Blackvue DR900X-2CH + 4G LTE power draw

USDashCamera

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Hey guys, long time since I posted.

I recently sold my car which my dr900x was in, and put it in my Tacoma. I was using dash cam batteries in both vehicles but due to my short commutes 9 min to work and 9 min back typically, not including any shopping, I would only get about 3 hours of run time running the cam with the 4G module with the blackboxmycar bi-750.

My Tacoma has a 92ah dual purpose starter/deep cycle ABM battery (https://www.batteriesplus.com/product-details/auto_light-truck/battery/x2power/sli27fagmdp) so I figured I'd try it without a dash cam battery. Hard wired to the fuse box this time with the blackvue included hardwire kit. Set the voltage cut off to 12v (although after reading another thread here I see an AGM should be okay at 11.8 so I'll switch that) and a 12-hour time limit. I wanted to be able to run my whole 8 to 9 hour work shift.

Obviously the problem is I don't drive very much, I was hoping that my extra driving while shopping or on weekends driving a lot more I would be able to keep it topped off each weekend but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I bought a smart battery charger and charged it up to make sure it wasn't low just because since I had been driving my car daily my truck sat a lot and probably had a lot of drain from the vehicles computer and security.

Even after fully charging it after about the fourth day it was getting low voltage and cut off before my work shift.

I decided to try setting the cutoff to 12.5 because the only options are 11.8, 12 or 12.5. I again charged up the battery last night although when I went to the garage in the morning the charger was shut off even though it's supposed to switch to float mode so I don't know if it had an error. But either way I still only got three or four hours of runtime with the higher 12.5 volt cut off. I don't see what the 12.5 volt cut off is for if most healthy batteries are around 12.4 to 12.9. unless maybe my charger just had an error and never really fully charged it last night I will have to try again.

I really wish when I parked in my garage at night it didn't have to run through the time limit. I had suggested to blackvue a geofencing feature that would shut off your parking mode when you are at home.

Anyways, do you guys think that four days of parking mode before I'm starting to get low voltage because of my short driving commutes seems about right?

I am contemplating what else I can do besides setting it to 11.8 volt cut off. I used to have a thinkware camera in my truck and I would actually hold the power button to shut it off whenever I got home, but with blackvue the only option is unplugging it. But then I would have to remember to plug it back in every morning.
 
I'm in the middle of a review cycle for the DR900X-2CH along with the CM100LTE connectivity module. I've found that the power draw during parking mode (time-lapse) is between 390 mA and 450 mA with it averaging 410 mA. See the included snapshot from the 6 hour parking mode cutoff timer test I ran last night (at hour 4 of 6).

The BI-750 has a 7500 mAh capacity so with it being fully charged the DR900X-2CH + CM100LTE will last approx 18.29 hours. As I'm sure you're fully aware, short trips will not get any dash or car camera battery fully charged. Although, the BI-750 does have the dual charging mode to help reduce its charge time down to 40 minutes.

A 390-to-450 mA draw on your car's battery (AGM or regular lead acid) is a significant load on the battery. Most cars will draw below 50 mA while the vehicle is parked just to maintain the modules that remain active or in sleep mode, then adding another 410 mA (avg) draw on top of that will certainly drain down the battery much quicker.

Last night, I tested the low voltage cutoff feature in the DR900X-2CH. When I had it set to 12.0 volts, the camera actually powered down at 12.16 volts with the voltage level stable at 12.16 for 40 seconds.

Short trips with your car (even with the weekend shopping trips) most likely will not be fully charging the car's battery. Each engine start drains the battery which must be recovered by the charging system and then the charging system can try to charge the battery to a full charge.

I too have recommended to BlackVue that a power button be added to allow the camera to be turned off when parked at home. I have a Thinkware F800 Pro, various VIOFO and now a BlueSkySea B4K which all have a way to power it off using a button.

With my wife working from home due to COVID-19 work restrictions, I had to put her car's battery on a battery maintainer (NOCO Genius10 with 12V AGM support) while parked at home. I have the power cuttoff on that car's dash camera hardwiring kit (VIOFO A129 Pro Duo) set to 12.2 volts and she turns the camera off when she arrives home and parks the car in the garage. That 2-channel camera is fully powered in parking mode while she's at her work site (once per week - 9 hours parked).

