Hardwire fuse kit and cables salvageable?

[SonOfKorhal]

I own a VIOFO A229 Pro 2ch
My vehicle was recently T-boned by a red light runner and declared a total loss. Fortunately the dashcam clearly shows we had right of way.

My dashcam was professionally installed hardwired via fuse kit and the cables were installed/hidden.
I was only able to get the dashcam, sdcard and gps module.
I assume that the fuse kit and cables cannot be retrieved? Possible damage makes it not worth it?

Can @viofo @VIOFO-Support replace them?

As always, thank you in advance for the support and assistance.

 

[Nigel]

If you claim a whole new dashcam, including fitting, from the insurance then there is no need to worry about the cables?
Paying to have the old ones recovered would cost, presumably including a call out, since you can't take the vehicle to the installer, so I think a claim for dashcam replacement and installation would be reasonable. I'm not sure how insurance works in your part of the world though.

I think you can find the cables on the Viofo.com website, probably the mount too if that is missing.
If not then send a request to Viofo Support, they will help.

 

[EricSan]

Sorry to hear about your car. I hope that you escaped with little bodily injury.

If your car has already been declared a total loss, the adjuster has already been there to inspect it. It is usually picked up and transported to auction shortly thereafter. This, I’m assuming you no longer have access to the car. If you do have access for another day or two, pulling cables should be quick and easy, but if the T-bone is on the side where the wires were run, they are likely toast (cut through, pinched, significantly stressed, otherwise damaged). It’s likely better at this point to leave them behind.

If you have receipts for the hardwire kit and professional installation of your dashcam, see if you can get that amount added to the estimate of loss. Then you can get another hardwire kit and have it installed as part of the claim.

 

[jsmith]

I own a VIOFO A229 Pro 2ch
My vehicle was recently T-boned by a red light runner and declared a total loss. Fortunately the dashcam clearly shows we had right of way.

My dashcam was professionally installed hardwired via fuse kit and the cables were installed/hidden.
I was only able to get the dashcam, sdcard and gps module.
I assume that the fuse kit and cables cannot be retrieved? Possible damage makes it not worth it?

Can @viofo @VIOFO-Support replace them?

As always, thank you in advance for the support and assistance.

Personally, if your vehicle was in a serious enough accident to create a total loss, I would submit the receipt for the Dashcam + Installation to the Insurance Company.

Here's my rationale. Any car accident that is serious enough to total a vehicle (unless an older car worth nothing) is likely to have generated a lot of force upon impact, resulting in moderate to severe damage to the vehicle. If your car is in bad shape, and you got jostled around, the Dashcam did, too.

I would swap it out with a new one at the Insurance company's expense. Your old camera did it's job and while it is MOST LIKELY OK, you don't ever want to find out the Camera has a problem when you most need it. Given that the settling the damage part of a claim has a shelf life, it's best just to include the camera in that check.

If allowed to keep the camera, you can always run it as a secondary unit until confident the camera is operating without issue. And then keep as 2nd camera in that car, install in another vehicle, or keep as a spare.

 

[lufa6977]

In the U.S. since a dash cam is not a permanent attachment ( as in factory ) it may not be covered under insurance. The OP will need to consult his insurance company and see if the dash cam is covered.

As to the question of can the wiring be replaced, of course it can. You can also email their support and tell them the camera type and ask what you will need for the front and back dash cams.

Hardwire Kit

 

[jsmith]

In the U.S. since a dash cam is not a permanent attachment ( as in factory ) it may not be covered under insurance. The OP will need to consult his insurance company and see if the dash cam is covered.

As to the question of can the wiring be replaced, of course it can. You can also email their support and tell them the camera type and ask what you will need for the front and back dash cams.

Hardwire Kit

I agree. I imagine it depends on his policy terms and negotiations with Insurance Company. If they won't pay, then he's out of luck on installation and hardwire kit, but it never hurts to ask.

I mean given the circumstances of a car being impacted with enough force to total out the vehicle, there's always a chance electronics could be damage, so if its possible to get a replacement, it's always recommended.

