Engine Stop/Start Causing Cam to Switch Off

Bada Bing

New Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Messages
17
Reaction score
2
Country
United Kingdom
I recently had the Mini hard wired into my car (BMW 5 series). The parking guard function works fine and I even managed to get most of my DAB radio channels back by adding several ferrite snap-ons to the rear camera cable.

The only issue I have is that when the car engine auto switches off when I'm stationary in traffic, the Mini powers off completely after approximately 5-10 seconds. It then powers on again a few seconds after the engine switches back on and car starts moving. For obvious reasons, this cycle gets annoying when I'm in traffic and more importantly will make having the camera redundant if I'm involved in a collision.

The camera works fine if I disable the stop/start engine function but I'd rather use it to cut my fuel consumption and car emissions. The other option I've tried is to connect the camera using the lighter socket when driving, which doesn't cause any issues when I use the stop/start function. I then switch back to the hard wire connection when I want to use the parking guard.

At the moment I'm considering getting the lighter socket wire properly installed so I can use both power connections. Would it be fine if I connected the front cam to both the hard wire and lighter socket at the same time via the two micro USB connectors or is it best practice to switch between one or the other?

If anyone has a better suggestion to solve the stop/start issue, I'd love to hear it.
 
Well, technically you can wire the lighter socket and hardwire at the same time since they are suppose to coming from the same 12V supply (the battery). So in theory, if the hardwire and lighter socket are both active, both should have the same voltage. But, since the hardwire will go from 12V to 5V to supply the CAM and the lighter socket will also be 12V to 5V( assuming there is a USB charger), most likely the two 5V will not be of the same voltage level. In the worse case scenario, the voltage difference between the two 5V could cause a short which could burn out the hardwire or the USB charger.

To be better safe than sorry, a mechanical switch which can be use to switch between the 12V on the hardwire to the 12V on the lighter socket would be the best route. That is what I did on one of my car to allow turning on/off the parking guard using a mechanical switch instead of going through the OSD on the CAM.
 
Thanks Tinman. I'd rather take the safe option and avoid the risk of the short circuit :) I guess I can always manually switch between the connectors, as a last resort.

I found the instructions you posted on this thread and will run it by the installer I used: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/hardwire-kit-never-power-off-0906.31067/page-2

He initially suggested using a diode to power the camera through both the hardwire and lighter socket but I've no idea what that entails. It sounded complicated! Could that option work or does it increase the risk of a short circuit?
 
The hardwire kit must be connected to the wrong place(s). It needs a power source that doesn't turn off just because the engine is not running. Probably just needs the fuse tap moved to a different fuse slot, but being a BMW, I wouldn't want to advise which!
 
He initially suggested using a diode to power the camera through both the hardwire and lighter socket but I've no idea what that entails. It sounded complicated! Could that option work or does it increase the risk of a short circuit?
The diode would be wired in series with one of the power wire to prevent current from flowing in the opposite direction, which would help prevent a short circuit from forming. It's not a 100% protection since there is a possibility of an reverse bias condition forming causing an avalanche effect which would cause a short circuit. It's pretty rare to see that happening, but there is a slight chance. If you decide to use a diode, make sure it can handle a minimum of 1A current flow.
 
Ive been having that issue ever since i bought my cam, still no solution to it.
 
Thats a neat kit @Rayman.Chan
Whats the price going to be on it ?
 
Hi having just installed a mini 0906 this is just the item to solve the stop/start issue, Question when is this going to be available and secondly how much will it be, thanks @Rayman.Chan
 
Although the idea battery pack is tempting, I do question the longevity of it. Lithium-ion batteries in general does not like to be discharge to empty, which will probably happen is used to power the CAM overnight. With the high probability of constant discharge to near empty state, the life and mAh will decrease dramatically.
 
a 20000mAh (70Wh) battery pack will power a 2W camera for more than 30 hours (for 0906 it can only be 20hours)
and I believe you don't need to full discharge it everytime everyday
 
Back
Top