With the DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE connectivity module drawing around 410 mA while in parking mode, you'll need to make sure your car's battery is as fully charged as possible before each trip, set the voltage cutoff to 12.0 (or 11.8 as long as your car starts ok at that low of a voltage level) and unplug the camera when parked at home.

Another approach might be to use the BI-750, but make sure it's fully charged before each trip in the car by using the BI-750's 12-volt power port adapter and plugging that into the BI-750 instead of the regular car hardwired charging cable and then using AC to DC power supply for the power to charge the BI-750. The DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE should last about 18.29 hours with a fully charged BI-750 so that should cover any single day's use of the dash camera while parked.

I don't see any simple option for your current driving situation.


dr900x_cm100lte_parking.jpg

dr900x_cm100lte_power_monitoring.jpg
 
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I'm in the middle of a review cycle for the DR900X-2CH along with the CM100LTE connectivity module. I've found that the power draw during parking mode (time-lapse) is between 390 mA and 450 mA with it averaging 410 mA. See the included snapshot from the 6 hour parking mode cutoff timer test I ran last night (at hour 4 of 6).

The BI-750 has a 7500 mAh capacity so with it being fully charged the DR900X-2CH + CM100LTE will last approx 18.29 hours. As I'm sure you're fully aware, short trips will not get any dash or car camera battery fully charged. Although, the BI-750 does have the dual charging mode to help reduce its charge time down to 40 minutes.

A 390-to-450 mA draw on your car's battery (AGM or regular lead acid) is a significant load on the battery. Most cars will draw below 50 mA while the vehicle is parked just to maintain the modules that remain active or in sleep mode, then adding another 410 mA (avg) draw on top of that will certainly drain down the battery much quicker.

Last night, I tested the low voltage cutoff feature in the DR900X-2CH. When I had it set to 12.0 volts, the camera actually powered down at 12.16 volts with the voltage level stable at 12.16 for 40 seconds.

Short trips with your car (even with the weekend shopping trips) most likely will not be fully charging the car's battery. Each engine start drains the battery which must be recovered by the charging system and then the charging system can try to charge the battery to a full charge.

I too have recommended to BlackVue that a power button be added to allow the camera to be turned off when parked at home. I have a Thinkware F800 Pro, various VIOFO and now a BlueSkySea B4K which all have a way to power it off using a button.

With my wife working from home due to COVID-19 work restrictions, I had to put her car's battery on a battery maintainer (NOCO Genius10 with 12V AGM support) while parked at home. I have the power cuttoff on that car's dash camera hardwiring kit (VIOFO A129 Pro Duo) set to 12.2 volts and she turns the camera off when she arrives home and parks the car in the garage. That 2-channel camera is fully powered in parking mode while she's at her work site (once per week - 9 hours parked).

With the DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE connectivity module drawing around 410 mA while in parking mode, you'll need to make sure your car's battery is as fully charged as possible before each trip, set the voltage cutoff to 12.0 (or 11.8 as long as your car starts ok at that low of a voltage level) and unplug the camera when parked at home.

Another approach might be to use the BI-750, but make sure it's fully charged before each trip in the car by using the BI-750's 12-volt power port adapter and plugging that into the BI-750 instead of the regular car hardwired charging cable and then using AC to DC power supply for the power to charge the BI-750. The DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE should last about 18.29 hours with a fully charged BI-750 so that should cover any single day's use of the dash camera while parked.

I don't see any simple option for your current driving situation.


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What's frustrating is I would assume the vehicle battery would charge faster than an external battery like the Bi-750.

What's also frustrating is I recently got the tamper "proof" case for the camera which means I can't easily unplug it when I want, which defeats the purpose of the tamper proof case. I know someone could rip the camera off to steal it still, but my intent was that they might think twice, they might say screw it and leave it, or if they do rip it off with force and my cam is in parking mode, it might give just enough time to upload the clip to the cloud from them messing around with it.

I was considering using the power magic pro again, and flipping the switch at home. seems like that would be the easiest way, then I don't have unplug/plug the power cord in every time. If I forget to flip the switch, it will still turn on without parking mode at least. But running it down over night is the biggest waste of power. When I had my thinkware in the truck I always turned it off at home so it didn't run down my cellink batteries, and I never had issues with my driving not charging them up.
 
I'm in the middle of a review cycle for the DR900X-2CH along with the CM100LTE connectivity module. I've found that the power draw during parking mode (time-lapse) is between 390 mA and 450 mA with it averaging 410 mA. See the included snapshot from the 6 hour parking mode cutoff timer test I ran last night (at hour 4 of 6).

