A129 DUO Interfering with car electronics,

[jomanjee]

I have the 2CH A129 DUO dash cam installed in my cadillac CTS 2014, i noticed recently some weird behaviors so i had to get my car checked several times to the dealer, to my surprise yesterday the dealer told me that nothing is wrong with my car after a very very long and detailed diagnostics, several visits and test drives. they eventually had to use a computer to pickup any error codes in the car, they said (and it seems true) that whenever the camera was disconnected all functionalities of the car are back to normal, before you ask i was seeing my tire pressure sensors (which communicated Wirelessly with a special module inside the vehicle) were stopping at Random times, i had them replaced twice, and the dealer was confused too, but apparently the Viofo was guilty as charged !... i latter on drove my car, and my car sensors stopped responding and an error poped up on the dashboard, i simply disconnected the viofo from the power source, and within just seconds that error was gone and all sensors worked back normally !...

I am surprised really because wifi was disabled in the camera, i was using 50 Hz setting in the cam, and the cam was simply running of 12v power ! i tried Both 12v power sources, they Both lead to the same outcome, i then tried connecting the viofo to my portable standalone powerbank, to my surprise that gave that error too !!... not really sure how that is even occurring coz supposedly all cables are shielded etc...

Any advise or explanation to this strange phenomena ?

Thanks,

 

[jokiin]

not related to wifi, try relocating the rear camera cable, power supply can also cause this

try running it single channel, if the problem is still there then look closer at power supply and cables

 

[Gooffeyguy]

I bet it has something to do with how the rear camera cable is run. Unplug the rear camera from the front unit and run the camera as just a single camera and see if it still causes interference. You may have to run the rear cable along the other side.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[SawMaster]

Dashcams can interfere with car electronics but there's often a workable fix. Moving the cam, it's cabling, or installing snap-on ferrite chokes will usually mitigate most or all of the problems. It can help if your dealer can tell you where the antenna(s) are for your car systems so you can space cam components away from them.

Phil

 

[jdct]

Google: buck converter interference

Those 12VDC to 5VDC power converters can often emit lots of high frequency noise. Depending upon the amount of technology in the car and how well it is designed, sometimes the dashcam power adapter itself or even the power output wires need to be shielded to protect against wireless interference. All cars in the US now have wireless tire pressure monitoring sytems, some have [wireless] key-less push button start systems, and various other wireless systems are present -- or even wired systems prone to wireless interference.

A simple test for this case would be to obtain a high quality USB power adapter that plugs into your cigarette lighter/power outlet, and power your dashcam with it to see if the problems remain or disappear. Remember that the cable to a second camera in a dual camera model, carries both video signal AND POWER for the second camera.

 

[viofo]

Do you mind to try attaching the ferritor, some user solved the interfering by using this.

 

[LTech221]

What size ferrite chokes would we need for the rear camera cable?

 

[Nigel]

What size ferrite chokes would we need for the rear camera cable?

The cable is 5mm diameter, and tire pressure sensors operate at around 350MHz if that is what you are having issues with.

 

[Gooffeyguy]

Gm vehicles use either a 315mhz or 433mhz TPMS sensors. The receiver is located with the remote key fob receiver.

I'm not sure where it is in the cars, but in the SUVs like Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade, it's located on drivers side cargo area, behind the trim panel of the wheel well.

The cars are probably in the same area, drivers side trunk.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[jokiin]

Gm vehicles use either a 315mhz or 433mhz TPMS sensors. The receiver is located with the remote key fob receiver.

camera processor runs at 420MHz, probably close enough to be a potential problem if your TPMS is at 433MHz

 

[Gooffeyguy]

Yeah, I don't have any interference with mine, but I have the rear camera cable ran on the passenger side of the vehicle, and my vehicle is large/long enough that there is a greater distance from the TPMS receiver and the dashcam and any of its cables than there would be in a car.

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[viofo]

Normally we recommend user attache ferrite chokes at both end of the rear cable.
If you need please contact us, we can ship to you for testing for free.

 

[jdct]

OP jomanjee never did mention whether he is using included cigarette lighter power adapter or optional hardwire power adapter...

 

[jomanjee]

Dashcams can interfere with car electronics but there's often a workable fix. Moving the cam, it's cabling, or installing snap-on ferrite chokes will usually mitigate most or all of the problems. It can help if your dealer can tell you where the antenna(s) are for your car systems so you can space cam components away from them.

Phil

The dealer confirmed the antennas location and am pretty sure the rear cam is litteraly interfering with it so running single channel ATM...

Google: buck converter interference

Those 12VDC to 5VDC power converters can often emit lots of high frequency noise. Depending upon the amount of technology in the car and how well it is designed, sometimes the dashcam power adapter itself or even the power output wires need to be shielded to protect against wireless interference. All cars in the US now have wireless tire pressure monitoring sytems, some have [wireless] key-less push button start systems, and various other wireless systems are present -- or even wired systems prone to wireless interference.

A simple test for this case would be to obtain a high quality USB power adapter that plugs into your cigarette lighter/power outlet, and power your dashcam with it to see if the problems remain or disappear. Remember that the cable to a second camera in a dual camera model, carries both video signal AND POWER for the second camera.

Yes AMOF BOTH the TPMS and the keyfob wont work when my car is in parking mode over night !! I disabled parking mode for couple of nights to test and the remote unlock works just fine using the remote !!

