A229 Plus or HK4 issues

[sduser]

I am installing a Viofo HK4 for my A229 Plus 2-channel dash camera and finding the setup does not work the way I expect it to. Wondering if I am doing something wrong or if I have a defective part.

Using multimeter, located two fuses to use with HK4, one that always provided 12V regardless of ignition state (call this PWR), and another that only provided power when ignition was in the ACC or ON state. I confirmed expected voltage of these two fuses in the OFF, ACC and ON ignition states.

Connected HK4 red wire to PWR fuse using a Bussmann BP/HHLP-RP add-a-fuse (is orientation important?).
Connected HK4 yellow wire to ACC fuse using a Bussmann BP/HHLP-RP add-a-fuse (is orientation important?).
Connected black wire to chassis ground.

I configured the camera for 3 LEDs during regular mode recording, and 1 LED (power only) during parking mode recording.


I would expect for the camera to be off initially, then enter regular mode recording (3 LEDs and no parking mode icon) when ignition is turned on, then enter parking mode recording (1 LED and parking mode icon) when ignition is turned off.

That is not the behavior I observed so I tested various ignition, wiring and configuration states.


Operation Matrix:




unexpected behavior:

camera operates in regular mode recording when parking mode is disabled and ignition is off.

camera operates in parking mode recording when parking mode is enabled regardless of ignition state.

the camera does not switch between regular mode recording and parking mode recording as expected when ignition state is changed.

Any ideas? Has anyone else experienced unusual behavior like this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[sduser]

not sure how to edit my post.

the camera finally entered parking mode recording with parking mode enabled when the Acc fuse was removed (only Pwr fuse connected). However after a few minutes the camera turned off. Before it turned off there was a new icon on the screen that I couldn't find in the manual. It looked like a recorder icon with a partial circle connected to the left side.

Once the camera turned off, it would not restart without reconnecting the Acc fuse.

 

[viofo]

Maybe the new icon is the parking recording mode icon?

You can try to set the low voltage cut-off value to 11.8V on the hardwire kit, not sure if it is the power cut off by the hardwire kit due to low voltage.

 

[sduser]

In my earlier testing, the hardwire kit low voltage cutoff never came into play.

I did some further testing using a bench power supply to rule out any possible vehicle dynamics.

It appears the parking mode icon (camera with a vehicle inside) simply indicates if parking is enabled or not. There is another icon (camera with half circle on the left side) that appears if the camera is actually recording in parking mode. This second icon does not appear to be documented in the manual that I could find.

To test the low voltage cutoff, I started at ~12.3V and slowly decreased the voltage to ~10.5V. The camera kept happily recording. However, when I removed the yellow wire and reconnected it, the camera would not turn back on unless the voltage was increased (I did not test for what the voltage needed to be to turn back on).

Using the bench power supply, the camera would go in and out of parking mode more reliably by connecting and disconnecting the yellow wire, but I was also seeing some other random strange behavior that I didn't have the time or desire to troubleshoot further. Wasted a half a day with this and am a little disappointed. I am going back to the regular USB-C / 12V aux plug connection for now.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I understand how frustrating this must be.
But, you're on the right track.
Testing the camera, and hardwire kit for proper function out of the car is a great way to isolate the malfunction, and nail down the root cause.
I'm sure by now you're mentally exhausted, and sick of dealing with this issue.
After some time passes, and you're in the mood to waste some more time could you photograph these icons on the LCD screen that are not in the manual, and post them here in your thread?
-Chuck

 

[sduser]

Here is a picture of the icons when in parking mode.

I included a picture of the hardware and firmware info as well.

 

[Karagandinez]

To test the low voltage cutoff, I started at ~12.3V and slowly decreased the voltage to ~10.5V. The camera kept happily recording. However, when I removed the yellow wire and reconnected it, the camera would not turn back on unless the voltage was increased (I did not test for what the voltage needed to be to turn back on).

Have you checked the HK4 shutdown in parking mode or shooting mode?

HK4 protects the battery from discharge in parking mode.
If there is power on the yellow wire, HK4 will not turn off the DVR when the battery drains.
Tests were carried out on НKЗ, but I don’t think that the operating scheme between НKЗ and НK4 is different.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Here is a picture of the icons when in parking mode.

I included a picture of the hardware and firmware info as well.

