Goomeister
New Member
This little story is more for information than anything else. Bought a 322GW last week at my local Halfords so asked them to fit as well. All went well and the tech did a neat job after just over 1hr. I chose the 322GW after reading about it and other people’s recommendations. Also wanted one with a rear window cam and Parking Mode protection. Asked the tech which circuit he piggy backed it on and he said they always use the cigarette lighter. Happy days. Followed the instructions for charging the unit initially and popped it back in but wondered why it was near flat the next morning. Started researching a bit more and eventually got through to Nextbase Technical Support who asked me about the set up I had and he advised that when relying on the units own battery it would last around 1min if I had both front and rear cameras and around 15mins for a front only camera. I said how is Parking Mode going to work then ? He then asked what circuit my unit was wired into and I said an ignition controlled circuit to which he said it needs to be in a permanently live circuit to gain the full benefit of Parking Mode. What prevents flattening of my battery I asked ? and was advised there is voltage protection within the hardwire kit to cut off the dashcam should the car battery voltage drop below 11.2V. I advised that Halfords had wired it in but they never asked me how exactly I would be using it and what functionality I would be requiring. He then proceeded to alert me to the fact that wiring of this unit into an ignition controlled circuit as opposed to a permanent live circuit was something they had seen in the past from a Halfords installation and that they had just not had the correct training or direction from Nextbase. Needless to say, Halfords have now been made aware and Nextbase are also actioning this shortcoming with Halfords. So to anybody who plans a new dashcam installation by Halfords and you want the full Parking Mode functionality please be aware and talk to them first so they know to do the correct installation. Eventually all of Halfords fitting techs will know about this but until they do then it’s worth taking note. How many 322GWs are there out there I wonder fitted like mine was originally with no real Parking Mode functionality ? I don’t assign any blame on Halfords here, if anything it is Nextbase who have fallen short on passing on the full technical requirements to their authorised installers. Mine works great now by the way