 

[LateralNW]

@jsmith - I agree.
@SonOfKorhal - consider this -

I had a look at the specs of the type of MEMS that might be used in dashcams and it seems a max impact of 15 - 50g will break the sensor (Depending of the sensors specs. Or might break the sensor. Lots of variables)
The other thing to consider is the jarring of the dashcam may strain items that are on the circuit board maybe even creating cracked tracks. This could show up as intermittent problems.
Basically the dashcam may work still but it might start to show intermittent problems outside of the 'normal ones' hehe

so if it goes back into service and odd things start to happen it would probably be time to consider replacing it.

Are you able to show part of the footage? @viofo might be interested in using it to help prove how their dashcams reacted to a side impact when used in the real world.
How knows they might even be able to help you get a new one at a discounted price or something. (I don't have influence but just thought I would put it out there.)

 

[lufa6977]

@jsmith - I agree.
@SonOfKorhal - consider this -

I had a look at the specs of the type of MEMS that might be used in dashcams and it seems a max impact of 15 - 50g will break the sensor (Depending of the sensors specs. Or might break the sensor. Lots of variables)
The other thing to consider is the jarring of the dashcam may strain items that are on the circuit board maybe even creating cracked tracks. This could show up as intermittent problems.
Basically the dashcam may work still but it might start to show intermittent problems outside of the 'normal ones' hehe
.
.

To give that a perspective, a person at approximately 160 pounds, belted in, going 30 MPH/48 KPH, strikes an stationary object head on...generates about 30g of force. It goes much higher if occupant is not belted in.

While a dash cam is stationary mounted, usually won't exit the mount during impact, weighs mere ounces/grams, I would think an impact to a car that is strong enough to total the car, could likely damage the inner workings of a dash cam. YMMV of course but it is possible the dash cam is weakened from the impact.

In an earlier post of mine, in another thread concerning a recent impact event that drew a lot of attention, I had mentioned the possibility of the failure of the dash cam to capture video may be due to a temp failure of the CMOS at impact time. A hard jarring of a MEMS can produce temporary and unwanted results.

 

[LateralNW]

Both items will experience the same g-force BUT weight becomes an issue when we're talking about physical impact force.

I've just done a speed learning course on g-forces and that's my understanding now. Lol.

So the dash cam will still register the g-force so it could damage the internals of the chip if it exceeds the specs of said chip.

I agree that a 280lb dude is heavy lol. 160lb is a feather. 😉

 

[SonOfKorhal]

Per my insurance (California), the dashcam and tint do not add value to my vehicle because it is a personal preference.
This was a weird statement, in my opinion, because getting tinted windows when purchasing a vehicle is always more expensive.
Some vehicles, like Tesla, offer sentry mode at an extra cost. This would be comparable to adding a dashcam with parking mode, right? One would think dashcams would increase the value of a vehicle, right?
Another weird statement is that auto insurance does not cover items damaged or stolen in a vehicle (such as cell phones, dashcams, laptops, etc.). These have to be filed as homeowner insurance claims.

 

[lufa6977]

Per my insurance (California), the dashcam and tint do not add value to my vehicle because it is a personal preference.
This was a weird statement, in my opinion, because getting tinted windows when purchasing a vehicle is always more expensive.
Some vehicles, like Tesla, offer sentry mode at an extra cost. This would be comparable to adding a dashcam with parking mode, right? One would think dashcams would increase the value of a vehicle, right?
Another weird statement is that auto insurance does not cover items damaged or stolen in a vehicle (such as cell phones, dashcams, laptops, etc.). These have to be filed as homeowner insurance claims.

I am afraid it has always been that way, for me anyway. Items which are not a factory / permanently attached item are not covered under the auto. Usually covered under home owners insurance, if stipulated so by the policy.

Apartment insurance is another one a lot of people miss out on. If you live in an apartment, the apartment complex does not cover your property, you are expected to carry your own renters insurance.

New wiring is relatively inexpensive in comparison to the A229 Pro. You could get new cable ( if you don't use the old ) and set the dashcam up in your home for testing. If happy with it, then put the dash cam into the next car.

 

[JimSar]

Putting things in perspective, the dashcam has "saved" the OP, proving that he was not at fault. The hardwire kit is probably $25, so under the "totaled" situation, it's probably more practical to just buy a new one rather than try to salvage the one in the wreck. The trouble alone may not be worth it.