seconds

 

[Barfo]

Does it reboot when powered through the cameras power port?

I'll try in the morning on my 20-25 minute commute to work. Before I hardwired it a few days ago, I had used the dual USB cigarette lighter adapter that was included without issue. After hardwiring it to the driver side fuse box piggybacking on the 7.5 Amp powered sideview mirrors fuse slot, it worked great. It wasn't till last night that it started to reboot. I did notice today that one time when the screen started to flicker, I readjusted the camera eye and that seemed to stop the flickering and it kept recording. Before that, I did turn off the LED and Screen Saver. I'll report back tomorrow.

 

[Barfo]

Here are my current settings:
Firmware: V2.01
Resolution: 1080p 60fps
Loop Recording: Off
WDR: On
GPS: On
GPS Info Stamp: Coordinates
Screen Saver: Off
LED: Off
Lexar C 10/UHS-1 64gb microSD card.

*If it continues to reboot, then I'll turn on the Screen Saver to see if that makes a difference.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I'll try in the morning on my 20-25 minute commute to work. Before I hardwired it a few days ago, I had used the dual USB cigarette light adapter that was included without issue. After hardwiring it to the driver side fuse box piggybacking on the 7.5 Amp powered sideview mirrors fuse slot, it worked great. It wasn't till last night that it started to reboot. I did notice today that one time when the screen started to flicker, I readjusted the camera eye and that seemed to stop the flickering and it kept recording. Before that, I did turn off the LED and Screen Saver. I'll report back tomorrow.

Might want to try cleaning the contacts on the camera and GPS with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. A user the other day said that it helped.

 

[Barfo]

Much better today. I turned on the Screen Saver (I actually had the LED on the whole time) rather than having the screen constantly running and it stayed on the entire commute to and from work, as well as, during several intermittent stops throughout the day. It had somehow initiated a new video clip a couple times, but it never fully restarted like it had before. It looks as though it's recording 25 minutes at a time before starting a new clip. I did notice that the screen flickers intermittently, but I believe it has to do with the prongs from the GPS module not seating tightly to the unit.

 

[Macintologist]

I plugged the power directly into the unit rather than the GPS unit, and the problem went away. The power connection between the GPS unit and the camera is f**'d. GPS information is still being transmitted.

 

[Dare]

Hello all.
I have Viofo A119 and also I have problems with overheating. My camera works and records good but it is always very hot when I touch it. I use genuine power adapter and Varta powerbank - the camera overheats always. I want to keep my camera on for 24/7 recording ( I bought powerbank for that) but I am afraid that camera may burn. Is there any solution for the problem? Currently, I use my camera only when I am in the car.
Sorry for my bad English

Thanks!

 

[Gibson99]

It is normal for it to be warm. When I remove my SD card after a drive (even a short drive) the card is almost too hot to touch. It's been this way since day one and has not been a problem. That includes hours at a time in parking mode where the outside temperature was well over 100f, sometimes even 120f (50c). At long as the camera still works, I wouldn't worry about it. My cameras are over 2 years old now and the only "issue" I have is the metal lens holder on the pre-production one has faded a little and now it's a kind of burnt orange color instead of black. Still works fine though.

 

[nymphaeles]

Hello all.
I have Viofo A119 and also I have problems with overheating. My camera works and records good but it is always very hot when I touch it. I use genuine power adapter and Varta powerbank - the camera overheats always. I want to keep my camera on for 24/7 recording ( I bought powerbank for that) but I am afraid that camera may burn. Is there any solution for the problem? Currently, I use my camera only when I am in the car.
Sorry for my bad English

Thanks!

I used to have this problem for an A119 in the rear of my car that kept shut down and reboot as I ran it on a USB powerbank to keep it running while my car is off. During my half hour commute to work every day during that week, that cam kept shutdown and reboot in a never ending loop for a straight 5 days. Another A119 in the front, that was tapped into the car powerline, never behaved in such a way. I live in Arizona, USA where the outdoor temperature in the summer frequently exceeded 110F (43C). Inside the car, temperature may rise up to 145F (over 60C). I first suspected that the cam was overheated, because it felt very hot on the touch, and rebooted on its own. However, I didn't want to draw that conclusion yet for I wanted to power it just like the front cam and see if it still shutdown/reboot. Over the weekend, I tapped that cam to the powerline from my car just like I did it for the front cam. The outside temp on that day was 108F (42C) and I let my car idling on my driveway for 10 minutes without A/C running in the car. The temp inside the car was probably ~140F. To my surprise, that A119 never rebooted; it kept working in that burning hot environment inside the car. So, I quit using a USB powerbank to feed that cam and tapped it to the car powerline. Since then, that A119 just works as expected in the hot AZ summer weather. I think it was the power supply that caused my A119 to shutdown/reboot.
This is not to say that your battery is faulty or insufficient. What I suggest you to do is to use a more stable and reliable power source to test your A119 again, so that you can rule out the possibility of power supply insufficiency. If the cam continue to shutdown/reboot, then you should contact your seller for a possible return/exchange. I think there is a good chance that your cam is fine, but the power supply is not.
Regards

 

[Dare]

Thanks friends!
My camera works fine with power supply and power bank, no restarting or something similar. That's the reason why I'm still with stock firmware 2.x.
The only problem is that camera is really warm when it is connected to power. Even when it doesn't record the temperature doesn't drop. I'm afraid that it may burn and destroy my brand new car