Horrible night video quality, serious low temp issue

[Flyer888]

Was thrilled thinking I was able to record my whole trip to Vegas and Grand Canyon, but very disappointed with the night quality. Road signs and license plates are completely blinded by any light source. Lots of noise too - but I can tolerate this one. Daytime recordings are great, though.

On top of that, looks like this dashcam is very sensitive to a slightly low temperature. It was around 35-40F (2-4C) degrees and it won't record anything (only the white power LED is on, everything else including the screen stays off). I had to plug it off from the power, put it right in front of the my heater for a min, and plug it back in to get it working again. And of course I have to do this every time I'm back to my car. Very annoying. The user manual says that it should be able to operate normally at as low as -10C.

This is a SG9665GC V2, newest firmware beta 27, untouched video default settings.

What settings should I tweak to resolve the first issue?

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Reflective plates and signs at night are tough. This long time thread explains more.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...n-overexposure-hid-xenon-standard-bulbs.1444/

Here is a recent post asking about the same thing.
(See 2nd page, scroll down)
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/just-picked-up-the-9665-v3-first-impressions.25899/page-2

What power supply are you using? Switched ACC or Un-Switched BAT always on circuit via hard wire?

What memory card are you using?

 

[jokiin]

update to the latest firmware for a start

it's well within temp limits, what memory card are you using?

are you using the included power lead?

 

[Flyer888]

For the power supply, I hardwired it using this https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00L3XXRI0 which gives power only when the car ignition is on (my car doesn't have acc mode).
For the memory card, I'm using Samsung Evo+ 128GB.

Isn't the last firmware the beta 27? I'm just using what posted in the first page of this thread https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sg9665gc-firmware-updates-and-pre-release-access.16310/
Is there a newer version?

 

[Street Guardian USA]

That doesn't seem like a high quality power supply. Power supply is always suspect when you get a white light. Cheap 3rd party power supplies are known to fail faster in extreme temps as well.

If possible, try running a week or two with the included factory cig adapter as a test.

That thread always has the latest beta posted.

 

[jokiin]

Samsung card should be fine for those temps, the power supply you are using is more likely to be the culprit

Download the latest firmware from the support page of our website

 

[Street Guardian USA]

You can (DIY project) turn your included cigarette power adapter into a high quality hard wire kit if needed by the way.

 

[Flyer888]

Believe me, at first, I was also suspecting the power supply. I trusted the dashcam should be able to live up to its name.
However, I did occasionally plug off the dashcam during the night and bring it indoor (therefore, a normal temp 15-20C) with me to move the data from the memory card to my computer. The next chilly morning I went back to my car and plug it back, the dashcam was immediately running fine. This has given me a conclusion that the power supply is not faulty, but rather the dashcam itself... Also note that this issue never happens on normal temp. If it's a faulty power supply, this issue must've happened at least once during normal temp.

 

[Deacon]

Well, to be fair, if the power supply is developing intermittent faults over time, outside temps may just be a coincidence.

 

[thancam]

Believe me, at first, I was also suspecting the power supply. I trusted the dashcam should be able to live up to its name.
However, I did occasionally plug off the dashcam during the night and bring it indoor (therefore, a normal temp 15-20C) with me to move the data from the memory card to my computer. The next chilly morning I went back to my car and plug it back, the dashcam was immediately running fine. This has given me a conclusion that the power supply is not faulty, but rather the dashcam itself... Also note that this issue never happens on normal temp. If it's a faulty power supply, this issue must've happened at least once during normal temp.

Your power supply is fail when it's very cool. Simple.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

The cheap 3rd party power supplies are known to fail when temps are extreme. I wouldn't use the one you have. The behavior you describe fits other customers experience exactly even using other cameras