Both Car PbSO4 & Cellink Neo Lion Y-Connected via a "Cross" Switch to Dashcams?

peterharvey

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I have a Vicovation Vico Power Plus battery manager, but parking mode is really limited by the car's PbSO4 battery, and constant long term parking diminishes the longevity of the PbSO4 battery.

I also have a dedicated Egen Cellink Neo Lion, but we must remember to switch it off at home and at work, because no point park recording in our garages at home nor at work.
However, we must then remember to switch the Cellink Neo back on when we drive, otherwise it will NOT record when driving!

I could manually wire both the Vico Power Plus and Cellink Neo into the dashcams, but there must be two manual switches.
If both switches are off, the dashcams will not record.
Only one switch should be on at a time - either the PbSO4 or the Lion Neo switch, but NEVER both.
If both switches are on simultaneously, then the PbSO4 will recharge the Lion Neo, or the Lion Neo will recharge the PbSO4 - depending on which has the higher voltage!!!
Obviously, we don't want this to happen.
We want the current to travel to the dashcams, and NOT to the battery with lower voltage.


However, we can manually wire both the Lion Neo and the PbSO4 via a single Bunnings Deta architrave switch on a mounting block.
When the Deta switch is off, the PbSO4 is connected to and powers the dashcam whenever the engine is on; when the engine is off, the PbSO4 will no longer power the dashcams.
However, when the Deta switch is on, the Neo Lion will be connected to and power the dashcams - regardless of whether the engine is on or off!


"Cross" switching?
By cross switching, I don't mean a conventional on/off switch, but a special switch that connects one circuit on, while simultaneously disconnecting the second circuit off, and vice versa - it disconnects the first circuit, while connecting the second circuit.

The secret of the Deta switch is that in the default off position, it will actually connect the PbSO4 to the dashcams, while simultaneously disconnecting the Neo Lion circuit.
When the Deta switch is switched on, the Neo Lion on is now connected to the dashcams, while simultaneously, the PbSO4 circuit is disconnected from the dashcams!


Normally, I would drive in default with the Deta switch off, with the PbSO4 connected to and powering the dashcams - while the engine is on only.
When I park in my garage, it is pointless for me to park and record, so I would leave the Deta switch off, and with the engine off, there is NO power to the dashcams.
When I need to record while parking, eg at a shopping center, then I would switch the Deta on so that the Neo Lion is connected to and powers the dashcam while parking.
When I get back in the car, even if I forget to switch off the Deta, the Neo Lion will continue to power the dashcam while driving.

How does my idea sound?
Will it actually work?



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It works!

Not only that, but the Neo Lion has two output powered wires.
Firstly, the Neo comes packaged with two different types of output cable options.
1) The first output cable consists of only two wires [yellow and black only], and is less than a foot long, and has a female accessory socket at the end.
2) The second output cable option consists of three wires [red, yellow and black], and is about a yard in length, with NO socket at all at the other end.

Now, the:
1) Yellow wire carries power from the Lion battery itself, and
2) Red wire carries switched power from the car's PbSO4 battery.
3) Black wire carries the negative return.

Thus, if we use the Cellink Neo's second output power cable that consists of three wires, especially the red wire supplying switched power, the Vicovation Vico Power Plus can actually be deleted altogether, and switched power can be obtained by the Neo's red output wire carrying switched power to the Bunning's Deta switch!

The only advantage of installing the Vico Power Plus, is that the Vico Power Plus has both PbSO4 fuse box switched and constant input power, such that the Vico can provide constant power for the option of park recording via the car's PbSO4 batter - should the Neo's Lion be flat from long term parking.

I always wanted to combine Vico Power Plus PbSO4 with Neo Lion, but I needed tricky wiring & switching.
Combine both Vico Power Plus PbSO4 and Cellink Neo Lion, and we have the best of both worlds.
PbSO4 Vico Power for default day to day driving, and Lion powered Cellink Neo for park recording.
 
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Here is a photo of my Bunnings Deta switch below.
Notice how there is a spare unconnected red wire supplying switched power from the Cellink Neo lithium ion floating at the bottom of the Deta switch?
Both the Vicovation Vico Power Plus and the Cellink Neo have been connected to this Bunnings Deta switch.

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Switch attached to central console only by Velcro.
Vico Power Plus, 2-Way Splitters Accessory Sockets for 2x Single Channel Dashcams, and associated wires mostly hidden in central console bin.

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I was thinking of adding a switch like this, but I was thinking of just adding a switch for the dashcam (my blackvue doesn't have a switch)

So the way it would work this:

* Overnight, parked at home - dashcam switched off
* When I start up the car in the morning switch on the dashcam
* Parked at work, leave the switch on so the cellink powers the dashcam.
* When I arrive home switch the dashcam off again.

I guess it all depends at which point the switch is toggled and when am I most likely to remember?

I need the dashcam running at the work carpark, and I think I would remember to switch it on if I started my car up and I didn't hear it power on.

If I had it set up like you, I think I might forget to toggle the switch to select the cellink when I parked up at work.

Another thought I've had, does anyone know if the ACC signal on the cellink output is designed to power a dashcam? At the moment I am switching the cellink on/off manually, I assumed the ACC wire was just a signal wire, but if it provides power than I can do what you was originally thinking and have a "parking mode" switch using the 3-wire output.
 
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