G1W-H replace battery with external 18650?

[Andaho]

I've had my G1W-H for a couple months, but the battery is no longer holding it's charge and often dies too early when the ignition is turned off. - causing the file to corrupt.

Rather than just replacing the battery in the cam: I don't like the idea of the battery being heated so much in direct sunlight, so I'm planning to run an extra cable from it to an external 18650 battery that I'll install well out of the sun under the foot-well in the car.

I'm just wondering if the charging circuitry will still work for keeping the charge topped up for a 2600mA 18650 battery? Or if I'll have to periodically have to keep removing the battery to charge it? - the latter would be a pain, because the device loses the time and date when the battery is disconnected!

 

[jokiin]

You'd have to test and see but I'd expect the charge circuit to be inadequate

 

[Andaho]

Thanks jokiin. I'm currently waiting for an 18650 battery holder to be delivered from ebay before I can test it...

Does anyone know if it would be possible/easy to add a charging circuit to the external battery?

- I have a few old e-cig chargers lying around, they look like this: (output 480mA, 4.2V)

If I wired that in parallel at the battery, would that work? or would that cause problems? - of course it will only be powered when the car is running, as well as the dashcam.

 

[Andaho]

UPDATE:

being impatient, not wanting to wait for the 18650 battery holder, I have just taped wires to the battery for now and tested it...

It works!

I did my custom cabling with USB cables, and I have one of these USB volt/current meters: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111392024283
At first, I tried a fully charged 18650, and it showed no signs of charging... which of course it shouldn't anyway... Then I tried with a battery at about 50% (3.68V), and when powered down, it appears to be charging and the USB meter says it's drawing 180mA - so I think that should be enough to keep it topped up!

However, when connecting it up to the USB extension cable in the car, I don't get any charge current coming through, so I think the USB wires are too thin to maintain the power :S But I think it will work when I find a more heavy duty cable to use!

 

[chenrp]

The charging won't work because the cable is too long.
You need to put the battery next to the camera. I use 12v long cable and 12 to 5v converter next to the camera. So it should work for me. I just worry about the heat inside the car...
My battery last max 10 seconds.

 

[Andaho]

The charging won't work because the cable is too long.
You need to put the battery next to the camera. I use 12v long cable and 12 to 5v converter next to the camera. So it should work for me. I just worry about the heat inside the car...
My battery last max 10 seconds.

well, almost 3 years later, and it's still working, lol. so obviously the cable being too long isn't an issue...

EDIT: Just reading what I wrote from 2014 above, I replaced the usb cables with thicker speaker cable to avoid losing the current.

 

[chenrp]

What about the heat inside the car? I'm afraid that we got nearly 80 degrees C in the car and with this 18650 battery... No safe?

 

[Andaho]

What about the heat inside the car? I'm afraid that we got nearly 80 degrees C in the car and with this 18650 battery... No safe?

I'm in the UK, so we don't get it that hot... but you could always test by putting a thermometer where you want to hide the battery?

 

[SawMaster]

You needn't worry about heat and the 18650 as far as safety goes, though it will probably shorten the cell life somewhat. There was an 18650 glashlight in the console of my car when it burned up from an under-hood fire and the light and cell withstood several hundred degrees of heat for several minutes before the cell vented with flames as I watched. Another flashlight enthusiast has tested a light similarly with a propane torch and tool videos of that. Again the 18650 went many minutes at very high temps before it vented. Good to know that someone has tried this and that it works

Phil

 

[chenrp]

Would like 2 c that thread about the heat. Btw i can't put a thermometer, as i need a thermometer with a recording option.

 

[SawMaster]

Would like 2 c that thread about the heat. Btw i can't put a thermometer, as i need a thermometer with a recording option.

Here's the YouTube vid of the propane torch test:

.
And here's a link to the "LiIon Safety" thread at the BudgetLightForum: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/45314
The post about my car fire is #91 and a discussion of heat-related matters follows after that. Anyone who uses LiIon cells should read that thread as it's chock-full of deep knowledge about how to handle them safely from purchase to charging and use to proper disposal when their lifetime is over. Even experienced LiIon users will learn something and it's translated into many languages to make sharing it with your friends easier.

Phil

 

[chenrp]

so what do you reccomend? replace the original battery with another and in a few years again?

 

[dunno dashcam]

Hi andaho, sound like you are happy with the job. I had a similar problem with my Mobius as it was only running for a short while. I bought a new battery delivered for under $8-00 Aud.
It is an upgraded battery as well and now the cam runs for two hours.
later I will run it off a power bank.