A129 Pro or Plus and will they drain my car battery when parked overnight?

[smithdean]

2 QUESTIONS.

Does the A129 plus or pro duo drain the car battery while parked? Want to make sure. My metromile insurance device plug in that tracks mileage killed my new car battery ( 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe) and had to be towed to dealership for check up cos car is new and they blamed the plug in device. They told me they just had to give a jump to my car to start. I don't want same thing happen with the A129 PRO or Plus duo to kill my car battery. I heard it has parking mode that will drain battery? if i turn it off, will it still stay on while parked and drain my car battery? Do I have to buy anything else besides the cameras? what are the neccesery kits and links?

2nd question is, A129 PRO DUO mentions 4k for the front, is it worth extra $50? $50 more expensive then the Plus Duo.

Thanks

 

[Nigel]

If you plug it into your accessory socket and the accessory socket stays on while parked then yes, if the accessory socket turns off when parked then no. You can also plug it into the fusebox using the HK3 hardwire kit, in which case you can choose if it turns off or enters parking mode, plus there is a battery voltage limit, it will turn off before the battery is empty.

2nd question is, A129 PRO DUO mentions 4k for the front, is it worth extra $50? $50 more expensive then the Plus Duo.

If you want to make road movies for your 4K TV then yes, if you just want a dashcam for evidence then not really, it has advantages and disadvantages, but most people would be very happy with the Plus model.

 

[SawMaster]

Use a hardwire kit- the ones from Viofo have a selectable low-voltage cutoff to ensure that you won't end up stuck with a dead battery. The higher the setting, the less time it will record in parking mode. It's easy to switch so try 12.4V and if you want longer times then drop to 12.2V. You might be safe with 12.0V but that's pushing the battery hard and it's service life will be noticeably shortened at that level.

Whether the Plus or the Pro is up to you. Both will have much better images that the average dashcam which does 1080P. No cam is going to capture everything no matter how good it is, and most people are happy with a good 1080P cam. Do check night-time footage as these higher-resolution cams don't always do very well then, and if you drive much at night that may be an important factor in your choice.

Phil

 

[smithdean]

I didn't quite understand you. Links? I am not DIY so I will have to go to bestbuy to install this! It will most likely be hardwire but my concern is the device draining and killing my car battery like my car insurance plug in pulse device did cos it was always plugged in in my car.

After it killed my car battery, metromile insurance sent me another device that only uses the car cigarrate adapter socket so it only turns on my when my car turns on.

 

[SawMaster]

CLICK HERE for a link to the Viofo HWK3 hardwire kit. On the right side you can see the voltage selector switch, a simple slide switch with several positions.

A standard car battery has somewhere around 12.8V or more when it's fully charged. As it gets used by anything drawing current from it that voltage drops. If you let it drop too low regularly the battery service life will be shorter. If you let it drop excessively low regularly it will wear out quickly.

The purpose of a HWK is two-fold: it turns parking mode on and off for you, and it turns the cam off automatically when it reaches the voltage level you've set so that you don't get a dead battery or experience excessively shortened battery life from using the cam while parked.

If you set the cut-off voltage to 12.4V you will have almost no extra battery wear, but you will get only from around 1-2 hours recording time while parked before the HWK cuts power to the cam. If you set to a lower cut-off voltage you get longer recording but more battery wear too. It is generally not recommended to set the cut-off voltage below 12.0V as that will shorten the car battery life noticeably, and any lower setting may leave you with too low voltage to start the car in really hot or really cold weather. Some people think that even 12.0V is too low. We can only generalize with these numbers as there are many variables like battery size, age, condition, outside temperature, and what amount the car's computers draw when parked.

Start with the voltage set to 12.4V and see how long the cam remains on. If you want longer recording time drop to 12.2V and see if that is enough. You want to set the cut-off voltage as high as you can as long as you're still getting the recording times you want.

Hope that's understandable. And since you plan on having someone else do the install we needn't cover those details, but do be sure they show you where the HWK was mounted so you can get to the cut-off selector switch and adjust it if needed.

Phil

 

[HonestReview]

I didn't quite understand you. Links? I am not DIY so I will have to go to bestbuy to install this! It will most likely be hardwire but my concern is the device draining and killing my car battery like my car insurance plug in pulse device did cos it was always plugged in in my car.

After it killed my car battery, metromile insurance sent me another device that only uses the car cigarrate adapter socket so it only turns on my when my car turns on.

It's really not that hard. And I would be remiss to have Best Buy install anything in your vehicle. I'm sure some teenagers have no clue about properly installing a Dash Cam to avoid interfering with airbag deployment and proper fuse selection.

