BlackVue DR900X Plus changed parking mode settings on its own. EEEK

[Ralph2]

As I was washing my car the other day I noticed that all the indicator lights on my BlackVue DR900X plus were still on. BUT.. in the setting I have parking mode turned "off". Checked the settings and it clearly is still set to off. If the on/off parking setting has a mind of its own, I worry if the voltage cutoff feature is still working? I don't want to risk a flat battery to find out.
I have been meaning to throw in a switch as I never did trust the electronics to do it and now there is a new urgency, in the meantime I pulled the fuse.
Update: Pulling the fuse on the battery line (yellow wire) made the BlackVue DR900X plus inoperative. As in.. would not turn on. Which.. implies a simple off/on switch in the battery wire would not work. As soon as I plugged my (constant power) fuse back in all went back to normal. Including NOT going into parking mode (because it is turned off in settings).
Strange and worrisome behavior.. best I invest in a battery charger because sure as heck I will end up with a dead battery if this happens again.

 

[BlackboxMyCar]

Weird, the BlackVue hardwire kits have been very reliable for us. Was the dash cam recording your car wash, and what type of files were they?

 

[rcg530]

Update: Pulling the fuse on the battery line (yellow wire) made the BlackVue DR900X plus inoperative. As in.. would not turn on. Which.. implies a simple off/on switch in the battery wire would not work. As soon as I plugged my (constant power) fuse back in all went back to normal. Including NOT going into parking mode (because it is turned off in settings).

The BlackVue 3-wire harness has no control circuitry in it. It's simply three wires and 2 inline fuses for the accessory and constant power wires.

Removing power from the constant power (yellow) wire should fully power down the DR900X Plus dash cam. The constant power wire (yellow) is what provides the power for the main operation of the dash cam. The DR900X Plus should not turn on without power provided on the yellow wire. The accessory power wire (red) is only used to indicate when the DR900X Plus should enter/exit parking mode.

If the DR900X Plus is powered off (yellow wire with no power) and then power is restored to the yellow wire, the DR900X Plus will remain off as long as the accessory power wire (red) has no power. The DR900X Plus will only fully power up when power is present on the constant wire (yellow) and accessory wire (red).

I have a test power harness where I have a switch inline on the constant power wire only (yellow for BlackVue). If I turn off the constant power (yellow wire) power with the switch, the DR900X Plus powers down. If I turn the accessory power (off / on) it does not change the power state of the DR900X Plus while the constant power wire (yellow) is not powered.

The firmware settings for parking mode were not changed by any of these test runs.

 

[Ralph2]

I know, I have read the details of your test harness before. There may have been some internal "glitch" with my unit. The camera did not shut down when the ACC was off, which would be normal but for the fact I have parking mode shut off in the settings. The only way to turn the camera off was to pull the fuse on the yellow battery power. Then the camera would not power up again until the yellow battery power was re established.

Since this "episode" the camera has been working as expected.. as in, the camera powers off/on with the ACC (because parking mode is turned off in my settings).

Which brings to mind some testing I can do. Now that the camera is working properly.. disconnect the battery source. If.. the camera will not power up under ACC "perhaps" it is due to the "parking mode off" setting. And that it would work as expected (as it does on your test bench) with the parking mode enabled. I will try various scenarios in a day or so to see if I can replicate the problem.

 

[super max]

Can Parking Mode be electrically disabled in a fail safe manner by hardwiring both yellow & red wires to ACC power?

 

[StrayCam]

No, that will not work. You need to have one wire connected to your constant power. - @rcg530, the Blackvue expert, mentioned that in his post above.

 

[rcg530]

Can Parking Mode be electrically disabled in a fail safe manner by hardwiring both yellow & red wires to ACC power?

There's no way to fully disable parking mode in a BlackVue dash camera at this time. You can obtain power from an accessory powered source and that will effectively cause the native parking mode to be disabled (just like powering the dash cam with the cigarette power port adapter), but motion based parking mode cannot be disabled in the current BlackVue firmware. When the vehicle is stationary for 5-minutes (if power is still being provided to the dash cam), it will enter parking mode no matter how it's powered.

 

[StrayCam]

There's no way to fully disable parking mode in a BlackVue dash camera at this time. You can obtain power from an accessory powered source and that will effectively cause the native parking mode to be disabled (just like powering the dash cam with the cigarette power port adapter), but motion based parking mode cannot be disabled in the current BlackVue firmware. When the vehicle is stationary for 5-minutes (if power is still being provided to the dash cam), it will enter parking mode no matter how it's powered.