The BI-750 has a 7500 mAh capacity so with it being fully charged the DR900X-2CH + CM100LTE will last approx 18.29 hours. As I'm sure you're fully aware, short trips will not get any dash or car camera battery fully charged. Although, the BI-750 does have the dual charging mode to help reduce its charge time down to 40 minutes.

A 390-to-450 mA draw on your car's battery (AGM or regular lead acid) is a significant load on the battery. Most cars will draw below 50 mA while the vehicle is parked just to maintain the modules that remain active or in sleep mode, then adding another 410 mA (avg) draw on top of that will certainly drain down the battery much quicker.

Last night, I tested the low voltage cutoff feature in the DR900X-2CH. When I had it set to 12.0 volts, the camera actually powered down at 12.16 volts with the voltage level stable at 12.16 for 40 seconds.

Short trips with your car (even with the weekend shopping trips) most likely will not be fully charging the car's battery. Each engine start drains the battery which must be recovered by the charging system and then the charging system can try to charge the battery to a full charge.

I too have recommended to BlackVue that a power button be added to allow the camera to be turned off when parked at home. I have a Thinkware F800 Pro, various VIOFO and now a BlueSkySea B4K which all have a way to power it off using a button.

With my wife working from home due to COVID-19 work restrictions, I had to put her car's battery on a battery maintainer (NOCO Genius10 with 12V AGM support) while parked at home. I have the power cuttoff on that car's dash camera hardwiring kit (VIOFO A129 Pro Duo) set to 12.2 volts and she turns the camera off when she arrives home and parks the car in the garage. That 2-channel camera is fully powered in parking mode while she's at her work site (once per week - 9 hours parked).

With the DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE connectivity module drawing around 410 mA while in parking mode, you'll need to make sure your car's battery is as fully charged as possible before each trip, set the voltage cutoff to 12.0 (or 11.8 as long as your car starts ok at that low of a voltage level) and unplug the camera when parked at home.

Another approach might be to use the BI-750, but make sure it's fully charged before each trip in the car by using the BI-750's 12-volt power port adapter and plugging that into the BI-750 instead of the regular car hardwired charging cable and then using AC to DC power supply for the power to charge the BI-750. The DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE should last about 18.29 hours with a fully charged BI-750 so that should cover any single day's use of the dash camera while parked.

I don't see any simple option for your current driving situation.


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View attachment 56344
do you read any draw when parking mode shuts off? I have been checking my voltage every morning, and before and after each drive. Usually after work I get home about 14 hours before I leave for work. Was seeting 0.2-0.3 amps dropped over night. My driving depending on if I go straight home or not after work would get it back up to what it lost thru out my day. Over the weekend it got it back up to 12.7v.

But then it seemed when I left it sitting for longer, like I parked sunday afternoon around 2pm, and it shut off at 2am middle of the night. but it went from 12.7v to 12.15 volts this morning. So there was a huge loss over night even though its the same 12 hours.

I was thinking what else could be draining it but not sure what else would. When I wasn't driving my truck every day i never had issues with the battery starting so it doesn't seem like I have a parasitic drain. My HID headlights to use a battery harness that connects them to the battery to give them more even more when starting up. I also have a 12V socket coming off the battery installed to my back seat but nothing is using it.

I don't see anything that could be shorted or anything draining it. Which makes me wonder if the camera is still using power even after parking mode shuts off.

Although It has surprisingly lasted long this time without recharging, I am expecting it will probably give me a low voltage warning today though. what I might do is charge it up, disconnect the camera, see if something is still draining the battery to see if it is just the camera.
 
A 12.7V reading is usually a carryover from the charging system's elevated voltage while the engine is running. I've only observed "new" batteries keeping their voltage level at 12.6V or slightly higher. Most 12V batteries tend to settle into the 12.4 volt range after going through the vehicle's modules settling into their off/monitoring/sleep state while the vehicle is parked.

The 12.15 volt reading is a bit surprising but the DR900X-2CH cameras and the CM100LTE connectivity module do draw around 410 mA while idle (parking mode) and I've observed it spike to around 520 mA when there's an event or a remote (cloud) request is being processed.

I did run a test to make sure the camera did power down after the parking mode cutoff timer expired. I set the cutoff timer to 6 hours and ran the test. The camera did power down right at the six hour mark and the power draw dropped to 10 mA or less (the power supply will only show two digits of precision in hundredths of an amp). I've included a picture of that level of power draw.