Normally we recommend user attache ferrite chokes at both end of the rear cable.
If you need please contact us, we can ship to you for testing for free.

Will do thanks a lot !...

OP jomanjee never did mention whether he is using included cigarette lighter power adapter or optional hardwire power adapter...

i mentioned the problem occurs even when running of a normal portable USB powerbank, not just the 12v in the car !...

I bet it has something to do with how the rear camera cable is run. Unplug the rear camera from the front unit and run the camera as just a single camera and see if it still causes interference. You may have to run the rear cable along the other side.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

YES, unplugging the rear cam and running a single channel made the problem go away after driving over 160 KM (and recording a footage) the problem is gone !

 

[jomanjee]

The cable is 5mm diameter, and tire pressure sensors operate at around 350MHz if that is what you are having issues with.

Those chocks look really chubby and the cable is hidden inside the upper trim of the car, any video showing how this will look like and at what ENDS i need to apply the chocks ?

any sizes for those ?!...

thanks,

 

[jomanjee]

Gm vehicles use either a 315mhz or 433mhz TPMS sensors. The receiver is located with the remote key fob receiver.

I'm not sure where it is in the cars, but in the SUVs like Tahoe, Yukon, Escalade, it's located on drivers side cargo area, behind the trim panel of the wheel well.

The cars are probably in the same area, drivers side trunk.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

well lets find out...

Where is the TPMS and Keyfob receiver located in the CTS ?

www.cadillacforums.com

 

[jdct]

OP jomanjee never did mention whether he is using included cigarette lighter power adapter or optional hardwire power adapter...

i mentioned the problem occurs even when running of a normal portable USB powerbank, not just the 12v in the car !...

Indeed you did. I'm surprised that the A129 Duo is creating that much interference all on its own -- even when running on usb power bank. Frankly, I did not consider that creating so much would even be possible by the camera itself, but upon a quick search I found that the internal Novatek chip runs on either 3.3V or 1.5V depending upon the specific chip version. So what that may mean is that there is another power converter within the camera itself which drops the 5V supplied via usb down to the required 3.3 (or 1.5) volts required by the internal components, and that it is a particularly noisy power converter at that.

As Sawmaster originally suggested, your options with the A129 Duo seem to be ferrite chokes which suppress high frequency noise, or perhaps emi shielding tape along the entire wire to the rear camera if you can't figure out where to hide the chokes in your installation. Of course, there may also be other dashcams available that don't have an electromagnetic interference issue.

Keep in mind that it may not only be where the tpms and keyless receivers are located, but also where the wiring to those receivers are run, relative to the the wiring for the dashcam.

 

[kamkar]

Interference with a range of car components have been reported with just about any popular brand and camera model, some things like issues with SAT radio repeat right down to mysterious 1 off cases.

 

[Nigel]

Those chocks look really chubby and the cable is hidden inside the upper trim of the car, any video showing how this will look like and at what ENDS i need to apply the chocks ?

any sizes for those ?!...

thanks,

Viofo recommends one at each end if you are having issues, both ends are 5mm diameter cable.

 

[jdct]

Interference with a range of car components have been reported with just about any popular brand and camera model, some things like issues with SAT radio repeat right down to mysterious 1 off cases.

So, because the problem exists in lots of dashcams, it's ok that the A129 Duo does it too?

By that same reasoning, this too should also have been just fine:
(And no, this is not anti-Chinese -- if anything I suppose it's anti-homosapien)

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44738952
Ozone hole mystery: China insulating chemical said to be source of rise

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/world/asia/china-ozone-cfc.html
In a High-Stakes Environmental Whodunit, Many Clues Point to China

Here is the very short version: A couple dozen home insulation producers exist in the same local region, all competing with one another. One begins using CFC-11 to produce its foam insulation product, mainly because it is cheaper, but that CFC-11 is well known to destroy the ozone layer and is illegal everywhere. Because the other producers struggle to compete by following the rules of not using the banned chlorofluorocarbons, they all (except one or two) switch over to CFC-11 to compete on price and stay in business. And they nearly all justify their behavior as acceptable because the others were doing it too. And sufficed to say, we all need that ozone layer in order to live. (Ironically, they were selling a home insulation and simultaneously destroying the Earth's insulation from the ultraviolet radiation.)

Now you may rightly ask, what does this have to do with dashcams? In many cars, the traction control system needs to know how much air is in the tires, so it can properly counter forces and conditions in order to keep the car on the road in extreme circumstances. When electromagnetic interference from the dashcam prevents the tire pressure monitoring system from functioning, many traction control systems will go offline because they cannot operate without proper tire pressure data. In that case, the faulty dashcam product which is supposed to help prove that we did not cause a car accident, could actually be contributing to the cause of that accident, when the car's traction control system self-disables because the dashcam is spewing out that all that electromagnetic interference, interrupting communications of the tire pressure monitoring systems.

So we should demand that they all pay attention to electromagnetic interference issues while designing and building these dashcams, instead of simply going with whatever is the cheapest option -- which may very well ultimately affect the life, health, and well being of some of its customers. Are we willing to risk that the EMI spewing dashcams won't prevent our other automotive safety systems from operating properly when we most need them too? How much would it cost to produce properly shielded non-interfering circuitry and/or power supply for the Viofo A129 Duo? A dollar per unit? Maybe two? (When we have the benefit of hindsight, will we see that these dashcams in similar ironic fashion, contributed to some the accidents that they ultimately recorded?)