Automatic Turn On Issue with two A119 V3's with VIOFO HK3ACC Hardwire Kit

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So I have my A119 V3 (with GPS unit) hardwired in with the VIOFO HK3ACC (https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07JQ1JYPJ) to a fuse tap that supplies power when car is turned on. I don't want to use the parking mode, so I have both the red and yellow connected to the same fuse tap. I have it connected to the camera, not the GPS unit.

It was working fine, and then I decided to solder the cables to the fuse tap wire and upgrade the firmware to the latest (1.02). The camera stopped turning on automatically when I started the car.

I saw in the firmware thread someone had a similar issue, so I got another camera sent by Amazon. That new camera exhibits the same issue.

So I decided to roll back camera 2 to 1.00 firmware that was linked in the same thread I mentioned. This is the behavior:

1. If I turn my key to ACC position, it doesn't turn on.
2. If I then turn it the key to off position (after doing #1) and then back to the ACC position, it turns on.
3. If I return to my car within around 15 to 20 minutes after manually turning the camera on, it will automatically turn on.
4. If I return to my car within around 30 minutes after manually turning the camera on, it will not automatically turn on.

I'm awaiting additional fuse taps in the mail, and going to try splitting the 2 cables to two different fuse taps to see if that fixes the issue, but I wanted to get your guys thoughts on why this might be happening.

What are the chances of getting two a119 v3 with the same issue? Probably not high, so my hunch is that it is my wiring that is causing the issue but I would think a solder connection would be stronger. But maybe I got extremely unlucky and both have an issue?

My last question is, if I connect the red to constant, and yellow to ACC, instead of both to ACC, and I have parking mode OFF, would it just constantly record when the car is off?

Is the yellow ACC just there to say "CAR is on!" or does it supply power.
 
Have you tried to use a boot delay ?
It could be your car do something during startup.
 
Oh, and I am testing out the cig lighter, and cable that is supplied to see what happens with that (just have to wait for the 30 min time thing I mentioned above).
 
My last question is, if I connect the red to constant, and yellow to ACC, instead of both to ACC, and I have parking mode OFF, would it just constantly record when the car is off?

Is the yellow ACC just there to say "CAR is on!" or does it supply power.
With 3-wire kit wired correctly (red to always on and yellow to accessory) and parking mode turned off, the camera should just turn on and off with the car.

Yes, the ACC is just a trigger wire to tell the camera when the car is on or off.

Make sure you have a good ground. Possible bad solder joint?
 
Make sure you have a good ground. Possible bad solder joint?

Possible on bad solder. It is my first solder job. Thought I did well with going the whole 9 yards (flux, heat shrink) and would be better than the loose connection I had before. It appears I did something wrong as I just tested with cig lighter and it appears to work fine.

Ground I believe is good. Between a bolt and washer, using the same bolt as the ground for when I using hunting for a spot with my multimeter.

With 3-wire kit wired correctly (red to always on and yellow to accessory) and parking mode turned off, the camera should just turn on and off with the car.

Yes, the ACC is just a trigger wire to tell the camera when the car is on or off.

Okay, perfect. I'll just do that then as I have several open spots for ALWAYS ON. I'll just get the red on there, and leave the yellow in the same spot.

Should be able to report back tomorrow, as the pig tails are coming in tomorrow sometime.
 
Just wanted to share something. I was reading the a129 3 wire kit thread ( https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/a129-3-wire-kit.35898/page-13 and page 12 as well, might be more further down but haven’t read more yet) and I think they are talking about the same issue I’m experiencing.

It seems if the the red (power) doesn’t get a signal before yellow (ACC), the camera will not power on automatically if in a “cold” state.

So I think, when I didn’t have it soldered, the red got the signal a split second before yellow, so it worked.

When I soldered, I think they are more or less getting the signal at the same time, those it won’t power up when cold.

Will have a better answer once I can get them separated.

Troubleshooting is slow, as you have to wait for it fully discharge to a “cold” state to be able to see if the issue persists, which is frustrating.

Wonder if holding down power button will discharge the capacitor?
 
FYI I'm still using my old Nextbase hardwire kit that has now gone through 5 dashcams without issue. 3 Nextbase cams, 402, 412 and 380 and 2 Viofo's, V2 and V3.

I don't use parking mode, just have the cams come on and off with car ignition position 2.

This one has just 2 leads:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00XHYSQAC
 
...
It seems if the the red (power) doesn’t get a signal before yellow (ACC), the camera will not power on automatically if in a “cold” state.
So I think, when I didn’t have it soldered, the red got the signal a split second before yellow, so it worked.
...
If you use the dash only when the ignition is turned on, just connect only the red wire to the ACC line, this will be enough to work - the dash will turn on for recording along with turning on the ignition
 
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If you use the dash only when the ignition is turned on, just connect only the red wire to the ACC line, this will be enough to work - the dash will turn on for recording along with turning on the ignition

I didn't realize it could work like that with the 3 wire kit. I'll give that a shot as well.
 
Pretty sure all 3 wires need to be connected, even if your not using parking mode.

That looks to be the case, and it looks like what you originally suggested works.

So I got the RED (batt) and YELLOW (ACC) wires to their own fuse taps this morning.

1.
YELLOW (ACC) to ACC
RED (batt) to ACC

Doesn't turn on when the car is turned on (I have to manually turn on the camera).


The above is the same setup I had before. Based on that thread I linked earlier, I think if the ACC wire and BAT wire get a charge at the same time, the camera doesn't get the "turn-on" signal.

2.
YELLOW (ACC) to nothing
RED (batt) to ACC

When I turn the key, red REC turns on briefly, then goes out.

3.
YELLOW (ACC) to ACC
RED (batt) to constant battery

Turns on with the car. Turns off (about 5 seconds) after the car has been switched off.


Thanks everyone and to particular CaptureYourAction!
 
FYI I'm still using my old Nextbase hardwire kit that has now gone through 5 dashcams without issue. 3 Nextbase cams, 402, 412 and 380 and 2 Viofo's, V2 and V3.

I don't use parking mode, just have the cams come on and off with car ignition position 2.

This one has just 2 leads:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00XHYSQAC

I probably should have got a 2 wire one since I intended not to use parking mode but wanted to get the one designed for the camera.
 
I just used it to save rewiring, being as I spent ages getting the NB kit in invisibly.

That was one of reasons I went Viofo instead of Blackvue because BV use a different connector.

And coming to Viofo was a good decision. It ticks all the boxes for me.
 
That looks to be the case, and it looks like what you originally suggested works.

So I got the RED (batt) and YELLOW (ACC) wires to their own fuse taps this morning.

1.
YELLOW (ACC) to ACC
RED (batt) to ACC

Doesn't turn on when the car is turned on (I have to manually turn on the camera).


The above is the same setup I had before. Based on that thread I linked earlier, I think if the ACC wire and BAT wire get a charge at the same time, the camera doesn't get the "turn-on" signal.

2.
YELLOW (ACC) to nothing
RED (batt) to ACC

When I turn the key, red REC turns on briefly, then goes out.

3.
YELLOW (ACC) to ACC
RED (batt) to constant battery

Turns on with the car. Turns off (about 5 seconds) after the car has been switched off.


Thanks everyone and to particular CaptureYourAction!

So I came back to my car and found it constantly recording after it had not been recording for a few hours. Not sure why it started back up when the car was off and I was away from it.

Edit: I'm a dumb dumb. I forgot I took it out of my car to install the EVA foam. Must have turned on when I plugged it back in.
 
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