You may want to check for a parasitic draw in each of the fuse boxes in your vehicle. You could perform a millivolt draw check on each fuse looking for a non zero millivolt value and use a chart like this one Fuse Voltage Drop Charts to convert the millivolts you measure to an approximate milliamp draw on that circuit for the fuse type used in that fuse socket.

The DR900X-2CH along with the CM100LTE connectivity module draw a significant amount of power while in parking mode. While they can be powered by the car's battery during parking mode, I would suggest an external dash camera battery pack to provide the power to those devices assuming that's an affordable option.

I'm getting ready to install the DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE into my 2014 Chevy Caprice PPV (my ex-police car on my YouTube channel). I'm providing the power to those units using the 3-wire hardwiring harness, but with some modifications.

The 3-wire harness provided with the DR900X-2CH is a bit short for my vehicle since it's primary fuse box is located in the trunk and I've located my dash camera battery pack in the trunk as well. I was going to buy the 3-wire dash camera battery pack harness from BlackVue (for the extended length I need and connection into the battery pack), but there's no valid shipping option from their site to my location (odd).

I decided to purchase a 3-wire 20 awg harness to add the six extra feet that I need. I purchased the molex connectors and terminals from Mouser.

I also decided to add the missing "power off" switch to the wiring. The DR900X-2CH (as well as all other BlackVue cameras that I've tested) don't have a way to power off the camera without pulling the power cord from the camera. Pulling the power connector out of the camera (over time) might lead to power connection problems. So, I added a DPST switch to the power cable up near the end that plugs into the camera. I'll add the switch to the overhead dome light panel in my car. That way I can turn off the DR900X-2CH camera (or any other BlackVue cameras I review in the future) when I park the car in the garage at home. No reason to drain the dash camera's battery pack to have it record my car parked in the garage. :)

I hope something in this post helps with your issue!

dr900x_cm100lte_6hr_power_demand.jpg
 
A 12.7V reading is usually a carryover from the charging system's elevated voltage while the engine is running. I've only observed "new" batteries keeping their voltage level at 12.6V or slightly higher. Most 12V batteries tend to settle into the 12.4 volt range after going through the vehicle's modules settling into their off/monitoring/sleep state while the vehicle is parked.

The 12.15 volt reading is a bit surprising but the DR900X-2CH cameras and the CM100LTE connectivity module do draw around 410 mA while idle (parking mode) and I've observed it spike to around 520 mA when there's an event or a remote (cloud) request is being processed.

I did run a test to make sure the camera did power down after the parking mode cutoff timer expired. I set the cutoff timer to 6 hours and ran the test. The camera did power down right at the six hour mark and the power draw dropped to 10 mA or less (the power supply will only show two digits of precision in hundredths of an amp). I've included a picture of that level of power draw.

You may want to check for a parasitic draw in each of the fuse boxes in your vehicle. You could perform a millivolt draw check on each fuse looking for a non zero millivolt value and use a chart like this one Fuse Voltage Drop Charts to convert the millivolts you measure to an approximate milliamp draw on that circuit for the fuse type used in that fuse socket.

The DR900X-2CH along with the CM100LTE connectivity module draw a significant amount of power while in parking mode. While they can be powered by the car's battery during parking mode, I would suggest an external dash camera battery pack to provide the power to those devices assuming that's an affordable option.

I'm getting ready to install the DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE into my 2014 Chevy Caprice PPV (my ex-police car on my YouTube channel). I'm providing the power to those units using the 3-wire hardwiring harness, but with some modifications.

The 3-wire harness provided with the DR900X-2CH is a bit short for my vehicle since it's primary fuse box is located in the trunk and I've located my dash camera battery pack in the trunk as well. I was going to buy the 3-wire dash camera battery pack harness from BlackVue (for the extended length I need and connection into the battery pack), but there's no valid shipping option from their site to my location (odd).

I decided to purchase a 3-wire 20 awg harness to add the six extra feet that I need. I purchased the molex connectors and terminals from Mouser.

I also decided to add the missing "power off" switch to the wiring. The DR900X-2CH (as well as all other BlackVue cameras that I've tested) don't have a way to power off the camera without pulling the power cord from the camera. Pulling the power connector out of the camera (over time) might lead to power connection problems. So, I added a DPST switch to the power cable up near the end that plugs into the camera. I'll add the switch to the overhead dome light panel in my car. That way I can turn off the DR900X-2CH camera (or any other BlackVue cameras I review in the future) when I park the car in the garage at home. No reason to drain the dash camera's battery pack to have it record my car parked in the garage. :)

I hope something in this post helps with your issue!

