Constantly wants to re-format

[knapp7]

Actually, the cord is connected to the car's USB port. While I used the terms "cigarette cord" and "power cord" interchangeably, I did remove Viofo's cigarette power outlet adapter and used the cord's USB end for convenience purposes. It is the only cable I have. The car's USB outlet is simply easier to use than the power outlet. I did manage to stick a couple of thin wires into the end of the mini USB connection(which was very, very difficult btw) , touched them to my volt meter and read 5.3 volts. That looks to reasonable. Never had any issues charging the iPhone in the car either. Also downgraded the firmware to V 2.0 and still get the format warning. It came with V2.1 or 2.01 as I recall. Not sure going to V1.1 will be any better, but may try it when I get back from my trip. Called the retailer from whom I bought the camera and spoke with their tech support people. It was obvious I'm not the only customer calling with this problem. They suggested I downgrade the firmware as well. I spent way more time on this today than I intended, and am out of time now with everything else going on. Thanks to all of you who tried to help. Will unplug the cam for now to keep the wife happy while she's driving the car, and take another shot when I get back in a week.

 

[jokiin]

Actually, the cord is connected to the car's USB port.

this is likely the root cause of your problems, the USB ports built into cars are notorious for this when powering dashcams, use the included adapter

 

[Curtis54]

there are another possibilities for this problem :

1) a bad cmos rechargeable RTC ( real time clock ) battery inside the dashcam, if the battery has a problem then the date and time will be reseted to "2016-01-01 0:00:00" and you will have a format card warning screen,
this problem can occur on some defect models if you don't use often your dashcam ( for example the dashcam is used only one day in a week --> the RTC battery will lose quickly its power )

2) bad capacitors inside the dashcam
some users have noticed that the 2 capacitors inside the dashcam have defects, bad capacitors can trigger weird problems like yours


3) not enough power from the USB port when you tried to flash the firmware, a user has found a workaround by using a phone charger ( 5V, 1A ) for the firmware upgrade

check this thread :

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...gs-are-lost-cmos-battery-problem.26548/page-2

 

[borik]

@knapp7: now we're getting somewhere.
seems like your "convenience purposes" is not your friend.
if you don't like the included cigarette lighter adapter or don't want to use it but in need to get more power off your car get a Bestek or alike.
do you use the key to start the car or a push-button? I remember while using the key in my previous car I would turn the ignition on first for a couple of seconds then start the engine - but I didn't have the camera. who knows what's going on in car's wiring within these seconds.

 

[knapp7]

this is likely the root cause of your problems, the USB ports built into cars are notorious for this when powering dashcams, use the included adapter

Gee Whiz these are temperamental contraptions, sort of like my good-looking, but "high maintenance" wife.

I'll reinstall the adapter and use the cigarette power outlet instead of the USB. Although I had this same problem when the camera was fresh out of the box and I was using the adapter at that time before using the USB. Have installed V1.1 now, and got the format warning upon first engine start. But got no warnings since then with a quick trip to the gas station, so time will tell.

Curtis54 's comments about the RTC caught my eye, as I see "2016-01-01 0:00:00" quite often for the date and time when the format warnings came up, but gave it no further thought at the time.

Once again, thanks everyone. This one's a real head stomper.

 

[jokiin]

Curtis54 's comments about the RTC caught my eye, as I see "2016-01-01 0:00:00" quite often for the date and time when the format warnings came up, but gave it no further thought at the time.
.

if this is happening (I wrongly assumed you didn't have this issue) than that is a problem, when it resets the date it prompts the format, the date resetting means you have a hardware issue though, talk to the seller, your camera needs replacing

 

[knapp7]

Just to close the loop on this post, I did return this A119 to my seller who confirmed the camera had a bad battery or battery cable. They were good enough to let me pay the difference and purchase a different brand.