A129 pro 4k keeps rebooting

[Scrounger]

Evening folks.

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have a question for those in the know if I may.

I have an A129 pro 4k that keeps rebooting after about a minute or so. Just wondering if you have any suggestions as to what it could be and how I can remedy? I have ensured the camera power source is plugged in however I plan on trying with the power attached directly rather than through the GPS module. I would also like to upgrade the firmware however as I use a Mac I'm struggling. Again any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

 

[Julian23]

Have you tried a different SD card?
Some issues can be caused by a bad card.

To update the firmware you have to put the .bin file on an empty SD card and insert it into the camera. Turn it on and the camera will install the update. Doesn't matter if you have windows or mac.
You can read more on that on the official website: https://viofo.com/content/36-viofo-a129-pro-duo-dash-cam-support/

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Plugging direct into the camera would be the first step. GPS will still work.

 

[DAP]

Are you using the supplied power supply and cable? If not, how long is your cable. Standard USB cables tend to have rather high internal resistance. Since this camera draws a lot of power, this can result in a significant voltage drop which will cause the camera to reboot.

 

[SWoMP]

Aso, have you tried running it without the rear camera connected? I've twice had problems like you describe and in both cases had to have a replacement cable for rear camera...

 

[kamkar]

If you use alternative power source, try factory power source. ( eliminate question of insufficient power source )
If you have it hardwired with hard wire kit, try 12 V power kit supplied with camera. ( eliminate question of faulty hard wire kit )
Try to disconnect the rear camera for a few days / drives. ( eliminate question of faulty rear camera wire or camera )
Try using the lowest image quality / bitrate. ( in case of memory card too slow )
Test memory card in card reader on PC, using H2testw program or other storage test program. ( eliminate faulty memory card,,,, and yes a brand new one can be bad too )
Try to plug power USB into camera instead of mount, though should not be a issue on newer models. ( eliminate question of faulty mount )

 

[87driver]

Mine did the same thing. Had it hardwired for parking mode etc. I found out the usb end for the hardwire kit was a bit sloppy when fully inserted...nudged it out a bit and the cam would work as new, but bumps in the road etc would make it less secure so same problem would start again. Ended up getting the adapter to plug into rear view mirror and camera operates as normal, no issues. I left the hardwire installed and Now when parking mode needed, i just switch the cables up by the mirror and all works as it should. I have 2 cams , one in each car and swapped them out while troubleshooting and problem still existed, so hardwire cable end is the problem. Perhaps someday ill put in new hardwire cable, but works for now.

 

[Mtz]

If your camera is 2CH remove the rear camera cable from the front camera.

 

[csr456]

I have same issue using 2. 10 firmware. Downgrade to 2. 8, everything is fine

 

[Scrounger]

Thanks all. I don't have a Duo so that eliminates that. The cam is powered by a 12v cig lighter and up to now has been pretty reliable. Only started going wonky about 4 weeks ago. Ive just updated the firmware to 2.9 so let's see how that goes. If it still doesn't want to work properly, I've a spare SD card I can try and use that to see if the original one is corrupted.

Thanks again for your help folks. Really do appreciate it.

 

[dadelayer]

If your camera is 2CH remove the rear camera cable from the front camera.

How do you power the rear camera then?

 

[SWoMP]

You dont. You do this to see if you've got a faulty rear cable or camera. Its to help find the problem...

 

[dadelayer]

You dont. You do this to see if you've got a faulty rear cable or camera. Its to help find the problem...

I'm not sure what my problem is then. I believe I may be experiencing multiple issues.

Rear camera cable is slightly loose when plugged into the GPS module. If I go over a bump or touch the cable and it wiggles - Camera reboots / shut down
Camera reboots when I connect to its wifi
I haven't tried plugging the rear cable into the camera itself yet since I didn't leave enough slack to reach that port on the camera...

Just to be sure that my connections are correct...
Rear camera USB plugs into GPS module
Main Front camera plugs into camera directly

The Main Front camera USB is too big to fit into the GPS module I think

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I'm not sure what my problem is then. I believe I may be experiencing multiple issues.