The icon indicates that the Low Bitrate Recording in parking mode has been enabled.

 

[Panzer Platform]

The icon indicates that the Low Bitrate Recording in parking mode has been enabled

Thank goodness, I was waiting for you to stop by, I wasn't sure. lol

 

[sduser]

camera operates in regular mode recording when parking mode is disabled and ignition is off.

camera operates in parking mode recording when parking mode is enabled regardless of ignition state.

the camera does not switch between regular mode recording and parking mode recording as expected when ignition state is changed.

just looking at these statements alone it would seem that this behavior would occur if the yellow wire was seeing 12V regardless of ignition state. I did test the fuse locations with a multimeter, but when I get a chance I'll go back and check again. And I will make up an actual fuse tester so I am not trying to hold both leads of the MM, switch the ignition and read the display all at the same time.

The vehicle is a new hybrid if that makes a difference.

 

[sduser]

Would the vehicle being a new generation hybrid cause any issues?

I am not sure of how the internal hardwire kit microprocessor regular mode/parking mode/low voltage cutoff sensing/timer logic works, and how that interacts with the vehicle. I believe the ACC fuse may have power for a period of time after the ignition is turned off.

 

[jat]

Hi sduser, have you resolved your issue?

I'm facing a problem with the parking mode on my A229 Plus 2-channel dashcam or the HK4 hardwire kit. I updated to the latest firmware before installation on 29/12/2023 (V1.1_231208 for the front, V1.0_231207 for the rear).

My original setup the hk4 hardwire low voltage cut-off at 12.2 volt and parking mode on auto event detection with high sensitivity with parking g-sensor and parking motion detection with 4 hour parking recording time.
My first test 31/12/2023 we park our car on the busy station at 8pm I can see under parking folder there is only file recording until 8:20 pm when I check the next day. I also change the hardwire low voltage to 12.0 volt
1/1/2024 I test the parking we park at 12:04pm and the last recording is 12:23.

Before I drove home I change the parking mode setting to time-lapse recording 10-fps. I parked at my garage 5:01 pm and check again 10pm and found out that the parking only record until 5:26pm
I check the hard wire red color for battery with multi meter and the reading is 12.60 volt which is above 12.0 volt cut off.

How do I determine if I have a faulty a229plus or the hardwire kit? Is there any other test do I need to test?

 

[Karagandinez]

How do I determine if I have a faulty a229plus or the hardwire kit? Is there any other test do I need to test?

Try also the parking mode: “Low bitrate recording” to completely eliminate the DVR from the list of problems.

 

[kamkar]

A few years ago testing a system from another brand i ran into some problems.
Now the hardwire kit was correctly wired in, so the two +12 V sides was as they should be ( always and ACC )

But the problem was using 12.2 V cut off value.

If my car had been parked for 16 hours ( using low bitrate parking guard mode on a 1 hour timer ) the system was good, and when i got in my car and started it, everything was as it was supposed to be.

BUT ! letting my car be parked for 18 hours, and when starting my car, the system would not boot with the car

This was very strange CUZ using 1 hour timer the car of course did not get anywhere as low as the 12.2 V cut off value, and dashcams aside the car did not show any signs of the battery dying, but it was the original 2012 battery.

Messed around with this for a few days, another tester also had a similar issue, in the end i decided to drop a new battery in my car, and that did also make the problem go away.


It is my understanding that many modern cars, hardwiring can be a bit troublesome, as some circuits might be on a timer or the power in them come and go.


To test if the camera are good, well at least aside for the parking guard features, i would run it for a while with the provided power supply, if it behave well with that and do what it is supposed to do i dont think it is the system itself.

I think there have been at least 1 case of the labels on the wires being wrong, as i recall the red one should be the always on wire and the yellow one the ACC

There have also been a few cases of a faulty hard wire kit as far as i recall, but pretty rare, at least reported in here.

 

[jat]

Thanks for the quick respond kamkar and Karagandinez. I will change it to low bitrate and test it tonight.

 

[Karagandinez]

Thanks for the quick respond kamkar and Karagandinez. I will change it to low bitrate and test it tonight.

For some reason, your recording in the parking lot lasts 20, 19 and 25 minutes.
Try turning off surveillance time in a parking lot. There may be something wrong with the timer setting.