Cigarette port always on - can I charge the A229 Plus on the USB-C port?

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TranquilWillow

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So I recently purchased and installed the A229 Plus, loving it so far. I've plugged the dash cam to the cigarette port of my car, then I found out that for my car, the cigarette port is ALWAYS on even when the engine is off.
Now of course I am very concerned about the dash cam draining the car battery. Im wondering, besides having to plug/unplug the dash cam each time, can I charge it to the USB/USB-C port? I know those ports are off when the engine is off.

Thank you.
 
TranquilWillow said:
Im wondering, besides having to plug/unplug the dash cam each time, can I charge it to the USB/USB-C port? I know those ports are off when the engine is off.
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Welcome.

You can try it. If there is enough current in the USB output, then the A229 Plus will work. If not, it will most likely reboot.
 
Karagandinez said:
Welcome.

You can try it. If there is enough current in the USB output, then the A229 Plus will work. If not, it will most likely reboot.
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Thank you. I’m going to try it but I worry it might lead to some damages to the dash cam, or void the warranty or something….. has anyone else tried it yet?
 
I use one of these which had an on/off button. Amazon US will have one :-

CHGeek 120W 3-Socket Cigarette Lighter Adapter, 12V/24V DC Outlet Splitter with 6.8A 4 USB Ports Multi-Function Power Car Charger Grey https://amzn.eu/d/9o0qCbC
 
TranquilWillow said:
Thank you. I’m going to try it but I worry it might lead to some damages to the dash cam, or void the warranty or something….. has anyone else tried it yet?
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It will not do any permanent damage to the dashcam. Worst that might happen is it needing a firmware reinstall.

If you have a 3 channel camera, I wouldn't recommend it, for 1 channel I would expect it to work fine. It does depend on the power source, which will be different in every car, it will either work fine, or have problems.

As for warranty, if it starts misbehaving, don't blame the camera, and don't expect support until you give it a recommended power source.

If it doesn't work out then look at installing the Viofo hardwire kit, then you can also choose to use a bit of parking mode when parked in untrusted places.
 
Nigel said:
It will not do any permanent damage to the dashcam. Worst that might happen is it needing a firmware reinstall.

If you have a 3 channel camera, I wouldn't recommend it, for 1 channel I would expect it to work fine. It does depend on the power source, which will be different in every car, it will either work fine, or have problems.

As for warranty, if it starts misbehaving, don't blame the camera, and don't expect support until you give it a recommended power source.

If it doesn't work out then look at installing the Viofo hardwire kit, then you can also choose to use a bit of parking mode when parked in untrusted places.
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Thank you. I have 2 channel front/rear. I guess I just need to give it a try and see....
 
TranquilWillow said:
So I recently purchased and installed the A229 Plus, loving it so far. I've plugged the dash cam to the cigarette port of my car, then I found out that for my car, the cigarette port is ALWAYS on even when the engine is off.
Now of course I am very concerned about the dash cam draining the car battery. Im wondering, besides having to plug/unplug the dash cam each time, can I charge it to the USB/USB-C port? I know those ports are off when the engine is off.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
If you have got the dashcam at the top of the windscreen, then you must have a trailing wire from it down to the cigarette port which must be annoying?

It's always best to have it hardwired to the battery. You've then got hidden wires to the front and back and parking mode can be used without worrying about the battery.
 
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