BlackVue B-130A stuck at about 80%

[jeanrochjacques]

I have a new BlackVue Elite 8 (2 channels) installed with a B130A battery pack since a week. However, it is not charging above 83% with the hardwiring (9A) and the CLA (5A) power cables per attached picture. My car was running for about two hours continuously and it did not go above this level with both cables. I am doing a drain test with the support of the vendor. They suspect a hardware or software issue with the battery, but I will most likely have to return the unit. They will try to fix it by doing a complete reflash of the software. I don't know why the customer cannot do it. The Blackvue Battery app is not compatible with this latest model. Their new dashcam works fine. Do you have any advices about this battery issue?

 

[Dan-UK1415]

Have a look in the settings of the battery app to see if there is any battery protection.

I have the B-130X, not the B-130A so I can't check, but just thinking out loud, it may be similar to settings on mobile phones where you can set it to only charge to a certain percentage to protect the battery and make it last longer.

For example, you can set your phone to stop charging at 85% to help the battery last longer (years, not discharge time).


Failing that, reach out to BlackVue support;
cs@pittasoft.com

 

[jeanrochjacques]

Have a look in the settings of the battery app to see if there is any battery protection.

I have the B-130X, not the B-130A so I can't check, but just thinking out loud, it may be similar to settings on mobile phones where you can set it to only charge to a certain percentage to protect the battery and make it last longer.

For example, you can set your phone to stop charging at 85% to help the battery last longer (years, not discharge time).


Failing that, reach out to BlackVue support;
cs@pittasoft.com

Thank you for comment. We cannot limit the charging into the BlackVue app to a pourcentage. After I fully drained to 0% in parking mode (motion detection) in 13h30 hours, I was able to fully recharged to 100% the battery. See attached screenshots. I have gained almost four hours in the same parking mode because I have 17% more. It is probably a software issue. I sent an email to customer support of BlackVue.

 

[Dan-UK1415]

The screenshot in your original post showed that the battery was being charged using the cigarette lighter port at 5.00Ah (the charging type is displayed in top right, with charging current in bottom right).

But your new screenshots show it's hardwired to vehicle (Fuse) and is now charging at 9.00Ah (full charge rate).

Maybe that had an impact on things too.

 

[mentadent]

Is it brand new? It might need to be fully discharged then charged to balance the cells. Total guess.

 

[jeanrochjacques]

Is it brand new? It might need to be fully discharged then charged to balance the cells. Total guess.

It is indeed brand new and installed one week ago. Maybe it did a reset and I was able to fully charge after.

 

[jeanrochjacques]

I have done testing over the weekend. The battery B-130A does not recharge above 85% after a few hours with the car running. It seems that it is charging just enough to stay at this threshold. It is not acceptable. So, I have started the RMA process. It only fully charged (100% with the green LED on) twice since I have it. The last time occurred when it was recharging from 0% as I described in my previous post.

 

[mentadent]

Have you asked the supplier for support before returning?

 

[jeanrochjacques]

I sent an email to cs@pittasoft.com on Saturday, but they have not replied yet. So, I have called today the customer service department of BlackVue. They suggested me to perform a drain test to reset the battery, but I already did it this test per the request of BlackBoxMyCar (vendor). It fully charges and after it is always stuck to 83-86% when using the dashcam in normal & parking modes. I am loosing 4 hours in parking mode (motion detection). According to BlackVue, it is the first time that this issue occurs on the B-130A that is on the market since 6 months.

 

[jeanrochjacques]

I received a brand new B-130A as a replacement. However, I still have the same problem. It is stuck at 78% after 3 hours of charging. Then, I installed the original battery in my wife's car and connected it via the cigarette lighter cable. Same problem (stuck at 85%). I called BlackVue customer support. They will investigate. Maybe it is a batch issue.

 

[Hack_man]

@jeanrochjacques
Have you tried charging the battery with no load (the BlackVue Elite 8 power cable disconnected directly from the battery's output connector)? Maybe do this after performing a complete discharge if it does not charge to 100% with the dashcam connected.
Have you also tried using two different CLA cables to charge the battery? I see that you already tried Hardwire charging.

It is very perplexing two units exhibited the same behavior.

 

[jeanrochjacques]

I have tried charging the battery without the dash cam, but it was still stuck at 78-86%. I have not tried another CLA cable to charge the battery. However, I used my home charger yesterday and it fully charged using the same CLA cable (16.4V and 5A). The input voltage is the key aspect here, the 16.4 volt input gets the battery to fully charged versus the 14.2 volt input. The current doesn't seem to matter (5A vs 9A). I have been able to fully charge a couple of times with the home charger.

 

[Hack_man]

It certainly seems like you are onto something if you are able to repeatedly charge to 100% using a home charger capable of 16.4V output.

I'm curious, what is this home charger you are using?
I assume you have notified Blackvue of your findings but after getting a second bad unit where do go from here if it's a bad batch issue?

 

[jeanrochjacques]

I am using a JNC345 jump starter that includes a DC Power Supply (see attached datasheet). The nominal output voltage/current of this port is 15VDC and 10A, but the actual voltage can vary from 14.8 to 16.4 VDC. I have notified BlackVue support about my findings and returned the second B-130A unit to the vendor. I don't think that it is a batch issue. BlackVue acknowledged that a voltage of 13.5V is not sufficient. The vendor agrees that the input voltage is the key aspect and it explains why it does not fully charge at even 14.2 VDC. The current (9A or 5A) doesn't seem to matter. With that being said, this probably indicates that the circuitry for recognizing and managing what to do with input voltage has an issue, probably by design (or a mistake). Meaning the components they have used more than likely were incorrect or have a manufacturing defect, OR there is a programming issue on one of the chips controlling the charge process and maybe they have a way to provide a "patch" or update (my guess is this is not able to be done via the app, and would need to be done on their test benches and it would probably involve directly applying an update, ( if even possible ), to the physical chip itself. This would also explain why two different batteries I have used, exhibit the same (similar) problem. Without having the actual engineering schematic for the battery, the vendor has no way of going any further to find a resolution, other than suggesting me continuing to home charge at the higher input voltage. However, he is not sure how this will effect longevity of the battery.

 

[Hack_man]

I dont understand why BlackVue says 13.5V is insufficient when their spec says it charges at 11 to 18 Volts

B-130A Spec

 

[jeanrochjacques]

I don't understand as well. The float voltage of a 12-volt LiFePO4 battery is normally 13.5V. This voltage ensures the battery remains in the fully charged state without causing damage or degradation over time. When the charging voltage is too low, the battery will not charge fully, eventually reducing capacity like I experienced.