Keeps rebooing, Nothing will play the MP4 recordings

[gse]

Apologies, but I do not see any reference to bootloader.

LDA119S
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/a119s-firmwares.31430/#post-382454

 

[ajw1100]

I am lost.
Connected to a USB 5v 1.0A charger.
Without the card in the camera starts, message about inserting card then Beep beep, Beep beep and continues double beeping. the screen shows what it's pointing at. I can access the Menu.
Turn it off.
With the card in (And I have tried 2 others) it starts and the screen shows what it's pointing at, the record red light at the top flashes and this lasts on first startup for around 40 seconds. then the camera reboots on about 14 second cycles these reduce to around 5 second cycles.. just before the 0.00.00 appears in the top right corner it shows 06.20.53 but only for a split second.

 

[ajw1100]

LDA119S
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/a119s-firmwares.31430/#post-382454

That's helpful? what am I supposed to be looking for?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

You should have the correct bootloader already for your A119S. Reloading it wouldn't hurt though, but I'm not sure what that zip file is either. Maybe it's the A119S bootloader for those who would need to reload it for whatever reason.

Couple things I would try first.

1) Try a different USB cable (be sure to always power with a USB wall charger)

2) Try a different memory card (if you can). Since the camera seems to function OK without a card inserted, it could be the obvious suspect. Might want to test your cards with the free program called h2testw.Can be found here: http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/H2testw.shtml

Are you comfortable opening up the camera? If so, try the things below.

1) Open the camera and inspect the capacitors. Their bottoms should be flat. If one is bulging (rounded), it is blown. When both are blown, the camera usually won't start, but if one is blown, it could cause what you are experiencing.

2) While inside the camera, inspect the ribbon cable that goes from the image sensor to the socket on the main board. If the cable has become loose (I have seen it), it can cause restarts and freezing. From what your explaining, this is probably unlikely, but since you'd be inside the camera anyway, it's best to inspect it to be sure.

 

[ajw1100]

Time to admit defeat?
Just tried a SanDisk 16gb card, formatted it twice. Copied latest V2.2 firmware ,bin to the card on the PC. connected camera to 5v 1.0A supply and plugged in card. Camera loaded up then started. Stopped it recording and entered the Menu, set to defaults then amended date and time.Screen Saver set to 1m Exited Menu.
Camera started to record, went for about 5 seconds and rebooted. time/date reverted to firmware time/date. Reset all in Menu and tried again.
Camera started to record, went for about 5 seconds and rebooted, did the reboot thing about 6 times. Unplugged the camera and put the card in my PC.
File explorer showed 7 files, I had set View to large thumbnails. Believe it or not 3 actually ran for a few seconds, very grainy and 4 were either bad codec or corrupted!!! In the space of about 5 mins it had recorded 3 poor and 4 corrupt files.

Can you send these back to Viofo for them to sort it? or just bin it and buy another.
Have they proved reliable and I am just unlucky or is this sort of problem common?

 

[ajw1100]

Okay , I will put the hammer away for the meantime and try your suggestions. I have used that test program before but had forgotten about it. It seems 4 cards all previously fine should suddenly fail, I wonder if it could be camera causing the failures....

Back soon.....

Maybe not to soon, the 64gb card has 52 minutes of testing left

 

[CaptureYourAction]

If your comfortable opening the camera, I would inspect what I wrote above. If not, contact your seller as you should have a warranty.

 

[gse]

what am I supposed to be looking for?

LDA file
LDA file is the bootloader, after it put the firmware bin

 

[gse]

1) Open the camera and inspect the capacitors. Their bottoms should be flat. If one is bulging (rounded), it is blown. When both are blown, the camera usually won't start, but if one is blown, it could cause what you are experiencing.

2) While inside the camera, inspect the ribbon cable that goes from the image sensor to the socket on the main board. If the cable has become loose (I have seen it), it can cause restarts and freezing. From what your explaining, this is probably unlikely, but since you'd be inside the camera anyway, it's best to inspect it to be sure.

 

[ajw1100]

Got the four corner screws out but case does not want to come apart, are there any other screws hidden away or clips in the case itself?

Just seen the photos, thank you that helps a lot. Be more useful if I can get the case apart!!! I don't want to break it.......

Update.
Came apart, I just need to find where the two clear plastic ratchets and the spring came from.....

