A129 Pro Duo Hardwire?

[rycyt]

Hello everyone.
I’m in the market for a new dashcam as my old BlackVue DR650GW has died. Thinking of the Viofo A129 Pro Duo as it seems to be the best value for money.

Currently, the BlackVue is hardwired through a Power Magic Pro, and I’m looking to hardwire the A129 as well.

Would anyone know if the A129 Pro Duo is compatible with being hardwired using a Power Magic Pro kit? I just want to have parking mode on the A129.

Appreciate everyone’s help.

Thanks!

 

[jokiin]

it would work using the 2 wire method which has a bit of a delay, it just won't switch modes as soon as you stop or start the car like it does with the 3 wire hardwire kit

 

[rycyt]

Thanks for your prompt reply! Would you recommend getting the Viofo hardwire kit then? I was more keen on the PMP as it has a physical on/off toggle, whereas judging by the pictures of the 3-wire kit, there doesn’t seem to be one.

it would work using the 2 wire method which has a bit of a delay, it just won't switch modes as soon as you stop or start the car like it does with the 3 wire hardwire kit

 

[relive]

Thanks for your prompt reply! Would you recommend getting the Viofo hardwire kit then? I was more keen on the PMP as it has a physical on/off toggle, whereas judging by the pictures of the 3-wire kit, there doesn’t seem to be one.

There is no switch on the HK3, but you can just turn off the camera when you want it off.

 

[jokiin]

Would you recommend getting the Viofo hardwire kit then?

yes

I was more keen on the PMP as it has a physical on/off toggle, whereas judging by the pictures of the 3-wire kit, there doesn’t seem to be one.

you need the PMP to be mounted somewhere convenient to be able to get at the switch, the Viofo camera you can just turn off if you don't want parking mode at any time

 

[rycyt]

thanks for your help everyone.

I do have the PMP mounted somewhere accessible (under the steering wheel), but if the PMP does not provide the seamless transition for parking mode then the HW kit is probably the better option.

yes


you need the PMP to be mounted somewhere convenient to be able to get at the switch, the Viofo camera you can just turn off if you don't want parking mode at any time

 

[OzAdam]

Thanks for your prompt reply! Would you recommend getting the Viofo hardwire kit then? I was more keen on the PMP as it has a physical on/off toggle, whereas judging by the pictures of the 3-wire kit, there doesn’t seem to be one.

Do get the HK3 Viofo 3-wire hardwire kit. It will ensure parking mode works correctly on the A129 Pro Duo.

You can continue to use the PMP and add the HK3 Viofo 3-wire kit to it. I have done this on my second car. My main car uses a VicoVation Power Plus in addition to the Viofo 3-wire kit – essentially a more advanced unit of the PMP.

Use the PMP to supply "constant 24 hour power" to the BATT wire and connect the ACC (ignition) wire on the Viofo HK3 kit to a key switched circuit such as the cigarette lighter or other suitable circuit. I removed the cigarette lighter barrel from the PMP and crimped the Viofo BATT wire directly to the red positive wire of the PMP output.

All power is drawn from the PMP via the BATT wire with the ACC wire on the HK3 Viofo 3-wire kit simply acting as a trigger sensor wire to tell the A129 Pro Duo that ignition is on or off. You can then control parking mode operation via the PMP switch as needed.

I do have the PMP mounted somewhere accessible (under the steering wheel), but if the PMP does not provide the seamless transition for parking mode then the HW kit is probably the better option.

It will work seamlessly and correctly with both systems and is the best of both worlds. It is simple to get working.

To summarise - connect the BATT wire from the HK3 Viofo 3-wire kit to the positive 12v red output wire of the PMP and then connect the ACC wire to key switched circuit and finally the ground wire to a metal area of your car (e.g. bolt etc.)

 

[rycyt]

Do get the HK3 Viofo 3-wire hardwire kit. It will ensure parking mode works correctly on the A129 Pro Duo.