Give us your Make / Model / Year of your vehicle. We can easily guide you on the install.

 

[smithdean]

My car is Hyundai Santa Fe model year 2020. I am not DIY. It takes me hours to assemble a chair that I buy from a store . I can't even properly do regular install and can't properly hide the wires.

 

[HonestReview]

My car is Hyundai Santa Fe model year 2020. I am not DIY. It takes me hours to assemble a chair that I buy from a store . I can't even properly do regular install and can't properly hide the wires.

Really not that hard. I swear. http://www.hyundaisantafemanual.com/santafe-36-curtain_air_bag.html

You have two side curtains. See Circles. Question being (and I cannot answer this without pictures) is can you simply tuck the wire into the B and C pillars without interfering with the side curtain deployment. Leaving option #2 below a safe bet.

Take a picture of your A-Pillar. I can't tell if he contains an airbag or not. It doesn't look like it from diagram below but I can't say for sure. If there's no IC airbag Cap, then you simply tuck the wire into the headliner and then grove on the A-Pillar. Run it along the headliner and then upon reaching the B Pillar (first Circle) feed the cable through the B Pillar by removing the door weather stripping and tucking behind the seatbelt. Then feed it out along the headliner until you get to second circle (C Pillar) and remove weather stripping on door and do the same (feed behind the seatbelt).

See 17 seconds on youtube. On the Liftgate, the back plastic molding has to be popped off and the wires fed through those rubber grommets.

 

[Liquid]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but can you also help with hardwiring a 2014 Mazda 3 & a 2017 Honda Civic? I was planning to bring it into Best Buy ($100 per car) or a repair shop to have them do it because like @smithdean I'm a pretty bad DIYer. I just don't want to somehow brick my car.

If I do it myself do I need to buy a multimeter to figure out which fuse to use? I've never even used one before, so that's one of the reasons why I'm a little wary. Other than the HWKs, fuse taps, and multimeter is there anything else needed?

I'm pretty sure the fuse box of the Mazda is below the door on the driver's side and I would have to look up the Civic if I go this route.

 

[HonestReview]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but can you also help with hardwiring a 2014 Mazda 3 & a 2017 Honda Civic? I was planning to bring it into Best Buy ($100 per car) or a repair shop to have them do it because like @smithdean I'm a pretty bad DIYer. I just don't want to somehow brick my car.

If I do it myself do I need to buy a multimeter to figure out which fuse to use? I've never even used one before, so that's one of the reasons why I'm a little wary. Other than the HWKs, fuse taps, and multimeter is there anything else needed?

I'm pretty sure the fuse box of the Mazda is below the door on the driver's side and I would have to look up the Civic if I go this route.

Take a picture of your A, B, and C Pillars. From within the car. Need to see if you have SIde Airbags. You don't want to cross over those. generally you have a few choices on running wires on newer vehicles with side curtains (airbags).
Fantastic Youtube video on How to properly install in a Honda Civic.

 

[Liquid]

Thank you so much for your offer to help

2014 Mazda 3 (hatchback)
Pillar A:



Pillar B:


Pillar C:



2017 Honda Civic (sedan)
Pillar A:


Pillar B:


Pillar C:

 

[HonestReview]

@Liquid,

Let me clarify a bit. You might need to upload to an image hosting service (img.bb, etc). Your Mazda A-Pillar doesn't have a side curtain. I need closeups of the B and C Pillar Please. I can't read what the caps say.



What car is this picture from???? What pillar is this?? Image #1 and #2 don't appear to show the same thing?? Are these the C-Pillar in the Mazda? I need a closeup of the circled area. I need to see if the cap says there's an airbag there or not.

 

[HonestReview]

For Reference here's a clip from the Honda Civic Install Video. I believe those are labeled with a warning about airbags if your car contains one. That's why I need to see if you have clips there and what they say. The second clip is taken from 22:50 of Honda Civic Video. Notice Curtain. You need wire to route BEHIND curtains if you have them. Otherwise, if you tuck wire into that groove, AND NOT BEHIND curtain you will clearly see you are crossing over the curtain. Obstructing deployment.

 

[Liquid]

@Liquid,

Let me clarify a bit. You might need to upload to an image hosting service (img.bb, etc). Your Mazda A-Pillar doesn't have a side curtain. I need closeups of the B and C Pillar Please. I can't read what the caps say.

View attachment 54379

What car is this picture from???? What pillar is this?? Image #1 and #2 don't appear to show the same thing?? Are these the C-Pillar in the Mazda? I need a closeup of the circled area. I need to see if the cap says there's an airbag there or not.