I know you are aware of this exception... those who are using Blackvue's Power Magic Pro kit (PMP) with a DR750X 2Ch LTE PLUS (and I assume the non-plus version) can turnoff parking mode by simply pressing a button. When the PMP is turned off and the car is turned-off, the dashcam is completely off, including of course parking mode. - - Unfortunately, I don't think other new, current Blackvue models will work with the PMP.

 

[super max]

Can Parking Mode be electrically disabled in a fail safe manner by hardwiring both yellow & red wires to ACC power?

There's no way to fully disable parking mode in a BlackVue dash camera at this time. You can obtain power from an accessory powered source and that will effectively cause the native parking mode to be disabled (just like powering the dash cam with the cigarette power port adapter), but motion based parking mode cannot be disabled in the current BlackVue firmware. When the vehicle is stationary for 5-minutes (if power is still being provided to the dash cam), it will enter parking mode no matter how it's powered.

Yes, that's what I'm referring to, can I use the BV Hardwiring Cable with both Yellow & Red wires connected to accessory power to disable Parking Mode completely?
There would be no connection to the battery, just to accessory power.

I'm concerned about the situation the OP described where Parking Mode is turned OFF in settings, but a hardwired connection to the battery could still discharge the battery with engine off.

 

[StrayCam]

Yes, that's what I'm referring to, can I use the BV Hardwiring Cable with both Yellow & Red wires connected to accessory power to disable Parking Mode completely?
There would be no connection to the battery, just to accessory power.

I'm concerned about the situation the OP described where Parking Mode is turned OFF in settings, but a hardwired connection to the battery could still discharge the battery with engine off.

Once again no, you cannot connect both wires ( red and yellow) to the accessory power. If you do so, your dashcam will not work.

I would assume you could install a switch on the yellow wire (constant power) and turn that switch off to disable your dashcam and parking mode. I believe that would work.

 

[rcg530]

Yes, that's what I'm referring to, can I use the BV Hardwiring Cable with both Yellow & Red wires connected to accessory power to disable Parking Mode completely?
There would be no connection to the battery, just to accessory power.

I'm concerned about the situation the OP described where Parking Mode is turned OFF in settings, but a hardwired connection to the battery could still discharge the battery with engine off.

@super max as I stated before you can connect the yellow and red wires to one power source and that power source can be an accessory (switched) power source. When the accessory power source is turned off, the power to the battery (yellow) wire will be turned off and the DR900X Plus will power down using the charge in the supercapacitor to gracefully shutdown the dash cam.

Once again no, you cannot connect both wires ( red and yellow) to the accessory power. If you do so, your dashcam will not work.

I would assume you could install a switch on the yellow wire (constant power) and turn that switch off to disable your dashcam and parking mode. I believe that would work.

@StrayCam I have to disagree with your statement that the dash cam (DR900X Plus) will not power up if both the red and yellow wires are connected to a power source that is an accessory (meaning switched) power source. My statement in the previous section of this thread was that if the dash cam is hardwired with the 3-wire harness and if power is restored to the battery power (yellow) wire, but not the accessory power (red) wire, the DR900X Plus dash cam will not power up because the accessory power source is missing in that situation. If both the yellow and red wires have power restored at the same time from an accessory (switched) power source, the DR900X Plus will power up.

The X Plus series dash cams provide a cigarette power port adapter that in fact does just that, it takes the one power source from the power port socket the power adapter is plugged into and it provides that power to the battery and accessory power circuits inside of the dash cam.

I have this exact situation setup in my dash cam test vehicle. I have a DPST toggle switch (one circuit for the battery power and one circuit for the accessory power) and all of the X Plus series dash cams that I power after that switch successfully boot up and run correctly. My filming studio's DC power supply also operates in this same manner. The 12-volt power output from the DC power supply is cabled so that both the yellow and red wires both get their power from that one power source. I just happen to have an inline toggle switch in the accessory (red) wire of the BlackVue 3-wire hardwiring harness so I can simulate the accessory power turning on/off so I can enter/exit native parking mode as necessary during my testing. This does work.

I know you are aware of this exception... those who are using Blackvue's Power Magic Pro kit (PMP) with a DR750X 2Ch LTE PLUS (and I assume the non-plus version) can turnoff parking mode by simply pressing a button. When the PMP is turned off and the car is turned-off, the dashcam is completely off, including of course parking mode. - - Unfortunately, I don't think other new, current Blackvue models will work with the PMP.