You can continue to use the PMP and add the HK3 Viofo 3-wire kit to it. I have done this on my second car. My main car uses a VicoVation Power Plus in addition to the Viofo 3-wire kit – essentially a more advanced unit of the PMP.

Use the PMP to supply "constant 24 hour power" to the BATT wire and connect the ACC (ignition) wire on the Viofo HK3 kit to a key switched circuit such as the cigarette lighter or other suitable circuit. I removed the cigarette lighter barrel from the PMP and crimped the Viofo BATT wire directly to the red positive wire of the PMP output.

All power is drawn from the PMP via the BATT wire with the ACC wire on the HK3 Viofo 3-wire kit simply acting as a trigger sensor wire to tell the A129 Pro Duo that ignition is on or off. You can then control parking mode operation via the PMP switch as needed.



It will work seamlessly and correctly with both systems and is the best of both worlds. It is simple to get working.

To summarise - connect the BATT wire from the HK3 Viofo 3-wire kit to the positive 12v red output wire of the PMP and then connect the ACC wire to key switched circuit and finally the ground wire to a metal area of your car (e.g. bolt etc.)

Appreciate your help. I'm going to get someone to install it for me so I'm hoping they can understand the instructions. Thanks!

 

[careh]

This is fairly long ... the summary is: I have the Viofo A129 Pro Duo with the HK3 hardwire kit and am unable to get parking mode working. Meaning I do not see any saved videos showing me flailing my arms in front of the car ... when it is supposed to be in parking mode. I am wondering if there are A129 Pro Duo owners out there that have parking mode working properly. If so I would love to hear from you.
.
.
.
The camera works fine while the car is turned on ... or while the engine is off but the accessory key setting is 'on'....recording both dual video and audio). But when I turn the car off and remove the key - the camera stops...

The shop that installed it initially reversed the red & yellow wires on the HK3 - so we thought maybe that was the issue - but after switching them around to match the Viofo wiring diagram sent out to me from Viofo (red to constant battery power, yellow to switched 'Acc' power) - the HK3 (or the camera) still does not go into parking mode. The power cable is plugged into the camera (not into the GPS mount).

One thought was low car battery voltage as we are in Manitoba, Canada with daytime highs of minus 15 C and overnight lows of minus 25 C plus the windchill... (I blame my grandparents for stopping here when they could have gone on to New Mexico or California but Noooo!!!!... they decide to settle here)....

The HK3 dip switch is set to cut out at 12.2 volts. Last night I put the car battery on a 10 amp charger - and this morning I tested the battery voltage (13.2 volts) - yet the camera would not go into parking mode.

By that I mean - if the key is turned to the car accessory power on setting - the Viofo screen lights up when it gets power (I have the screen set for a 1 minute timeout) and the REC and MIC LED's turn Red ... then if I turn the key car accessory switch to power off ...while the Viofo screen is still on .... the Viofo screen **immediately** goes blank & the rec & mic red lights turn off after 2 seconds. After that - there is no indication of anything happening on the camera - as in no red 'rec' light - and pressing any of the camera buttons does nothing (I was told by Viofo tech support that pressing the REC button should do .. something.. in parking mode.

I have tried the various parking mode settings on the camera to no avail. I did that both with the camera menu and the android phone app. I made sure to turn off wifi before testing parking mode....

I also tried unplugging the rear camera and trying a different SD card (suggested as solutions on another forum for other Viofo cameras suffering parking mode woes.
.
.
.
My question to Viofo A129 Pro Duo owners with the HK3 kit is: When in parking mode - does the red REC light come on (mine does not).... and in parking mode - does pressing any of the camera buttons do anything? (nothing happens on mine).

I have a second Viofo A129 Pro Duo with HK3 kit on order for my second car & asked the vendor to do a video showing the camera going into parking mode before sending it out to me... I found it strange that I cannot find any Youtube videos showing the A129 Pro Duo or A129 Pro going into parking mode...(there are some for the A129 and A129 Duo ... but not (that I can find) of the A129 Pro Duo.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

This is fairly long ... the summary is: I have the Viofo A129 Pro Duo with the HK3 hardwire kit and am unable to get parking mode working. Meaning I do not see any saved videos showing me flailing my arms in front of the car ... when it is supposed to be in parking mode. I am wondering if there are A129 Pro Duo owners out there that have parking mode working properly. If so I would love to hear from you.
.
.
.
The camera works fine while the car is turned on ... or while the engine is off but the accessory key setting is 'on'....recording both dual video and audio). But when I turn the car off and remove the key - the camera stops...