View attachment 56409
I had several dash cam batteries including the BI-750. My issue is to use the timer you need to use the 3 wire kit, if you just use the 12v plug with a dash cam battery there is no way to use the timer so I will always end up draining it every night. My commute only got me about 3 hours of use from charging on my drive. Then on weekends parking for more than 12-18 hours at a time I was guaranteed to have a drained battery by monday morning. I basically depend on the timer function, and extra driving on the weekends or a few weekdays to keep it topped off.

I did not know about that "carry over" so if I let my truck sit for a 30 min or so is that enough time for it to settle? longer, shorter?

I think I will likely just need to settle for a 6 hour time limit. which means if I don't go out for lunch at work i won't get the last few hours of parking mode, but I would rather have that than have to charge the battery up once a week. thats 30 hours of run time I am not draining while parked in my garage at home during the work week.
 
I had several dash cam batteries including the BI-750. My issue is to use the timer you need to use the 3 wire kit, if you just use the 12v plug with a dash cam battery there is no way to use the timer so I will always end up draining it every night. My commute only got me about 3 hours of use from charging on my drive. Then on weekends parking for more than 12-18 hours at a time I was guaranteed to have a drained battery by monday morning. I basically depend on the timer function, and extra driving on the weekends or a few weekdays to keep it topped off.

I did not know about that "carry over" so if I let my truck sit for a 30 min or so is that enough time for it to settle? longer, shorter?

I think I will likely just need to settle for a 6 hour time limit. which means if I don't go out for lunch at work i won't get the last few hours of parking mode, but I would rather have that than have to charge the battery up once a week. thats 30 hours of run time I am not draining while parked in my garage at home during the work week.
I had forgotten that the parking mode cut-off timer was only when it was powered using the 3-wire hardwiring cable.

A majority of the modules in a vehicle go to sleep or are turned off (depending on how they are manged) somewhat quickly (30 seconds -to- 5 minutes). Next are the modules that may need to perform monitoring or testing functions for a slightly longer period and those usually go to sleep in the 5-to-10 minute range. Then there are the gatekeeper modules (remote key entry, body control module, etc) that stay awake to some degree but may go into a slightly lower power consumption mode. This allows the features managed by those module(s) to remain functional (like using your FOB to lock/unlock your vehicle, opening and closing doors/hood/trunk). Those gatekeeper modules usually will shutdown or put to sleep (low power consumption mode) those secondary modules and the power draw usually stabilizes in the 10-to-30 minute range depending on the various features in the vehicle. Walking by your vehicle if it has a passive entry feature with the FOB in your pocket can sometimes awaken some of the modules waiting for you to attempt to open the door. Make sure your FOBs are at least ten to twenty feet away from the vehicle to be sure they won't awaken any passive entry related module(s) (if so equipped).

Most likely your vehicle will go into full "sleep" mode within 20 minutes, but to be absolutely sure I would recommend leaving it alone for at least 30 minutes before testing any power draw levels.

A current draw of up to 25 mA is common for most modern vehicles when in full "sleep" mode. Some can draw more power (up to 50 mA or so) depending on how many features are active in full sleep mode. That draw level (25 mA to 50 mA) will usually be sustained by a well charged car battery for 1 to 2 weeks and sometimes even a month before the battery needs to be charged again with a full drive cycle (30 mins to 1 hour) or by using a battery maintainer. With the change in our driving habits due to COVID-19 travel / work restrictions, I ended up purchasing a good battery maintainer for all of our cars. I even use a battery maintainer on our 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid because it still has a tiny 12-volt battery to power the body control module and other features necessary to get in and "start" the hybrid system.

Wi-Fi will not auto turn off if connected to the CM100LTE connectivity module (somewhat power related):

During my testing of the DR900X-2CH camera, I found the "Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi auto turn off" firmware setting is completely ignored when the CM100LTE module is connected to the camera. I thought it was a bug and asked Pittasoft about it and I was told this is the way the firmware works right now. You have to manually turn off the Wi-Fi network with a button press. A waste of power if you're not using the Wi-Fi network.