View attachment 54381

View attachment 54380

@HonestReview ,

All three images from your post is from the Mazda 3. The first red circle has a cap with "SRS Airbag" in Pillar B. I will get better pictures tomorrow.
Image #1 and #2 look different because the first is to the left with the headrest blocking the speaker and #2 is to the right with less obstruction from the headrest.

The Civic has side airbags in Pillar A and I can't read the cap in Pillar C right now. In the video he plugs it into his cigarette lighter plug will that work with the parking mode?

 

[HonestReview]

@HonestReview ,

All three images from your post is from the Mazda 3. The first red circle has a cap with "SRS Airbag" in Pillar B. I will get better pictures tomorrow.
Image #1 and #2 look different because the first is to the left with the headrest blocking the speaker and #2 is to the right with less obstruction from the headrest.

The Civic has side airbags in Pillar A and I can't read the cap in Pillar C right now. In the video he plugs it into his cigarette lighter plug will that work with the parking mode?

I would start with the civic. The video I posted is detailed with 2 exceptions:

1. If you have a Honda Civic Hatchback DO NOT do what the guy in the first video does. Watch this one here up until 6 minutes. If you do not have a hatchback, still watch this video. After 6 minutes you'll see this guy SCREWS UP. He takes off the C-Pillar and if you look there's an IC Airbag (Curtain). Instead of tucking the wire BEHIND the airbag, he simply tucks it in crossing it. Absolutely NEVER cross over an airbag! All wires must go BEHIND.

This video shows you how to properly install on the rear hatch of an SUV / Hatcback. Whereas guy on first video does it improper. This guy does it right then screws up rest of process. None the less, I am pretty positive, you'll need to remove the C-Pillar trim to tuck behind. Similar to what the guy below does at 6 Minutes, but you'll need to remove the entire piece to get it properly behind airbag.

 

[Liquid]

Below are closer up images of the pillars under spoiler tags. Do these pics work/ clear enough?

The dash cams are still in transit, so I can't start yet.

Spoiler: 2017 Honda Civic sedan - Pillar A (side curtain airbag)

Spoiler: Honda Civic - Pillar C (side curtain airbag)

Spoiler: 2014 Mazda 3 hatchback - Pillar B (SRS airbag)

Spoiler: Mazda 3 - Pillar C (no cap)

Spoiler: Mazda 3 - Pillar C (no cap) #2

 

[jokiin]

cables will just need to go behind the airbags, a bit more work but nothing too involved, it's the same way the factory wiring runs as well, always behind the airbags

 

[HonestReview]

Below are closer up images of the pillars under spoiler tags. Do these pics work/ clear enough?

Take a small screw driver, pop open those caps. Remove the Bolt on A and C Pillar, and take off the Trim to expose the IC Airbags Curtains. Is your car a hatchback or a regular Civic?

Watch the second video I posted. Especially first 6 minutes on how to do a hatcback if your civic is a hatchback. The 12 minute video shows you how to remove the A and C Pillars. ABSOLUTELY do not do what he does in his video for feeding the wire. You must tuck the cable BEHIND the curtain and NEVER OVER on the A and C Pillar. The guy here screws that up. On the B-Pillar, it's ok to remove weather stripping and feed it behind seatbelt like in this video. Or tuck into the groove if you are 100% positive it won't obstruct airbag. On my vehicle, the side curtain sits ABOVE B-Pillar in the headliner, so tucking was OK.

 

[Liquid]

Ok, thanks!

My first car is a Honda Civic sedan (side curtain airbags) and the second is a Mazda 3 hatchback (SRS airbags).

I'm planning on hardwiring both and will make sure to tuck the wires behind the airbags.

 

[HonestReview]

Ok, thanks!

My first car is a Honda Civic sedan (side curtain airbags) and the second is a Mazda 3 hatchback (SRS airbags).

I'm planning on hardwiring both and will make sure to tuck the wires behind the airbags.

That 12 minute video shows how to remove pillars. First 6 minutes aren't relevant then. Just be sure to do the wires as I mentioned and not the video.

Far as picking a fuse, pick something that ISN'T safety or electronic releated. No ABS Brakes, Airbag Systems, avoid your infotainment system if you can etc. try to aim for something like Power Seats for Battery or 12V socket for Accessory. You'll need to get an LED light tester to see what fuses are hot when car is on and what are hot when car is off (accessory).

If you want to link us to your manual or show us your fuse box diagram, we can recommend fuses to try.