The Power Magic Pro (PMP) only has a 2-wire connector supplying power to the dash cam. The PMP itself has three wires connected to the vehicle to so it can detect when the vehicle's engine is on or off. You can turn off "Parking Mode" power by turning off the toggle switch so the PMP knows to stop feeding power to the 2-wire connector connected to the dash cam when the vehicle's engine (accessory power) is off. With the PMP's parking mode switch set to off, you're essentially making the PMP provide power to the dash cam like the dash cam was connected to an accessory based power source.

 

[Ralph2]

I have this exact situation setup in my dash cam test vehicle. I have a DPST toggle switch (one circuit for the battery power and one circuit for the accessory power) and all of the X Plus series dash cams that I power after that switch successfully boot up and run correctly. My filming studio's DC power supply also operates in this same manner. The 12-volt power output from the DC power supply is cabled so that both the yellow and red wires both get their power from that one power source. I just happen to have an inline toggle switch in the accessory (red) wire of the BlackVue 3-wire hardwiring harness so I can simulate the accessory power turning on/off so I can enter/exit native parking mode as necessary during my testing. This does work.

But does it work if in the firmware settings you have parking mode turned off? I am suspecting not. After establish normal operation (firmware parking turned off) if I disconnect the battery power the camera will not start. I have since turned the firmware parking setting on and will see in a day or so if I now, disconnect the battery power what happens. I am suspecting that like rcg530's test bench it will work independent of battery power.
BUT.. in this process I also found a disturbing peculiarity. It seems the only way to change the firmware is to pull the SD card and use the Blackvue PC viewer. So,one can not "toggle" parking mode with a smartphone or tablet.

 

[rcg530]

But does it work if in the firmware settings you have parking mode turned off? I am suspecting not. After establish normal operation (firmware parking turned off) if I disconnect the battery power the camera will not start. I have since turned the firmware parking setting on and will see in a day or so if I now, disconnect the battery power what happens. I am suspecting that like rcg530's test bench it will work independent of battery power.
BUT.. in this process I also found a disturbing peculiarity. It seems the only way to change the firmware is to pull the SD card and use the Blackvue PC viewer. So,one can not "toggle" parking mode with a smartphone or tablet.

This morning, I tested my DR900X-2CH Plus dash cam.

• DR900X-2CH Plus
• Firmware 1.007
• BlackVue Android app v3.33
• Battery (yellow) / Accessory (red) power leads connected to same switched power source

I was able to successfully update the "Parking Mode" setting from "Time-lapse" to "Off" using the BlackVue app. I updated the parking mode setting, backed out to the upper level where BlackVue app prompted me with the "Save" button on the bottom on the screen and I clicked on "Save". I then heard the DR900X Plus state "settings have been changed". I disconnected from the DR900X Plus dash cam and exited the app. I fully powered down the DR900X-2CH Plus by shutting off the power and it gracefully powered down.

• Test Config
  • Parking Mode = Off
  • Battery Protection = Enabled
  • Battery (yellow) / Accessory (red) power leads connected to same switched power source

I waited about 15 seconds and then turned on the power (again with yellow/red wires tied together) and the DR900X-2CH Plus powered up. I used the BlackVue app and confirmed that the "Parking Mode" setting was still set to "Off". I cannot reproduce your inability to change the "Parking Mode" setting via the BlackVue app.

I then updated the "Battery Protection" setting to "Disabled", saved the firmware settings and then powered down the DR900X-2CH Plus dash cam.

• Test Config
  • Parking Mode = Off
  • Battery Protection = Disabled
  • Battery (yellow) / Accessory (red) power leads connected to same switched power source

I waited 15 seconds and then turned on the power and the DR900X-2CH Plus powered up successfully.

Please remember the hardwiring harness yellow and red wires being tied together is just like using the 12-volt cigarette port adapter to power the dash cam. The 12-volt power obtained from the cigarette power port is supplied to the two different connector rings on the power connector plug that plugs into the dash cam.

I ran one last test by swapping out the 3-wire hardwiring harness that had the yellow and red wires tied together for the BlackVue provided 12-volt cigarette port power adapter.

• Test Config
  • Parking Mode = Off
  • Battery Protection = Disabled
  • BlackVue 12-volt cigarette port power adapter used to power dash cam

The DR900X-2CH Plus powered up successfully.