The shop that installed it initially reversed the red & yellow wires on the HK3 - so we thought maybe that was the issue - but after switching them around to match the Viofo wiring diagram sent out to me from Viofo (red to constant battery power, yellow to switched 'Acc' power) - the HK3 (or the camera) still does not go into parking mode.

One thought was low car battery voltage as we are in Manitoba, Canada with daytime highs of minus 15 C and overnight lows of minus 25 C plus the windchill... (I blame my grandparents for stopping here when they could have gone on to New Mexico or California but Noooo!!!!... they decide to settle here)....

The HK3 dip switch is set to cut out at 12.2 volts. Last night I put the car battery on a 10 amp charger - and this morning I tested the battery voltage (13.2 volts) - yet the camera would not go into parking mode.

By that I mean - if the key is in the car accessory power on setting - the Viofo screen lights up when it gets power (I have the screen set for a 1 minute timeout)... then if I turn the car accessory power off ...while the Viofo screen is still on .... the Viofo screen **immediately** goes blank & the rec & mic red lights turn off after 2 seconds. After that - there is no indication of anything happening on the camera - as in no red 'rec' light - and pressing any of the camera buttons does nothing (I was told by Viofo tech support that pressing the REC button should do .. something.. in parking mode.

I have tried the various parking mode settings on the camera to no avail. I did that both with the camera menu and the android phone app. I made sure to turn off wifi before testing parking mode....

I also tried unplugging the rear camera and trying a different SD card (suggested as solutions on another forum for other Viofo cameras suffering parking mode woes.
.
.
.
My question to Viofo A129 Pro Duo owners with the HK3 kit is: When in parking mode - does the red REC light come on (mine does not).... and in parking mode - does pressing any of the camera buttons do anything? (nothing happens on mine).

I have a second Viofo A129 Pro Duo with HK3 kit on order for my second car & asked the vendor to do a video showing the camera going into parking mode before sending it out to me... I found it strange that I cannot find any Youtube videos showing the A129 Pro Duo or A129 Pro going into parking mode...(there are some for the A129 and A129 Duo ... but not (that I can find) of the A129 Pro Duo.

If you have no lights on the camera after turning off your car, then camera is off (not in parking mode). Either your red wire is tapped into an accessory fuse too or your battery voltage is too low. Have you tried to lowest setting on the kit (11.6V)? Be sure to turn the car on then off after changing settings, as the camera/hardwire kit need to "reboot". Turning the key to accessory mode will only provide voltage provided by the battery and not the battery plus alternator charging.

 

[careh]

If you have no lights on the camera after turning off your car, then camera is off (not in parking mode). Either your red wire is tapped into an accessory fuse too or your battery voltage is too low. Have you tried to lowest setting on the kit (11.6V)? Be sure to turn the car on then off after changing settings, as the camera/hardwire kit need to "reboot". Turning the key to accessory mode will only provide voltage provided by the battery and not the battery plus alternator charging.

Thanks!! I'll try the turning car on and off and will get the shop to try setting the HK3 to the lower setting (it is buried under the dash). I kinda suspect an issue with the HK3 given that the shop does car alarm installs so they would know about fuse panels /multimeter testing etc.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Thanks!! I'll try the turning car on and off and will get the shop to try setting the HK3 to the lower setting (it is buried under the dash). I kinda suspect an issue with the HK3 given that the shop does car alarm installs so they would know about fuse panels /multimeter testing etc.

Set the kit lower just as a test to see if it enters parking mode when car is off, I would not leave it set that low. Ask them to place the converter box someplace where you can get to it in case you need access to it.