Installed... BUT What Voltage?

[oo7ml]

Hi,

I have my Power Magic Pro (PMP) installed but i have read sooo many threads on various forms about what voltage setting you should set it too. Most people seem to think 12V is far too low and that your battery would already be in trouble at this stage.

What do you have yours set to, and is it possible to set it to 12.2V?

 

[CDNinHH]

Unfortunately the min you can select for a PMP is 12V. That is why I believe the Lukas units are a better option.
I have mine set for 12v and 12 hours and have not had any trouble, but I agree that if I had the option I would be at 12.2V

I wish I would have read this before buying my PMP: https://dashcamtalk.com/battery-discharge-prevention/

 

[oo7ml]

Thanks. Realistically what is the max amount of hours you would get out of Parking Mode if you set it to 12V without any timer.

 

[CDNinHH]

There are too many variables to be able to say. What does the camera draw? What is the outside air temperature? What is the condition of your cars battery? What is the size of your cars battery?

The only way to know on your specific car and camera combo is to try it and at the end of the 12 hours test the battery voltage.

Sorry, reread your question. You asked at 12V not 12 hours. So, again test after 6 hours and see what voltage you have, if more than 12, test again at 9 hours, then 12 and so on.

 

[oo7ml]

Ok, thanks.

 

[glowstix047]

I'm getting about 4 hours before my kicks in and cuts the power. Resting battery voltage for my car is 12.4 with the PMP on and supplying the dash cam.

Is this normal? Or is my batter a dud (it's been in the car for about 3 years and has atleast needed to be jump started 3 times)? I was expecting the dash cam to stay on longer than 4 hours tbh.

 

[arcticfire]

Mine is set to 11.8V and never had a problem with any of my cars. Currently running two cameras and they stay on all night until the morning. Voltage shows as 12.2V usually and car starts as normal. It's gone down to 11.9V once and started fine also. The battery is eight months old and an AGM type.

 

[oo7ml]

Great, thanks

 

[CDNinHH]

Is this normal? Or is my batter a dud (it's been in the car for about 3 years and has atleast needed to be jump started 3 times)? I was expecting the dash cam to stay on longer than 4 hours tbh.

Not sure what part of Oz you are in and what temps you see but in Thailand if you get 3 years out of a battery you are doing good. Also if you needed a jump 3 times in the past and that was because you ran the battery completely dead then that is a death knell for a car battery. They can not tolerate deep cycles like that.

The best thing to do is take the car to a battery shop or local garage that has a battery load tester, they will be able to tell you the health of the battery, voltage alone is not an indicator.

 

[glowstix047]

Damn I was hoping that wasn't the case, my batter is one of those special expensive ones as my car has an auto start stop system so it'll cost over $400 to replace.

It was on 12.26v this morning and wouldn't start. PMP was on but had already cut the power to the dash cam overnight at 4 hours(12.09V). By hour 5 and 6 it had gone up to 12.3V so I thought it wouldn't have a problem starting this morning.

 

[arcticfire]

My first thoughts was that your battery may be suffering sulfation but if it's an AGM one then they are far less prone to it. You could always try one of those chargers which will help reverse some of this by doing electronic pulsing, I'm sure the best ones are those which can use a range of frequencies because it will target all levels of sulfate crystals. I don't think it can be fully cured though and I also think this is an area of dispute in the industry. But I'm surprised you can't start the car at 12.3V although as CDNinHH said voltages are only a ball-park indication of a battery's health and strength. What's the cold crank rating of your battery as this will also be important?

 

[glowstix047]

According to this website which should be the battery in my car, cca is 650 amps

http://www.centurybatteries.com.au/resources/battery-finder/product/q85

My guess is that because my battery is 3 years old, the PMP has drained the battery to the point where it's below the cca and no amount of charging will bring it back up to that. I've tried to charge it over night 2 times and the amps in the battery is so low the auto start stop system will no longer kick in.

I find this very strange as when I first installed the PMP, everything was working fine, dash would run all night and auto start stop system worked fine. Only after my first battery drain did things start going down hill (first battery drain was a week ago)

 

[arcticfire]

Maybe if possible when you change battery try and get one with a higher cca? Obviously will cost more but could be worth it.

 

[jokiin]

Lead acid batteries are not designed to handle a parasitic load, expect them to have a much shorter lifespan, buy a deep cycle battery if you want it to last longer, something like a yellow top Optima, marine battery or similar

 

[glowstix047]

Lead acid batteries are not designed to handle a parasitic load, expect them to have a much shorter lifespan, buy a deep cycle battery if you want it to last longer, something like a yellow top Optima, marine battery or similar

Damn, my car needs that specific battery as it's required for the auto start stop system. I think i might just invest in a cellink b battery pack as that way there's no chance my car battery will die on me. I'll keep my current battery and use it till I die (battery still starts if I haven't been running the dash on the PMP.)

Little worried if the Australian heat will mess with the cellink b battery and ask though. Thoughts?

 

[jokiin]

parking mode is a very flawed application, I don't believe the benefits outweigh the negatives, if you must do it the Cellink at least takes away the problem from your car

 

[glowstix047]

parking mode is a very flawed application, I don't believe the benefits outweigh the negatives, if you must do it the Cellink at least takes away the problem from your car

After this experience, I somewhat agree with that statement but given where I live, where I park and the fact that I don't t have comprehensive insurance, I'm too much of a worry wart to not use parking mode.

But such is life. I really appreciate everyone's help though.

Also apologies to OP for high jacking the thread a little. Hopefully it'll provide some insight for anyone else having problems or considering PMP.

 

[BlackVue Australia]

After this experience, I somewhat agree with that statement but given where I live, where I park and the fact that I don't t have comprehensive insurance, I'm too much of a worry wart to not use parking mode.

But such is life. I really appreciate everyone's help though.

Also apologies to OP for high jacking the thread a little. Hopefully it'll provide some insight for anyone else having problems or considering PMP.

We sell the CELLINK-B in Australia and it has been very popular among our customers. People understand that car batteries themselves can not be expected to offer 10+hrs surveillance on their cars everyday. With the CELLINK-B, the system can charge on the 7A mode, meaning after only 1 hr of driving it is fully charged by your cars alternator, putting zero strain on your car battery.

A full charge will give ~34hrs on the 650-1CH and ~19hrs on the 650-2CH.

 

[BastardSheep]

I have a PMP set to 11.8v. My last battery lasted less than 12 months before it reported needing to be replaced. This last week, 3 of 6 days it has been a little sluggish to start. I came out Saturday morning and couldn't turn the car over at all. Got a jump start and my battery tested, weaker than a 6-month old battery should be. Nearing the point of needing replacing in fact.

11.8v is DEFINITELY too low, as mine was set.

My BlackVue DR650GW is too unreliable it was in recording footage anyway when in parking mode. Cars with loud exhausts driving past would turn on parking mode, but me opening and closing doors or even getting in to the car wouldn't. All to often I'd return to the car in only an hour or two and have the dashcam turn on as though it had reached the voltage cutoff point (as though it had been on the whole time), and twice now needing a jump start because the PMP didn't kill power is just not acceptable.

I've been forced too weigh up potentially having footage of someone hitting me (if it hadn't already drained the battery beyond cutoff, and IF the impact was enough to even start it anyway), versus actually being able to start my car reliably when I need it.

Decision made. I don't trust the PMP anymore for low voltage shutoff. I've now got the PMP set to just kill power to the dashcam when the car is turned off. No more parking mode for me.

 

[jokiin]

Personally I don't think the proposed advantages of parking mode outweigh the disadvantages, it's a very flawed application at the best of times