ECOFLOW and Viofo

Thank you for sharing this.
 
GPak, your data with the Viofo A229 Plus, 2ch, Low-Bit-Rate recording matches my data with Viofo's A139 Pro in 2-ch parking mode with low bit rate recording. Guess they use similar engines for the camera and mpg encoding.
 
Can you not just buy a usb c (or A) to cig lighter and just plug it in through usb rather than cig lighter socket on the river 2?
 
I never looked for one, but I’d kinda be surprised to see one of those. USB connectors are usually very low power. Cigarette Lighter ports are typically much higher current draw. Look around and see what you can find…
 
Shiwarrior said:
Can you not just buy a usb c (or A) to cig lighter and just plug it in through usb rather than cig lighter socket on the river 2?
Click to expand...
You can get something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0CWLGFNFB

But why? it does not mak any sense.
We need negative and positive wires to splice with the HK4 hardwire cable, and not a cigar socket.
 
Or take a look at the European website for refurbished Ecoflow River:

Official Refurbished EcoFlow Products

Refurbished and Rigourously Tested. Like-new products with guaranteed savings. Save up to 1120 €!
eu.ecoflow.com eu.ecoflow.com

For refurbished Ecoflow River 2, Max and Pro versions. Member only for the cheapest price.
 
@GPak - thanks for the video and testing. For your video setup, you're charging from the cig lighter on your power supply to battery. I'm assuming it's bridging ground there to the usb-c connector for dashcam? What if you use the xt60 connectors to charge instead. My quick testing on a river 2 seems that the rear xt60 ground is isolated from the usb-c. I'll know better once the xt60 connectors I ordered come in.

If that's the case, i'm assuming i'd have to bridge the usb-c ground to vehicle ground in order for acc to take it out of parking mode?

Thanks!
 
KevinV916 said:
@GPak - thanks for the video and testing. For your video setup, you're charging from the cig lighter on your power supply to battery. I'm assuming it's bridging ground there to the usb-c connector for dashcam? What if you use the xt60 connectors to charge instead. My quick testing on a river 2 seems that the rear xt60 ground is isolated from the usb-c. I'll know better once the xt60 connectors I ordered come in.

If that's the case, i'm assuming i'd have to bridge the usb-c ground to vehicle ground in order for acc to take it out of parking mode?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
found another thread that answered my question here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ted-options-extra-functionality.49972/page-10
 
All the power stations I have tested so far have a common ground for the input and output ports, some disconnect the ground to turn off.

Yes, for the Ecoflow R2, there is no continuity between the XT-60 input ground and the output port ground, when checking with multi-meter.
However, once the R2 is ON and running, the system works including for ACC trigger wire, which wouldn't work without ground continuity.
I guess, there may be some kind of electronic component in the ground line between input and output ports, like a diode, or a capacitor, or a small resistor, etc.

In any case, the R2 works according to the diagram in this thread.
There is no need to connect the USB-C ground to the vehicle ground.

I currently have the R2 in my Jeep powering a couple of Mini2 dash cams.
I am using a 5V system, meaning I am using the HK4 hardwired kits but have removed the voltage regulators and am powering the dash cams from the USB-A ports, directly feeding 5V to the dash cams, and the yellow ACC trigger wire is powered by USB-A adapter (also 5V) plugged into car's CLA.
At the same time I am charging the R2 with the included XT60 cable.
It works great for Mini 2.

(Note: I am using a 5V system because that is how my Jeep was originally wired. The principle is the same as 12V system)
 
Thanks, Gpak - think I got what I need to do some testing for install. This'll be on a 12v Blackvue.
 
Thank you so much everybody for the thread. Have been reading it since the other thread as well by Gpak. I am trying to set up similar to what posted.

Got a River 2 pro and viofo a229 pro duo. Try connecting everything based on the diagram as suggested. Everything seems fine when the car is started and dashcam recording, however when car ignition is off, dashcam switched to parking mode and powered off within 1 minute plus. Is there anything I am doing wrong here.

Here’s my setup. Original provided 12v cigarette plug to xt 60 cable connected to charge R2 to charge. USBc connected to PS to 12v (pigtail) cut off connected to hk4 hardwire black and red wire. Yellow ACC wire connected to splice xt 60 positive cable.

Anything I done wrong here or missing. Please advise. Much appreciated.
IMG_1446.webp
 
Hi Ben - welcome to the forums! Lot's of great people here to help with questions and setup!