Rear camera cable is slightly loose when plugged into the GPS module. If I go over a bump or touch the cable and it wiggles - Camera reboots / shut down
Camera reboots when I connect to its wifi
I haven't tried plugging the rear cable into the camera itself yet since I didn't leave enough slack to reach that port on the camera...

Just to be sure that my connections are correct...
Rear camera USB plugs into GPS module
Main Front camera plugs into camera directly

The Main Front camera USB is too big to fit into the GPS module I think

The rear camera cable does not plug into the GPS mount. That is a power port for the front camera.

 

[Mtz]

If you forced the rear cable into the GPS mount or into the power mount from the front camera body it's possible to be damaged the connectors, no matter if are camera connectors or cable connectors.

If you tried to insert the power cable connectors in rear camera connector then is no problem, nothing damaged.

Again: remove the rear camera cable from the front camera and insert the power cable directly to the front camera body and check again if camera is restarting .

 

[SWoMP]

Are you sure this is an A129 Pro Duo?
There are two sockets on the side of Main (front) camera.
The one marked "rear" is for the Rear camera cable.
The other is for the power lead if you arent using the GPS module.
If you are using the GPS module the power lead goes into it, and the GPS module powers the Main (front) camera unit through the connections made when you slide that unit on to the GPS module.

As someone above said, if you've plugged the Power lead into the socket marked Rear is shouldnt fit and if you've forced it in all sorts of nasty things may have affected the Main unit...

 

[dadelayer]

If you forced the rear cable into the GPS mount or into the power mount from the front camera body it's possible to be damaged the connectors, no matter if are camera connectors or cable connectors.

If you tried to insert the power cable connectors in rear camera connector then is no problem, nothing damaged.

Again: remove the rear camera cable from the front camera and insert the power cable directly to the front camera body and check again if camera is restarting .

The rear cable plugs into the GPS mount very easily, I never had to force it in. Maybe thats why its moving around slightly, because its smaller than the usb port?
I only plug the main power cable for the front camera into the "USB" slot on the camera.

Are you sure this is an A129 Pro Duo?
There are two sockets on the side of Main (front) camera.
The one marked "rear" is for the Rear camera cable.
The other is for the power lead if you arent using the GPS module.
If you are using the GPS module the power lead goes into it, and the GPS module powers the Main (front) camera unit through the connections made when you slide that unit on to the GPS module.

As someone above said, if you've plugged the Power lead into the socket marked Rear is shouldnt fit and if you've forced it in all sorts of nasty things may have affected the Main unit...

I'm 100% positive that I have the Pro Duo 4K version.
There is 1 port labeled "Rear" and one called "USB".

I am using a GPS module as well so my wiring (that somehow was working for me for 1-2 years now) is like this:


This is not my real car, I just found the image online and added in my example.


For some reason this setup has worked for me for the last 1-2 years, it was recording on both camera and everything worked fine.
Are you saying I should plug the MAIN camera cable into the GPS unit and the REAR camera into the camera itself?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

The socket on the GPS is for power only!

 

[dadelayer]

The socket on the GPS is for power only!

I'm surprised that its been working for so long LOL.
Let me try plugging the Front camera into the GPS unit. It doesn't wanna go in easily though, don't want to break it

 

[SWoMP]

That looks as it should be but difficult to see the side....
The rear camera cable should only ever go in to the socket marked rear.
So try this now:
1) Unplug the rear camera cable from the main camera. If the main (front) camera stops rebooting then see 3) below.
2) If the main camera continues to reboot without the rear camera cable plugged in, then try moving power lead from the GPS module and putting it in the main camera USB socket and try again (all this done with rear camera cable still disconnected). If main camera still keeps rebooting, then there is a power fault in the main camera. If it doesnt, then the fault is probably in the GPS module.(see note 4) below).
3) (this is where you have disconnected the rear camera cable and main camera has stopped rebooting). This suggest either the rear camera CABLE or the rear CAMERA itself is faulty. This happened to me and was a rear camera problem after nearly a year of ok use.
4) GPS Module NOTE: If power is plugged in to the GPS module, the main camera is powered through contacts made when the camera is slid on to the GPS module. The power socket on the GPS module and the Camera socket marked USB are alternative ways of supplying power to the main camera unit. You certainly dont need to connect both these inputs. Just one OR the other.
Good luck.