How do i turn a 12v lithium iron phosphate battery into a dashcam battery? How do i charge the battery with a 2019 toyota camry hybrid?

skittles9919

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Hello. This is my first time posting here on the community. I have tried doing countless hours of research, but I still have not figured out how to set this up with a hybrid vehicle. My camry doesn't have a 12v battery nor does it have an alternator. I have read articles talking about how to set the battery up, but doing it while attaching it to the main car battery. I also want to use this iron phosphate battery i found, although it's positive and negative look much different from the batteries in cars.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07Q7FY8CC

Before I start throwing my money around, I want to gain knowledge from the intellects. Thank you for reading this. I am super stumped and your information will only help.
 
although a lot more expense involved the Cellink Neo is the practical solution to parking mode for vehicles where you can't power cameras from the vehicle when it's not running
 
I prefer using a set up i can make for under $100 than the neo. For example, i build better lighting systems for grow rooms than money can buy. I do it for hundreds less for better quality.
 
I prefer using a set up i can make for under $100 than the neo. For example, i build better lighting systems for grow rooms than money can buy. I do it for hundreds less for better quality.
in a vehicle without a 12v battery and no alternator how to manage the charge becomes a headache, not impossible, but not straightforward either
 
Edited to remove wrong info I posted. Thanks to Jokiin for setting things straight (y)

Phil
 
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If there's an OBD2 diagnostic port, there should be 5VDC available there which is what most dashcams use. Not sure if that is a 'switched' source though, so you might have to turn the cam on and off manually to use it,

Phil
the port is 12v, low amperage also, powering a camera while driving isn't an issue, it's just about trying to do parking mode where things get challenging
 
Yes. Parking mode. I think I may need to call the Toyota service people in my city to ask them what to look for. Having a hybrid as an Uber driver is clutch, but things like jumping a car or attaching a 12v battery are f***king hard. I bought a 30000 mah lithium ion portable that I am hooking up to the blackvue 750s 2ch. Parking mode is necessary or the camera is a pure waste. I don't want to install the power magic pro to my hybrid battery as it costs $3500 to replace when the battery dies.
 
It would seem that there would be nominal 12VDC somewhere, as car radios, windshield wiper motors, window motors, and such are designed to use this voltage and it wouldn't be economical for a car manufacturer to 'reinvent the wheel' by making special items where standard ones could work equally well. But I have little knowledge of EV's so I could be wrong.

Phil
 
It would seem that there would be nominal 12VDC somewhere, as car radios, windshield wiper motors, window motors, and such are designed to use this voltage and it wouldn't be economical for a car manufacturer to 'reinvent the wheel' by making special items where standard ones could work equally well. But I have little knowledge of EV's so I could be wrong.

Phil
Most of those things would work better at higher volts, a 48V wiper motor would only need a quarter of the weight of copper windings and cabling compared to a 12V wiper motor. That is good both for the build cost and lower fuel consumption due to reduced weight, plus the voltage regulator powering it will only need to cope with 1/4 the amps making it much cheaper. Finding enough 12 volt power for charging something like a Cellink Neo may be a problem on some electric cars.
 
Personally i would go for a #2 battery too, and for sure not another lead / acid battery, the problem is if you go with w lifepo battery you also need a charger for it, and a charger that can also charge it fast, and a charger that accept a 12 V input.
And when charging 2 batteries, your generator in the car only deliver so much Amps, but i dont think that will be much of a problem under normal circumstances, unless you get a OMG hefty charger for the lifepo battery, and that seen silly to do, one that can charge with 15 - 20 A should be fine i would assume.

However the selected battery seem to have a MAX charge rate of 3A, and that seem low though i am not familiar with this kind of "LI" batteries. for sure you will have to drive & charge some in between parking sessions.
The dedicated dashcam power packs seem to charge in between 7 and 9 A, for a fairly rapid charge.
 
Surely there must be a cigarette lighter outlet.. Can you not use that a source to charge your battery pack?? Just a wild thought..
 
