A129 Plus sometimes does not start recording morning trips

[petr0x]

Hi @viofo ,
I bought new A129 Plus recently from local shop and installed in car.
After about 5 days when driving I noticed some of my morning trips are not recorded at all! I know at least two trips are missing completely (not only beggining, but whole trip 30 minutes). I do not drive daily so might that be if camera is left for 2 days and then powered on, the recording does not start?
Camera is hardwired properly, all other trips were recorded normally. I have Sandisk Ultra 128GB Class 10 U1 A1 card. Formatted that in camera when first used. I did not connect the rear camera yet.
The FW is the latest 1.4 from Viofo. I checked mine, downloaded the actual from Viofo and flashed. The FW version and date did not change, so I assume it was the latest version running already.

I did not notice any notification or beeping from camera. But I did not check display. I assumed From my point of view there must be some problem in the camera.

 

[SawMaster]

Go into the menu and activate the start-up delay at a low setting, then see if the problem goes away.

Things like this can occur when there's a voltage drop or spike when starting the engine. It can also indicate the car battery is well-worn and will need replacing soon.

Phil

 

[petr0x]

Thanks for tips.
Battery is fine, checked by dealer a month ago. Anyway I will try to check the next power ups what is going on. The kit has the 5V converter with voltage limit, so maybe the short loss of power is doing something. My hard-wiring is a bit different than usual, but this should not make difference to the recording. It is connected to glovebox power, so the DVR starts recording when opening the car and ends about 3 minutes after leaving the car.

 

[kamkar]

If you are connected to a USB charge plug in the glove box, then that is probably the problem, these charge plugs are often very weak.

 

[petr0x]

kamrar: no, it is hard wired to the wires from the light bulb in glovebox. The connection is pretty solid.

Today morning I unlocked car, camera started recording. I checked that on display. After starting the car there was probably short loss of power, after which the camera started to say "Format card". I formatted it then, but the message appeared again, recording was not possible. I formatted again, but still the same. Finally I unplugged power until the camera shut off completely (no LEDs shining) and re-connected. Then it started recording normally.

I think the camera has some problem of handling short loss of power that is causing unexpected behavior.

 

[Frodo]

Based on my experience (problems) with parking mode, you may want to check if disabling parking mode also solves your problems.
If so then the camera has enough power and it's likely a firmware (hopefully not hardware) problem.

 

[jokiin]

what is the make and model of the vehicle?

 

[petr0x]

I do not have parking mode active. It basically runs as a dashcam or is turned off. The only feature of "parking mode" is that the camera starts before the engine is started. But this is because of the wiring, not by the mode of camera.
I have Volvo XC70.

I am starting thinking it is combination of poor HW or FW of the camera with type of use. Basically the big capacitors inside DVR should overcome short loss of power, but they do not. Or the FW does not like it.

Now I know the solution may be to use different 12/5V converter, which does not have voltage limiting feature. The converter protects the battery, but in my wiring it is shut off anyway. It just creates problems during engine start, when the voltage goes down and converter stops for a while.
But I would rather have is solved other way, because the converter is the proper accessories for the camera!

I am in touch with Viofo support, let's see what they come with.

 

[jokiin]

I am starting thinking it is combination of poor HW or FW of the camera with type of use. Basically the big capacitors inside DVR should overcome short loss of power, but they do not. Or the FW does not like it.

wire it to a circuit that activates after you start the car instead of before and likely your problem will be resolved

 

[petr0x]

wire it to a circuit that activates after you start the car instead of before and likely your problem will be resolved

Thanks. Well you are right...partially...but I would rather go fo different solution,
a) the wire you are looking for will be also live just before the car starts. You know the moment when you turn on ignition and then start engine. It might work, while starting engine right away, but if you leave ignition for 20sec and then start engine, you will have the problem again. Not tested, just guessing.
b) the well reachable wires within hardwire kit I found are in the glovebox. The fuse box I am not sure, but may try, if other options fail.
c) I like the feature of having dashcam running since opening car and ending after leaving the car.
d) I am pretty sure this problem should be solved by Viofo, I am not (and will not be) the only one with this problem. All is original kit from Viofo and should work as intended. Two capacitors inside should provide plenty of power to gradually turn off and having power restored during that period should not give any "Format card" error.

