A129 duo parking mode and Cellink NEO

[DashCamUser123]

I have the A129 duo cam. Thinking about getting Cellink NEO to run the A129 in parking mode. Thinking of using cig-lighter to charge Cellink NEO. After I park car, will the Viofo A129 go into Parking mode right away? Any suggestions and experiences appreciated.

 

[jokiin]

get the three wire output cable with the Cellink and connect to the three wire hardwire kit for the Viofo and it will work fine, powering the Cellink via the cig plug only impacts how fast it will recharge, it doesn't alter how it functions other than that

 

[DashCamUser123]

Thanks. So, I do need the 3 wire connectors then (both from Cellink Neo and from Viofo). Here is the scenario. My A129 Duo is connected to the cig-lighter. I will buy the Cellink Neo with 3-wire connector. Then I will plug the Cellink Neo into the cig-lighter (after connecting the 3-wires with Cellink and Viofo). Once ignition is turned on, the Viofo turns on. Once ignition is turned off, then the Cellink Neo will run the Viofo in Parking Mode automatically? I assume the Cellink Neo will also be charging itself while it is running or providing power to the Viofo while driving?

 

[jokiin]

yes, get the three wire output cable for the Cellink and the Viofo hardwire kit, connect them together and you're good to go, Cellink will charge while the car is running, when you turn the car off the Cellink drops the ACC feed to the Viofo hardwire kit which puts it into parking mode

 

[DashCamUser123]

Thanks. Is this the Viofo 3-wire for the older A129 Duo? Bought the Viofo back in 2018.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/B07JQ1JYPJ

 

[jokiin]

yep

 

[DashCamUser123]

Thanks. I just read up on Buffered Parking Mode with just an update via firmware. That is so neat this new feature.

 

[DashCamUser123]

I had the Cellink NEO from Amazon and it wasn't working properly. May have been a defective unit. Returned to Amazon. I had ordered the Spliced 3-wire cable from BlackBoxMyCar to enable Parking Mode.

I have since upgraded to the Bi-750 from BlackBoxMyCar and this battery works just fine. It came with the spliced 3-wire cable from BlackBoxMyCar. The battery is getting about 30+ hours in Parking Mode in underground garage with not too much traffic (not tested to depletion, so maybe will run much longer than that). I run the original A129 Duo (not Plus and not Pro). Parking Mode works like a charm. The IT's Cell app shows 30 hours runtime to depletion. Some days I leave the car parked for 20 hours and the Bi-750 still shows a lot of battery runtime left. This is spring temperature. I expect much less runtime during our cold winter months. We'll see.

Because the Bi-750 worked so well, I added the extension Be-750 connected to the Bi-750. The IT's Cell app isn't showing 60 hours (double the 30 of the Bi-750 by itself) which I was expecting. I was told that the app may not working properly and to run the two batteries to depletion to test the actual runtime. The IT's Cell app shows fluctuations between 30 to 48 hours of runtime to depletion. To find the actual runtime, I will need to run it to depletion which is what BBMC recommends. Currently running via cig-lighter (5 amps charging current) so will wait until I use the 2 ACC connected to the fuse box (12 amps charging current - 6 each ACC fuse). It'll charge faster so I will run the batteries to depletion to test total runtime.

Runtime will also depend on ambient temperature. I expect the battery runtime to drop in the cold winter months. For our very cold winters, I may order another Bi-750 and charge via power inverter (via AC outlet) at home and bring down to car to connect to Viofo A129 Duo to supplement the existing Bi-750 and Be-750. We'll see.

I am keeping my original A129 Duo because it uses less power then the newer Plus Duo model and Pro Duo model. The two have been rated to 10 hours less off the Bi-750 compared to the original A129 Duo. As they are discontinuing the original A129 Duo, I have ordered a second set as backup in case either the front or rear camera fails. My goal is maximum runtime off the external battery such as the Bi-750.

 

[Quickeze]

I've had the Cellink NEO now for over 8 months paried with the Viofo A129 duo, hardwired (hardwire kit) and It's been great. Parking mode is a little hit and miss but for the most part it usually activates. I don't think anyone can guarantee the Viofo will always work in parking mode as there are so many varying factors ie: Make of car, instalment differences, firmware, type of memory card, camera year of manufacture and so on.

Our car (2015 fiesta) usually takes about 5 mins to go into parking mode once the ignition key is removed. I've never had to remove the battery pack to charge externally as it charges quite quick while driving. It can vary but usually goes flat while in parking mode after about 8 hours overnight which is just fine.

 

[DashCamUser123]

On a 2021 Corolla L, Bi-750 battery and BE-750 chained together, Viofo A129 Duo - Parking Mode can kick in as soon as I take the key out of the ignition or within a minute or less.

Very rare but it has happened, the Viofo stops working when in Parking Mode. One time I came back to my car at night and saw the image on the LCD screen didn't look right based on the outside ambient light being dark. That is when I realized the LCD screen had frozen. So, I unplugged the Viodo USB power cable and re-plugged it to fix / reset camera.

 

[tomee]

I'm in the same thinking to replace my front dash cam with a Viofo a129 pro duo. and want to enable parking mode on it.
I was looking at the celllink neo but do I need the hardwire kit? can i just run the cam off the cellink?

 

[jokiin]

I'm in the same thinking to replace my front dash cam with a Viofo a129 pro duo. and want to enable parking mode on it.
I was looking at the celllink neo but do I need the hardwire kit? can i just run the cam off the cellink?

can work either way but will work batter if you use the hardwire kit

 

[Dawnchorus]

I've had the Cellink NEO now for over 8 months paried with the Viofo A129 duo, hardwired (hardwire kit) and It's been great. Parking mode is a little hit and miss but for the most part it usually activates. I don't think anyone can guarantee the Viofo will always work in parking mode as there are so many varying factors ie: Make of car, instalment differences, firmware, type of memory card, camera year of manufacture and so on.

Our car (2015 fiesta) usually takes about 5 mins to go into parking mode once the ignition key is removed. I've never had to remove the battery pack to charge externally as it charges quite quick while driving. It can vary but usually goes flat while in parking mode after about 8 hours overnight which is just fine.

Hey Mate, appreciate the input here.
Any chance you could give some guidelines on how you wired this?
Did you purchase a pre-spliced kit from somewhere or did you have to solder the Viofo 3wire kit across to the Celllink?
Looking at moving to this set up but don't want to commit the $300+ to have myself be out of depth getting it running.

Cheers

 

[jokiin]

if it is taking 5 minutes to switch to paring mode it sounds like he has it setup as a 2 wire install, in a 3 wire install it will switch with the ignition, you need a 3 wire output cable for the Cellink and the Viofo 3 wire hardwire kit to set it up correctly