Hardwiring dashcam using battery bank

[om2021]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to hard wire my dash cam using a power bank.

I have a Poweradd Pilot X7 power bank which allows for charging passthrough, meaning it can power devices whilst being charged itself. It uses Lithium Polymer batteries inside and has a capacity of 20,000mAh.

I have attached a basic diagram of how i want to wire it all up.



The idea, in theory, is that when the car is off, the dash cam can run constantly, being powered by the power bank, which can last over 24 hours by my calculations. And when the car is turned on, it can charge the battery bank, whilst it also powers the dash cam simultaneously - which is where the charging passthrough comes in. When the battery bank is being charged, there is no disruption to the dash cam's power - so i am not worried about that.

I have done some initial testing and it all works.

My worry is having the battery bank in the car, as I plan to hide it behind panels so that it all looks factory and hidden away. The worry is temperatures. I live in London in the UK, and the weather here is unpredictable at best, and temperatures vary a lot. Temperatures can sometimes in winter be below freezing like we've had for the past few weeks, and can be 25+ degrees C in the summer. Obviously in the car it might be much colder or hotter when the car is not being driven.

Any ideas or thoughts?

Thanks

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @om2021

Your system looks good. As to heat and safety I don't think you should have any concerns where you are, so long as the powerbank isn't seeing any excess heat from a nearby source. Where it might be a problem is with battery life; LiPo's tend to degrade quickly with high heat so the powerbank's service life may be shortened considerably. On the cold, you're good as long as you're not charging it below freezing. Per your diagram you can easily unplug the PS at the cigarette lighter socket if you anticipate freezing before you get back to it, which should be predictable over a day or two's time. Again battery degradation is the effect you'll see charging below freezing, and you do have a degree or two leeway; it's not an absolute limit but best practice to stay above freezing.

If possible I'd like to have the powerbank where it could get some cooling airflow- I wouldn't 'bury it' too deeply. That will also let you have a look at it occasionally to be sure all is well. Under a seat can be a good place for this, or under the dash near an opening. Also do be sure that this powerbank is truly "pass-through" as some which make that claim are not. You'll want to figure out charging time for it and also be aware that without a low-voltage cutoff for the 12V side, you might ends up with a flat battery if parked for too long. You'll have to experiment to get that data due to the many variables involved.

A regular hardwire kit using the car battery can give you several hours parking protection safely and without excessive car battery wear. Unless you need longer runtimes I'd recommend that instead as those do have low-voltage cutoff to protect your car battery.

Phil

 

[om2021]

Hi,
Thank you for this.

to be perfectly honest, I’m not too worried about the batteries life capacity being shortened as I can just replace it, considering it’s not £200+ like the blackvue batteries are.

when you mention having it not buried too deeply for airflow, is that safety related or just for the batteries capacity and life span? I only ask because my plan was to put it near the fuse box of the car, which is under the passenger footwell carpet in my Mercedes. There is enough room for it in there. It wouldn’t have too much air flow though.

i previously had my dash cam wired onto a constantly on circuit on my car, however, I didn’t drive it for about a week and it struggled to turn on. Additionally, because it drains the battery - not so much that it can’t turn on, but enough, the auto start stop function doesn’t work unless I drive it for over an hour, which is fine on most days as I am out and about a lot, but still, it would be nice to have an additional battery, if that makes sense.

Therefore, to be perfectly clear, my only worry for this setup is whether the battery bank batteries may have some sort of expansion or something causing them to combust. As I said, I am not really worried about having its battery life affected, as every two years or so I can just replace it. It the safety and fire hazard I’m worried about. If it’s nothing to worry about then great, but as I have no experience in this area, I would love some input from those which have some knowledge.

Many thanks

 

[SawMaster]

You'll be OK for safety, rest assured. The airflow is just to let the powerbank be cooler in the heat so it will last longer.

Not sure what you had before, but most HWK's have adjustable low-voltage cutoff exactly to prevent the issue you had. There are some where the setting is non-adjustable and too low- you might have had one of those. Just offering workable alternatives, your plan is sound enough and safe

Phil

 

[Nigel]

As I said, I am not really worried about having its battery life affected, as every two years or so I can just replace it. It the safety and fire hazard I’m worried about. If it’s nothing to worry about then great, but as I have no experience in this area, I would love some input from those which have some knowledge.

There doesn't seem to be much evidence of problems when powerbanks are being used like this, and even if it does get warm, it should only result in loss of capacity. The one possibility of trouble is charging the powerbank below freezing, which really shouldn't be done and could possibly result in fire. I don't believe those powerbanks have a low temperature charging cutoff, just a high temperature, so ideally you would add a thermostat to your circuit to cut power below freezing.

Other possible issues are that the powerbank will turn off if your camera doesn't use enough power, so test it with the camera you intend to use, low power cameras may not be successful. And when you cut/apply the power, the output voltage is likely to change, and this may trigger some cameras to shutdown.

 

[NovaBrittania]

Hi everyone,
I wanted to hard wire my dash cam using a power bank.

I have a Poweradd Pilot X7 power bank which allows for charging passthrough, meaning it can power devices whilst being charged itself. It uses Lithium Polymer batteries inside and has a capacity of 20,000mAh.

I have attached a basic diagram of how i want to wire it all up.

View attachment 55463

The idea, in theory, is that when the car is off, the dash cam can run constantly, being powered by the power bank, which can last over 24 hours by my calculations. And when the car is turned on, it can charge the battery bank, whilst it also powers the dash cam simultaneously - which is where the charging passthrough comes in. When the battery bank is being charged, there is no disruption to the dash cam's power - so i am not worried about that.

I have done some initial testing and it all works.

My worry is having the battery bank in the car, as I plan to hide it behind panels so that it all looks factory and hidden away. The worry is temperatures. I live in London in the UK, and the weather here is unpredictable at best, and temperatures vary a lot. Temperatures can sometimes in winter be below freezing like we've had for the past few weeks, and can be 25+ degrees C in the summer. Obviously in the car it might be much colder or hotter when the car is not being driven.

Any ideas or thoughts?

Thanks

Thanks for the post, I am also looking into an alternative to these outrageous dash cam power banks, as I have emergency power jumpers, automotive power banks and had to think if there are alternatives with more control.. your idea is perfect, and I may consider testing on my new Chevy 2022 Silverado 1500 (refresh gen) this summer..

 

[NovaBrittania]

as an example..