If your wiring is correctly implemented as shown in GPak's image, here are the steps that I would recommend performing:

1- make sure that the River2 is not turning itself off (going into sleep mode) after the car's charging power is removed from the XT-60 input
2- verify the settings in your dashcam to make sure that parking mode is enabled and it's not turning itself off. There may be more than one setting to check here.
3- If both of the above check out (easy and quick) then verify that the River2 is actually continuing to provide12v from the USB-C outlet after the car is turned off . You'll need another USB-C device or a USB plug in meter. Something like this will work great:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07JYVPLLJ
Having an inexpensive digital multi meter, something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01ISAMUA6
is a valuable tool when doing ANY kind of wiring or troubleshooting. Check the menu settings before spending any money - they are free and easy.
 
Just wanted to add to EricSan troubleshooting recomendatios:

Based on your @Ben555 description,
You have done nothig wrong, your system is working properly.
It records in normal mode with ACC power On and switches to parking with ACC power Off.

If all is good with dashcam settings, and R2 settings and functionality, the issu could be with HK4 low voltage cut-off:
It looks like the HK4 voltage regulator is cutting the power to dashcam due to low voltage cut-off setting (it taks up to 1 minute as you reported).
Make sure to set it to 11.8V.
If it is set to 11.8V, check your USB-C to 12V cable to verify it provides 12V+ (not sure what brand you are using).
If it is less than 12V, it could be too close to 11.8V and may get there due to voltage drop in wires, then you may need to use USB-C to 15V variation, that provides wider margin over the low voltage cut-off setting.
 
Ah, I had forgotten about voltage cutoff points. These power stations are usually a bit conservative in their 5.0v and 12.0v outputs so they don't damage expensive devices (phones, tablets) that you plug into them. You are likely to find a 5.0v USB ports actually provides 4.8-4.9v. The same is likely true for a 12v port. Then, throw in a measured 0.2v drop for a 10-12 foot run of 20g wire for the hardwire kit, and your voltage levels are likely being shut off by the 12v to 5v regulator (built in feature to protect your car battery from depletion), or falling below the operational threshold of the camera itself (somewhere near 4.6v if powered without the Viofo regulator).

If your issue is a power station that provides a too-low voltage, you can contact Viofo customer support to order one of their new and "special" 12v to 5v regulators that does not have the battery protection, low-voltage cutoff function. You can message @VIOFO-Support right here on the forums.

Alternatively, you can "build your own" 5v regulator for your camera with two of these adjustable regulators:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07F24WGBB
With an adjustable regulator, you can dial in the output voltage level to account for cable loss, so there is never a problem.
 
Thanks @EricSan & @GPak for the response. I have checked. PS is set to "never" for device timeout so it should stay on at all times. Dash cam parking mode is On and set to low bitrate recording.

I am having a wild guess that could be the low voltage cut off from the USBC cable to HK4 kit (already set to 11.8V yet dash cam still shuts off after 1 minute plus). The cable that I am using now is from amazon USBC PD 65W to 12V DC. See link below.

I am going to get a digital multitester this weekend and new cables USBC PD 65W to 15 & 20V DC arriving Tuesday to see if it works. If dash cam does not shut off on parking mode after ignition is off, it means that the short of voltage that is causing the problem.

If it still does not work, then only I will get as suggested by Eric the 12V to 5V regulator. Hopefully all works out well and I will keep you all posted. Feel free to share if you all think there could be other issues. TIA
 
20V will not work, HK4 will accept voltage above 18V as 24V system and will cut off power considering 20V too low for 24V system.
15V will work.
 
The Ecoflow River3 Plus finally appeared on US Amazon, this is what I was waiting for.
It is 288Wh, has built in light and it has a UPS function of less than 10 milliseconds.
I plan to use it as a UPS for the Internet router and Wi-Fi, and of course, I will test it for the Dashcam use.

The price is $209 (with -$50 coupon) which includes 45W solar panel!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0DCFZ5SLS
 
@Ben555

I have a river 2 pro with a 2CH Blackvue 970x LTE connected up

The dashcam is wired in professionally through the fuse box using their battery back under the seat.

since then, what I've done now, kept this setup, so that when i take the ecoflow out of the car to charge, i still have a working camera in my car.

I then added the Ecoflow into the boot, extended the XT60 cable to reach the one under the seat, i then put an XT60 splitter cable on so both batteries charge at the same time

I then ran the CLA from the camera to the boot, and then instead of using the barrel connector on the Ecoflow (as it pops out sometimes) i bought a USB-C to barrel connector

so all i do now depending on what i need, i now have 2 cables going to the camera, so i can change them when needed

My Ecoflow in the APP says it will NEVER shut off, if you set that it will shut off even though you've got plenty of power left (but your camera may be different)




hope that helps
 
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