If you have the auto reboot feature enabled, it will reboot the camera and the Wi-Fi will be turned on again until you press the Wi-Fi button to turn it off. I'm not going out to the garage in the middle of the night to turn off the Wi-Fi network. (another reason I installed the power turn off switch in my 3-wire wiring harness).

The DR750-2CH LTE camera would auto turn off the Wi-Fi network, but the current "X" series cameras appear to not have the ability in the firmware. When the CM100LTE is not connected to the DR900X-2CH, the Wi-Fi auto turn off setting does actually turn it off after 10 minutes of inactivity after bootup.
 
I'm trying to calculate how many hours in parking mode I would get with a 2 channel 750x plus with a 70Ah AGM battery. Is the 410 mA draw measured at 5 or 12V ?
 
I'm trying to calculate how many hours in parking mode I would get with a 2 channel 750x plus with a 70Ah AGM battery. Is the 410 mA draw measured at 5 or 12V ?
The mA draw values I reported for the DR900X-2CH and CM100LTE are reported at 12-volts. If there's any active LTE data activity (live view, event uploads, etc) the mA draw increases to values around 500 mA during the period of LTE activity and it settles back down to the 410 mA range.

I have found that that 410 mA value can be decreased to around 370 mA if the Wi-Fi network is turned off on the DR900X. The DR900X will ignore the "Wi-Fi auto turn off" firmware setting when the CM100LTE is in use. You can manually turn off the Wi-Fi network, but if you have the firmware settings to auto restart/reboot turned on, the Wi-Fi network will be turned on again after the restart. I've confirmed this is the current "expected behavior" for the "X' series of cameras and their current firmware.
 
The mA draw values I reported for the DR900X-2CH and CM100LTE are reported at 12-volts. If there's any active LTE data activity (live view, event uploads, etc) the mA draw increases to values around 500 mA during the period of LTE activity and it settles back down to the 410 mA range.

I have found that that 410 mA value can be decreased to around 370 mA if the Wi-Fi network is turned off on the DR900X. The DR900X will ignore the "Wi-Fi auto turn off" firmware setting when the CM100LTE is in use. You can manually turn off the Wi-Fi network, but if you have the firmware settings to auto restart/reboot turned on, the Wi-Fi network will be turned on again after the restart. I've confirmed this is the current "expected behavior" for the "X' series of cameras and their current firmware.
Yes I just realized that blackvue cam runs on 12v, so my question about voltage was kind of silly.

So 750x plus and the LTE module draws about 0.5A. If I discharge my 70Ah AGM battery to 50% that would deliver about 70 hours in parking mode. That seems quite long compared reports from other users. Is my math flawed in some way?
 
Yes I just realized that blackvue cam runs on 12v, so my question about voltage was kind of silly.

So 750x plus and the LTE module draws about 0.5A. If I discharge my 70Ah AGM battery to 50% that would deliver about 70 hours in parking mode. That seems quite long compared reports from other users. Is my math flawed in some way?
I believe your math is correct.

70 Ah = 70000 mAh.

If the current draw is 500 mA then in theory the 70000 mAh / 500 mA = 140 hours.

Assuming a linear battery discharge level, it would suggest after 70 hours the battery's charge level should be around 35000 mAh (50 percent). The 70 Ah rating is by definition when the battery would be at a charge level to be considered "fully discharged". The voltage level the battery will produce at a fully discharged state may also be out of range for the normal operation of the camera. It's also hard to predict / make sure that a battery will be fully charged unless you have given the battery sufficient time to be charged by the vehicle's charging system or an external battery maintainer. Most trips in vehicles are in the 20 to 30 minute range and that is not usually enough time to fully charge a battery.

I generally take the mAh or Ah rating for a battery pack or battery and multiply that by 0.75 (75 percent) to give a somewhat more realistic value to use in calculations for estimated run times of a device connected to that battery pack/battery. The ambient temperature also factors into this as well. Colder climates tend to reduce the amount of time a battery will provide the specified charge level.

I'm sure that are others on this site that might be able to better explain this topic or correct any misstatements I may have made. :)
 
Guess I should measure my cars power draw. My old suzuki is rather simple but my android headunit has fastboot so I wonder how much power it consumes in sleep mode.
If battery voltage gets low the headunit powers off, but I don't know the exact voltage.
Luckily the fastboot option can be disabled. So I will disable it when I need long term parking mode.
 