 

[Ralph2]

This morning, I tested my DR900X-2CH Plus dash cam.

• DR900X-2CH Plus
• Firmware 1.007
• BlackVue Android app v3.33
• <snip>

Wow.. and thanks for going the extra mile with your "testing". However:
My setup/installation does not do what yours does.
For the last few day I have been running with the parking mode on with the timer set to (1) hour. Camera seems to be working perfectly
.
Engine off, Camera off (due to 1 hour timer). I disconnect the yellow supply line. I start engine and the camera does not start. I try to connect camera to iPad and camera is not found. With car still running I plug the yellow supply line back in. Camera starts immediately.
So, my previous thought about this being caused by my setting the parking mode off is/was wrong, it makes no difference. But the bottom line is that without the yellow (battery) line connected my camera will not work. And thus a mechanical switch would not work either (but be a darn sight easier to run tests ;-))
Firmware version V1.007 BlackVue viewer (on iPad) V 3.30_3216
I see that my version of the viewer is not the latest, have since updated but doubt this will make a difference. Perhaps, I have one semi-broken camera??
Again, thanks for your involvement.
Cheers
Ralph

 

[rcg530]

Wow.. and thanks for going the extra mile with your "testing". However:
My setup/installation does not do what yours does.
For the last few day I have been running with the parking mode on with the timer set to (1) hour. Camera seems to be working perfectly
.View attachment 60372
Engine off, Camera off (due to 1 hour timer). I disconnect the yellow supply line. I start engine and the camera does not start. I try to connect camera to iPad and camera is not found. With car still running I plug the yellow supply line back in. Camera starts immediately.
So, my previous thought about this being caused by my setting the parking mode off is/was wrong, it makes no difference. But the bottom line is that without the yellow (battery) line connected my camera will not work. And thus a mechanical switch would not work either (but be a darn sight easier to run tests ;-))

I agree that without the yellow wire BATT(+) power wire connected, none of the BlackVue X Plus series dash cameras that use the 3-wire hardwiring harness for power will run/boot up.

BlackVue's color choices for their wiring harness wires are a bit different than many other dash camera vendors.

• BlackVue 3-Wire Hardwiring Harness
  • Yellow Wire= Battery power : BATT(+) on wire label
    • The power provided on this wire is what the BlackVue dash cam uses to power the dash camera
  • Red Wire= Accessory Power : ACC(+) on wire label
    • The switched (accessory) power provided on this wire is used only to indicate to the BlackVue dash camera whether the vehicle's engine is running or not running
    • Power on this wire alone will not power a BlackVue dash cam using the 3-wire hardwiring harness
  • Black Wire = Ground : GND on wire label
• Many "Other" Dash Cameras
  • Red Wire = Battery power
    • The power provided on this wire is what the dash cam or 12-volt to 5-volt USB power adapter uses to power the dash camera
  • Yellow Wire = Accessory Power
    • The switched (accessory) power provided on this wire is used only to indicate to the dash camera or 12-volt to 5-volt USB power adapter whether the vehicle's engine is running or not running
    • In most if not all cases, the power on this wire will not power the dash cam
  • Black Wire = Ground

The 3-wire compatible BlackVue dash cams will require power to be present on the yellow and red wires to have the dash cam power up. Just providing power to the yellow wire BATT(+) will not allow the DR900X Plus dash cam to boot.

The 12-volt cigarette power port adapter supplied with the X Plus series dash cameras that support a 3-wire hardwiring harness, have the same 3 connector plug that plugs into the dash cam's power port. The BlackVue cigarette port plug sends 12-volt power obtained from the vehicle's cigarette power port to both the BATT(+) and ACC(+) wires inside of the cabling. All the dash cam sees is that power appears on both connectors on the power plug plugged into the dash cam, so it boots up at that point.

Firmware version V1.007 BlackVue viewer (on iPad) V 3.30_3216

I see that my version of the viewer is not the latest, have since updated but doubt this will make a difference. Perhaps, I have one semi-broken camera??

According to the BlackVue download page for the 1.007 firmware, your iOS app version is too old to be compatible with the 1.007 firmware. I would suggest upgrading your iOS app version and see if that helps resolve setting firmware settings in the dash cam.