Surely there must be a cigarette lighter outlet.. Can you not use that a source to charge your battery pack?? Just a wild thought..
I can, but i don't want to run lithium ion in the winter. I live in eastern Washington and it gan get below 0 in the winter and below freezing from September to early April. I might get a portable iron phoaphate battery, but it is $120. Honestly, seems the easiest to set up, but having the 2nd battery must make it last a longer period of time
 
Most of those things would work better at higher volts, a 48V wiper motor would only need a quarter of the weight of copper windings and cabling compared to a 12V wiper motor. That is good both for the build cost and lower fuel consumption due to reduced weight, plus the voltage regulator powering it will only need to cope with 1/4 the amps making it much cheaper. Finding enough 12 volt power for charging something like a Cellink Neo may be a problem on some electric cars.
By the way you word this, it sounds like my camera would run better on my hybrid. The camera takes up a max of 350 miliamps and only needs 2 to 4 watts. Given that my battery recharges faster than a normal car, then maybe its better to run it off my hybrid. I hear they have a section of the battery dedicated to 12v supply. Must be where all the energy to run the electric, like wipers, windows, and door locks. And I assume I won't have to worry about my battery dying like a normal gasoline alternator engine powered vehicle
 
By the way you word this, it sounds like my camera would run better on my hybrid. The camera takes up a max of 350 miliamps and only needs 2 to 4 watts. Given that my battery recharges faster than a normal car, then maybe its better to run it off my hybrid. I hear they have a section of the battery dedicated to 12v supply. Must be where all the energy to run the electric, like wipers, windows, and door locks. And I assume I won't have to worry about my battery dying like a normal gasoline alternator engine powered vehicle
If you don't want to use parking mode then I would expect to connect the camera to the car 12V power, I would be very surprised if there was not 12V power available somewhere. Finding 12V power while parked might be difficult. Since I know nothing about your particular car, and there don't seem to be any fixed rules for what electric vehicle manufacturers provide and don't provide, I can't help much.

Most dashcams run off 5V power, so you don't need to find 12V, 5V would do, as would 24V since most dashcam power adaptors are happy with 24V because they are made to be compatible with large vehicles that typically use 24V.

You said in the title that it is a hybrid, since hybrids have an internal combustion engine, I think the law says that it must have an OBD socket, and OBD sockets must have 12V power available, normally full time, so can be used for parking mode.
 
If you can do the DIY or can pay someone to do the more deeply involved parts, there are readily available components to convert whatever voltage you have access to down (or up) to what your cams need, and if you can 'tap' the whole car battery that would give years of cam runtime. The downside to this is that taking this approach will most likely have an influence on the car's computers which handle charging and/or operation.

I don't know of any powerbanks which have low-temp charging cutoff, but I do know that such circuitry exists in the form of pre-made boards. LiFePO4 is the safest battery technology for it's size. A good place to learn about this kind of thing is DIY Solar by Wil Prowse on YouTube; he's also got a website. And a Tesla; he's a 'hands-on' kind of guy who knows more about batteries and charging than anyone else I've come across.

Ideal would be if there's a ciggie-lighter socket always on, or perhaps USB charging ports. USB ports can be dicey sources as most can't handle the power draw of a cam. Some car systems are 'always on' with every vehicle so I don't think finding where to tap into that would be much of an issue. It's whether using that makes the car think something is wrong that will be the main potential headache. I'd study where power is drawn for security systems or computer memory retention and then try there first. You may find a car owner's forum where someone has done this or something similar already.

Nearly nothing is impossible given enough thought, money, and effort and the hardest part is always deciding on and then beginning to implement your approach.

Phil
 
A good place to learn about this kind of thing is DIY Solar by Wil Prowse on YouTube; he's also got a website. And a Tesla; he's a 'hands-on' kind of guy who knows more about batteries and charging than anyone else I've come across.
he's very passionate about the whole solar/battery industry
 
he's very passionate about the whole solar/battery industry

And he is brutally honest about the products he tests, even when they're from companies he likes a lot. Plus he has a knack for explaining complex things in a way that the average person can easily understand :cool: Even if you have little interest in the subject, watching this guy do his thing is fascinating and worth the time it takes to watch (y)

Phil
 
The Toyota Hybrid has a 12V battery to start the gasoline engine but the car has a smart alternator with the charge being controlled by the ECU. You will need a Dc-Dc charger to charge your lithium. Get a proper one with a temperature sensor and it will charge at a reduced safe charge until the battery heats up.
 
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