I'm about to get a dr750x 2-CH, but I notice that the manual for the dr900 has exactly the same statement (page 67) about battery protection as the 750:

"...If battery protection is off, BlackVue will not operate when the vehicle is turned off (ACC+ off )."

I'm wondering if this might be a way to shutdown the system, apart from pulling the power lead from the camera? The reason I'm curious is that I also want to deactivate parking mode when parked at home (unnecessary battery draw), and toggling this setting might be an option.

I'd rather a physical switch on the camera, or possibly another proximity sensor option (toggle parking mode on/off), and I'm reluctant to get a PMP just for this purpose, so maybe the battery protection setting is a workaround?

If anyone has tried it I'd be interested to know.
 
I really wish when I parked in my garage at night it didn't have to run through the time limit. I had suggested to blackvue a geofencing feature that would shut off your parking mode when you are at home.

Anyways, do you guys think that four days of parking mode before I'm starting to get low voltage because of my short driving commutes seems about right?

I am contemplating what else I can do besides setting it to 11.8 volt cut off. I used to have a thinkware camera in my truck and I would actually hold the power button to shut it off whenever I got home, but with blackvue the only option is unplugging it. But then I would have to remember to plug it back in every morning.
Hello USDC,

I had a BlackVue dr750x installed today and was also contemplating how to shutdown the camera(s) when parked safely at home.
Initially I thought I'd have to unplug/plug back in as needed, but wasn't keen on stressing the cable/connector repeatedly.

It's not geofencing (which would be ideal), but my solution was to use a Conecta X Dashcam OBD power & parking mode cable (compatible with all BlackVue series X models). Rather than hard-wiring back to the fuse box it instead connects the main camera to the OBD port and powers it from there. The OBD connector plug itself has a small switch on it - position '0' = Accessory Mode, position '1' = Parking Mode.

In position '0', when you turn the ignition off the Conecta will power down the dashcam after five minutes has elapsed. In position '1' the dashcam will switch to parking mode as configured on the cam, and the Conecta will not shut the power down unless battery voltage drops below 12V. (That voltage setting isn't configurable from what I've seen so far).

So basically I'll flick the switch to position '0' when I return home, and back to '1' when leaving.

I'm driving a Skoda Karoq and the OBD port is conveniently below the dash in drivers side foot area, easy to reach yet out of the way. I believe, having looked at a youtube video about the Conecta, some people have a space issue around the OBD port (the OBD cable comes out of the side of the plug). In this case a OBD male to female extension cable might resolve it if the port position or orientation can't be changed.

In addition to the above I also got a response today from BlackVue about one of the settings on the App, i.e, what happens when you turn battery protection off (will the camera power off?). Their reply as follows:
The "Battery Protection" on/off slider is effectively the "Parking Mode" switch. So if you use that to toggle on and off that should do just what you are looking for.

When in the off position the camera will shut down as soon as you turn the ignition off. When turned on the camera will run until you reach the preset cutoff voltage as set in the app.

So it appears that setting might also be a power off option for when parked at home. I haven't tested it, and probably won't now anyway as the physical switch seems like it'll be a lot easier than going into the phone app each time.

Anyway maybe not 100% ideal, but hopefully helpful.
 
Hello USDC,

I had a BlackVue dr750x installed today and was also contemplating how to shutdown the camera(s) when parked safely at home.
Initially I thought I'd have to unplug/plug back in as needed, but wasn't keen on stressing the cable/connector repeatedly.

It's not geofencing (which would be ideal), but my solution was to use a Conecta X Dashcam OBD power & parking mode cable (compatible with all BlackVue series X models). Rather than hard-wiring back to the fuse box it instead connects the main camera to the OBD port and powers it from there. The OBD connector plug itself has a small switch on it - position '0' = Accessory Mode, position '1' = Parking Mode.

In position '0', when you turn the ignition off the Conecta will power down the dashcam after five minutes has elapsed. In position '1' the dashcam will switch to parking mode as configured on the cam, and the Conecta will not shut the power down unless battery voltage drops below 12V. (That voltage setting isn't configurable from what I've seen so far).

So basically I'll flick the switch to position '0' when I return home, and back to '1' when leaving.

I'm driving a Skoda Karoq and the OBD port is conveniently below the dash in drivers side foot area, easy to reach yet out of the way. I believe, having looked at a youtube video about the Conecta, some people have a space issue around the OBD port (the OBD cable comes out of the side of the plug). In this case a OBD male to female extension cable might resolve it if the port position or orientation can't be changed.