※ Compatible software versions:
BlackVue App: Android v3.33 / iOS v3.31 and up.
BlackVue Viewer: Windows v3.10 / Mac v3.11 and up.
BlackVue Web Viewer (Cloud)

 

[kamkar]

Entering parking mode like that after some time on inactivity is or at least was quite common in the old days, my very first proper 1080p dashcam the Lukas LK-7500 did this too.
And that was just powered by the 12 V socket in the dashboard.

 

[Ralph2]

I agree that without the yellow wire BATT(+) power wire connected, none of the BlackVue X Plus series dash cameras that use the 3-wire hardwiring harness for power will run/boot up.

BlackVue's color choices for their wiring harness wires are a bit different than many other dash camera vendors.
<snip>
The 3-wire compatible BlackVue dash cams will require power to be present on the yellow and red wires to have the dash cam power up. Just providing power to the yellow wire BATT(+) will not allow the DR900X Plus dash cam to boot.
<snip>
According to the BlackVue download page for the 1.007 firmware, your iOS app version is too old to be compatible with the 1.007 firmware. I would suggest upgrading your iOS app version and see if that helps resolve setting firmware settings in the dash cam.

※ Compatible software versions:
BlackVue App: Android v3.33 / iOS v3.31 and up.
BlackVue Viewer: Windows v3.10 / Mac v3.11 and up.
BlackVue Web Viewer (Cloud)

So, I if I am reading this right, a switch in the yellow (battery) wire will not work. And yet it (switched) seems to work on your test bench.. ???????????
The iOS that I had did seem to work but I have updated it, however have not yet tried it out.

 

[rcg530]

So, I if I am reading this right, a switch in the yellow (battery) wire will not work. And yet it (switched) seems to work on your test bench.. ???????????
The iOS that I had did seem to work but I have updated it, however have not yet tried it out.

A switch just in the yellow wire (BATT+) will allow you to control when the dash cam is powered down because that is the wire that powers the dash cam.

To get the dash cam to power up, both the yellow and red wires will need to have power. Many of the posts in this thread were discussing whether the yellow and red wires could be tied together and provided power from an accessory powered fuse socket. The answer to that is yes that works! You could source the power from an accessory power source and put a switch inline that sends power to both the yellow and red wires. That way you can make sure the power won’t be available to the dash cam with the switch off.

A switch only in the yellow wire will work if the red wire is connected to accessory power. If you turn off the switch in the yellow wire, the dash cam will power down. If you turn of the ignition switch then the red wire will lose power as well.

When you return to your vehicle and you turn on the switch in the yellow wire, the dash cam will not power up until the red wire’s accessory power source is turned on by turning on the vehicle‘s ignition switch to turn on accessory power.

What exactly is the desired behavior you’re looking to implement by using a switch and whether you want native parking mode, motion based parking mode or no parking mode?

 

[Ralph2]

With my old 650 the Power Magic Pro it allowed me to switch between parking and regular operation. I was hoping to create the same condition with my new DR900X-2CH Plus. For me, parking mode is something I would not normally want, the vehicle is in a garage unless I am actively driving it. I would like the option to turn parking mode on/off. On those rare occasions when I might leave the car unattended for some time.

Thus the switch in the yellow battery line idea. However in testing, by pulling the fuse (effectively creating an off/on switch) I have found the camera will not power up if the yellow line is not connected. Initially I thought that perhaps because I had set the firmware parking to off this was the cause of the camera not powering up, however I have since tested with the parking mode on and it makes no difference.

And, in line with the mechanical switch, I don't trust the electronics to save me from a flat battery and would prefer a mechanical disconnect

I have since, also found that I can change the firmware settings to toggle off/on parking, which would do what I want.. but it is far more convoluted than a mechanical toggle switch. However it seems that is the only workable option at the moment.

Thanks for staying involved
Cheers

 

[super max]

Ralph, I share your concern about a parking mode failure causing a depleted battery. I think the easiest solution, and also failsafe, is to use a mechanical SPDT switch wired as follows:

• Hardwire the Red wire so it is always connected to an Accessory fuse that switches on/off with the ignition.
• Wire the Yellow wire so that the SPDT switch connects it to an always ON fuse (battery) in #1 position, and to the Accessory fuse (with the Red wire) in #2 position.

Switch position #1 enables Parking Mode (Red -> Acc, Yellow -> Battery).
Switch position #2 disables Parking Mode(Red -> Acc, Yellow -> Acc). The camera only powers up when the key is ON, and power is completely removed from the camera when the key is OFF.