 

[jokiin]

I don't believe this is a common problem, I have seen this problem when cameras are not wired to an appropriate circuit though, I don't know that Viofo can adapt the firmware to suit inappropriate installation/setup issues

 

[Frodo]

I understand that camera may shut down if there is an interruption in the power supply but in my view it should not crash. petr0x mentioned 'format card' errors and random behaviour - this is definitely not acceptable.
Power off to accessories when the engine is started is fairly common so Viofo should definitely deal with this properly, NOT by crashing in any way! They include a 12V adapter so it should work with common ways that these are (factory!) wired in cars!
The only power issue I understand may be problematic for most cameras is a loose connection resulting in power constantly switching between on and off. Other than that, if there is a problem, Viofo (or any other manufacturer - jokiin seems to imply that it's ok and blame it on "inappropriate installation/setup issues") should deal with it!

 

[petr0x]

I don't believe this is a common problem, I have seen this problem when cameras are not wired to an appropriate circuit though, I don't know that Viofo can adapt the firmware to suit inappropriate installation/setup issues

What is appropriate and not? I see my wiring as appropriate. Nothing against user manual. If wired anywhere else, it will have same problem! The power drop is not just only on this wire, this is on all wires. Yes, you are right that it is solvable with completely different setup, but it does not mean this setup is wrong.

 

[jokiin]

What is appropriate and not? I see my wiring as appropriate. Nothing against user manual. If wired anywhere else, it will have same problem! The power drop is not just only on this wire, this is on all wires. Yes, you are right that it is solvable with completely different setup, but it does not mean this setup is wrong.

are you using the HK3 3 wire hardwire power supply, or the cig adapter and USB lead that comes with the camera?

 

[Sydney2020]

Hi @viofo ,
I bought new A129 Plus recently from local shop and installed in car.
After about 5 days when driving I noticed some of my morning trips are not recorded at all! I know at least two trips are missing completely (not only beggining, but whole trip 30 minutes). I do not drive daily so might that be if camera is left for 2 days and then powered on, the recording does not start?
Camera is hardwired properly, all other trips were recorded normally. I have Sandisk Ultra 128GB Class 10 U1 A1 card. Formatted that in camera when first used. I did not connect the rear camera yet.
The FW is the latest 1.4 from Viofo. I checked mine, downloaded the actual from Viofo and flashed. The FW version and date did not change, so I assume it was the latest version running already.

I did not notice any notification or beeping from camera. But I did not check display. I assumed From my point of view there must be some problem in the camera.

About trips not being recorded sometimes, were you able to find any resolution? Thx

 

[pnguyen]

I have a RAV4 Hybrid with a HK3 3 hardwired.
My A129 Plus Duo sometimes does not boot up regardless of there is a boot delay or not.
I have low bitrate recording in parking mode.
The current FW is V1.6_20220115

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I have a RAV4 Hybrid with a HK3 3 hardwired.
My A129 Plus Duo sometimes does not boot up regardless of there is a boot delay or not.
I have low bitrate recording in parking mode.
The current FW is V1.6_20220115

Try some different fuses.

How old is your cars battery?

 

[pnguyen]

Try some different fuses.

How old is your cars battery?

I might change from the P/Outlet fuse to the Washer fuse and keep monitoring it.
It has happened from time to time since almost 2 years ago when the battery was less than 1 year old.
Updated 6/24: Since I changed my hardwire cable from the P/Outlet fuse to the Washer fuse 2 weeks ago, I already got 2 times no boot up when I startup my car.

 

[pnguyen]

I just updated my dashcam to FW V1.8_20220704
Change log:
1. Adjust Stamp position
2. Fix bugs when switching from parking mode to normal mode
3. Refine the stability of the whole camera including the rear camera.