In addition to the above I also got a response today from BlackVue about one of the settings on the App, i.e, what happens when you turn battery protection off (will the camera power off?). Their reply as follows:


So it appears that setting might also be a power off option for when parked at home. I haven't tested it, and probably won't now anyway as the physical switch seems like it'll be a lot easier than going into the phone app each time.

Anyway maybe not 100% ideal, but hopefully helpful.
I did notice the new update lets you save settings without the camera needing to restart each time, so I have just used the app to set the timer to off which shuts it off. But I don't do this every night, just did it when I was out camping and my dometic 12v fridge is running the whole time so I want to make sure any power is going to the fridge.

My solution has been just to set the timer to 6 hours. most days at work i drive somewhere for lunch, but over night at home the 6 hours has not been enough to drain my battery, so I have not been getting low voltage warnings anymore.

But geofencing would still be the ideal solution for me.
 
I have an X2Power battery in my Jeep but I would not wire my dash cam to it.
In the future car manufacturers are going to catch on and provide a separate battery solution for onboard electronics. Maybe they already do.
I just don’t like constantly draining my get home battery when it’s parked.
 
I’m looking into getting this entire kit; cam, battery, WiFi.

Question: To control the power, can I wire all the components to my F350’s uplifter switches? I know I can but will all the components work correctly if wired with this configuration?

Suggestion: For those looking to recharge their battery when not driving enough, you can look at installing a battery maintainer. Us Harley folk use these when not riding a lot. This could solve your recharge issue. You just connect with an outdoor extension cord. Here’s a link to an Amazon one.

NOCO GENIUS2D, 2A Direct-Mount Onboard Car Battery Charger, 12V Automotive Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, Float Charger and Desulfator for AGM, Marine, Truck and Deep Cycle Batteries https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07W3QSMF9
 
I found this old thread.

I have a DR900X- Plus which I measured in consuming around 400mah (no LTE).
My car has a 95AH battery. Which I tender once a week.

After plugging my battery to tender and leaving it overnight (16hours) everything was fine.
(Removed negative of car) Once unplugged Battery had 13,5 volt.. I left it overnight to find it next morning at 12.9 volt seems ok after 12 hours, once battery stabilizes.

Once I plug the car. car consumes instantly 22Amp and slowly drops to 100mah (without any camera any addons.
Adding the Blackvue I get a 450mah at parking mode (whole car).

Battery drains from 12.9 volt to 12.00 volt over 24hours.
Is my battery on it's way out?

I used a clamp multimeter and recorded the whole 24 hours with a phone, plugged into a powerbank. There has being 0 spikes in these 24 hours of consumption.

I cannot believe a 10amp consumption over 24hours can empty a battery.

History:
- Car was a showroom car for 1.5 year
- recently they stole it and left it running (lights) which I found battery under 10.5v

I did run 3 recond cycles to battery.
 
Those numbers are around what I would expect for a 95AH lead acid battery that’s a few years old & has seen some abuse.

Your car’s battery isn’t intended for cyclic use (ie repeated significant discharge & charge cycles); it’s a starting battery designed specifically for very short high current discharge transients, & will degrade relatively quick if constantly discharged down to 12.0 volts (50% charged) every day.
 
Those numbers are around what I would expect for a 95AH lead acid battery that’s a few years old & has seen some abuse.

Your car’s battery isn’t intended for cyclic use (ie repeated significant discharge & charge cycles); it’s a starting battery designed specifically for very short high current discharge transients, & will degrade relatively quick if constantly discharged down to 12.0 volts (50% charged) every day.

It is an EFB battery.
the problem is battery discharges to 50% with a load of 400mAh! over 24 hours.. which is too fast. a total of 10Ah(over 24h) load empties the battery. We know that 50% is empty
with the car's internal drain (100mah) takes 4 days! which is also fast (without any external device plugged).

Also cranking even after tendering it, is on the 9.6-10v range.

seen a few of C100,C20, C10 drain tests, and battery on a C100 should deliver about 110ah (over time).

I am thinking to go for an AGM (Deep Cycle + Start-stop) from the current VARTA EFB start/stop. as the battery is a bit abused.

As stated:
car was for 18 months in showroom (probably drained a bit here and there, under 50% which can damage it)
After theives tried to steal the car, they left the lights on, and put it on less than 10.2V :( which made it even worst.
 
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