installed Viofo a129 plus duo then moments later my killed car?

spicymigraine

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So I tried to hardwire the dashcam to my Acura 2019 ilx, using using the car's 20 Amps fuse (Rear Passenger's Side Power Window - lights on only when engine is on) for the yellow wire/accessory, and 20 Amps fuse (Driver power seat sliding - constant power) for the red wire/battery, all plugged in with the correct orientation as followed by many installation videos on youtube (The video I followed step-by-step) and did the accessory mode testing and engine-on testing to see which fuse would be acceptable. I couldn't use the 10 Amps (Driver's Power Lumbar) since there was another connection blocking my fuse tap from connecting to that area of the fuse box. Also, for some reason the ground bolt would not budge so I use a different bolt (around where the Collision Mitigation Braking System button is; left of steering wheel) for the ground wire to be in place. The dashcam was working perfectly fine for a good 15 minutes until I felt it overheating a bit and noticing that my car was displaying numerous warning signs such as Adaptive Cruise Control warning, Brake Control warning, and a bunch of other warnings. Later on the car started to flicker and made a clicking noise and ultimately shuts off by itself. Not sure what caused this but I then took off the fuse taps and placed back the original fuse back into the fusebox, thinking perhaps the dashcam did something to the car? But still the same error signs were showing up...
- I thought perhaps it was either the 5 Amp fuses I used for the fuse taps weren't good (Fuse tap + Fuses that I purchased) or maybe I didn't crimp it properly (I used pliers but made sure the hardwire was secure and pulled it to make sure it was tight in the fuse tap).
After 24 hours of this incident, I tried to startup the car again to see if I can record the warning signs that were showing up, but now it just automatically shuts off after multiple clicking sounds, spazzing/flickering lights on the interior and exterior, and screens flickering then blacks out.
- Also I did update the firmware to the latest version (V1.5 (20210515).
- tried to get spare fuses from the engine compartment fusebox, but the hood wouldn't open /:

- I had an assumption that maybe the fuse was blown, so I took off both of the 20 Amp fuses from the fuse box but the car still acted the same.
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video of what happened to the car 24 hours later

Does anyone know what might've caused this? Is the car's battery dead now.. or is it something else being effected? Sorry for my lack of knowledge on vehicles, but thank you for helping me out!
 
Clicking and flickering lights is a classic flat battery symptom.
All the time you were testing did you have the engine running or just ignition on?
Periods of ignition on plus a few engine starts without actually driving would drain a battery pretty quickly.
 
Thanks Mtrev. The engine was off the entire process, i only turned it on after completing the hardwire and only turn on to accessory mode to check on which fuse lit up so I can take those for the yellow accessory wire fuse tap.
 
Also, I tried to jumpstart my car and now its up and running, took it to the mechanic to reset the settings and all is good now! Still not sure what caused the drainage though...
 
Also, I tried to jumpstart my car and now its up and running, took it to the mechanic to reset the settings and all is good now! Still not sure what caused the drainage though...
Haven't read the complete post but one of my cars is a Hybrid and has similar electronics like yours. Once my small 12V battery was flat and it made same flickering and weird sounds like yours. Jump started it and it was fine. It was somehow drained by the camera (not sure how but it did lol).
 
Wow, I have had the same situation with a Mazda cx5 2021. After three test and three battery jumps, we found that parking mode and the harness is the problem. With parking mode activated, it just keeps drawing on the battery and does not cutoff. If it is cutting off, it is below the ability for the battery to start the car.
 
The Viofo HWK should have a switch to set at what voltage it will drop power. That should never be below 12.0V even though a new battery might still get you started at 11.8V or lower. And a well-aged battery or hard-to-start car might need a setting of 12.2V for reliable starting. Start with the highest setting and see if it gives you the recording time you want; if not try one step down from there. When you get enough time OR reach the 12.0V setting that's where you stop.

Phil
 
I did set the setting to 12.2V. and it still killed the battery. This is a car that is 3weeks old. This is why I wanted a dashcam. New car and I wanted security, because the car spends alot of time in a parking lot. Checked 3 time to ensure that all was connected correctly.
 
I did set the setting to 12.2V. and it still killed the battery. This is a car that is 3weeks old. This is why I wanted a dashcam. New car and I wanted security, because the car spends alot of time in a parking lot. Checked 3 time to ensure that all was connected correctly.
Was it entering parking mode within a few seconds of the engine shutting off or did it take 5 or more minutes to enter parking mode?
 
More than a few seconds but not 5 minutes. Maybe about a minute.
 
The only things i have heard in regard to hard wire kits is that the cut off value are often a bit off, but thats like 0.1 volt off which are something you can live with.
But of course more serious flaws are also a possibility, i mean just see people that have their sports cars from Italy catch on fire just CUZ they bleep the throttle a little to show off.

PS: I like your chosen name, as you can probably see from my Avatar we share first name, but ! we also share the first letter in the Sir name it seem (y)
These days extremely few are named / baptized Brian in Denmark, i think it is only 10 or so every year the past years, was different in the mid 60ties where i am from, my childhood neighborhood had so man Brian's we all went by nicknames.
 
The more I investigate my situation with dashcams, I then realize that the same car in different markets are different builds. The last few years with computer chips in cars are programmed different in each market. I was blown away to hear from, in my case, Mazda, there are 100's of chips in each car. So many things could go wrong. (Just like windows on your computer, so many variables). Looks simple on the surface. Thanks to forums like this we move forward.
 
More than a few seconds but not 5 minutes. Maybe about a minute.
With the hardwire kit, it should enter within a few seconds. If not, then your fuse for the yellow wire is staying hot after you shut the car off. Maybe there is a delay on the fuse? Have you measured the fuse with a meter to determine if it loses power when the car is off?
 
It's possible the HWK is faulty, but I can't see it not switching to parking mode being the sole cause of the battery dying.

My guess is that wherever you've tapped into is signalling something else to stay on when it should be shutting down, because a new car battery can run a dashcam doing full-time recording for many hours, perhaps up to 8-12 hours, and still leave enough to start the car. Even the smallest car battery will do 4+ hours of recording without a starting problem.

Phil
 
I would locate an empty "Always on" fuse slot and an empty "ACC on" fuse slot in your car instead of tapping on existing circuits. Trouble is guaranteed to arise when one tries to tap into car's circuit. There are so many checks and balances build into the car's network such that any excessive current draw, electronic noise, and voltage fluctuations will turn on Christmas lights on your dashboard.
 
I would locate an empty "Always on" fuse slot and an empty "ACC on" fuse slot in your car instead of tapping on existing circuits. Trouble is guaranteed to arise when one tries to tap into car's circuit. There are so many checks and balances build into the car's network such that any excessive current draw, electronic noise, and voltage fluctuations will turn on Christmas lights on your dashboard.
That’s true for some but a lot of cars on the market monitor the actual current draw when the vehicle is asleep via the negative terminal connection of the battery so the only way for it then to go undetected is to put the earth to the terminal clamp itself.
 
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