Caps seem fine and the cables are secure.
I will have a closer look once I find my magnifying glass.

 

[gse]

Got the four corner screws out but case does not want to come apart, are there any other screws hidden away or clips in the case itself?

Just seen the photos, thank you that helps a lot. Be more useful if I can get the case apart!!! I don't want to break it.......

 

[ajw1100]

Apart and back together again, I was wondering which way up the ratchet went, flat down or up. The YT video was very helpful, thank you.

Well no blown caps, all connectors secure and I could not see anything out of place, kinked or cooked, so nothing visible to pinpoint a possible reason for this problem.

I have run a test on the 16gb Toshiba card, the 64 Samsung was taking ages so I will do that one later. The Toshiba finished the test without any faults reported. So, I will try yet again, but I don't hold out much hope for success.

Now completed tests on Toshiba 16gb, Samsung 64gb, Sandisk 16gb and Kingston 32gb cards. All passed with no errors. Tomorrow I will try to update the camera using a different lead.

How helpful is the manufacturer Viofo?

 

[ajw1100]

Unrelated.
I checked my emails and got a notification that '5cowbells' had replied to my/this thread but it does not seem to appear here when I logged in this morning.
Maybe it will appear later? But in the mean time I've copied it below:

Aside from a microSD card/recording problem, rebooting over and over again does sound like insufficient power getting to the camera. When the camera starts to record, it demands more power than startup, idle (no card installed) or the menu mode and if that power is not available due to resistive losses in the power circuit or whatever, the input voltage may drop off to the degree that the A119S senses that power has been pulled and turns itself off. Then with the load removed, the input voltage again rises and the A119S senses that power has been restored and turns itself on and tries to boot up again..repeating on and on.
1. You probably have already done this, but if you are connecting power thru the GPS mount, switch to the camera side input. GPS, if the mount is attached, should still work. There can be excessive resistive losses powering through the GPS module which can cause the power cycling problem.
2. Unlikely since you have already tried alternate power sources, but USB cables and +5Vdc power supplies are always suspect for the A119S, but try different combinations if you have that option. First try the original cables and Cig adapter (12 to 5Vdc converter) that were supplied with the A119S.
3. Does the REC button red light stay on a few (typical is 5-7) seconds after power is pulled or just does it turn off immediately. If the latter, the problem might be bad capacitors, though your symptoms are not typical for this problem. There are videos on disassembly this forum and YouTube, but opening the camera body might void your warranty so contact your seller first. If you do look inside and the two large electrolytic capacitors are swollen, then they may need replacement User replacement is possible if you have some soldering skills and the need.

Just a note, that sometimes corrupted files can be recovered after being repaired by first playing them back in the camera.

Thank you 5Cowbells, I will do some further tests as suggested and let you know the results a bit later.

 

[5Cowbells]

Unrelated.
I checked my emails and got a notification that '5cowbells' had replied to my/this thread but it does not seem to appear here when I logged in this morning.
Maybe it will appear later? But in the mean time I've copied it below:



Thank you 5Cowbells, I will do some further tests as suggested and let you know the results a bit later.

 

[5Cowbells]

Yes, I deleted the file because I had seen posts on page 2 which seemed to duplicate what I had intended to say. In any event, hope it helps.

 

[ajw1100]

Hi 5Cowbells, I am not using the GPS mount, that is stuck in the car and I have always powered the A119s directly, not through the GPS and up until now not had a problem. The red light stays on for about a count of 6 so I'd say about 5 seconds after disconnection.
Last night I took it apart, well the case anyway, checked capacitors, and connectors, and anything that looked burnt. All seemed okay. I had tested all my cards and all came out with no errors. I had not played with it again till this morning.
I again formatted the 64gb card, copied the V2.2 firmware across, then plugged it in to the camera, connected to my TomTom USB charger and switched it on. flashing green a red lights, it did not reboot and screen stayed up for 60 seconds, the record light was working and all seemed fine!!!
I turned it off and jury rigged a 12v supply (Capable of up to 20A) and connected the supplied 12 ~ 5v converter. Started up again without any problems. I had two recordings of around 60 seconds each. I took out the card and plugged it into the adapter and the PC, both recordings played fine. I will do some more recordings and testing but it looks very promising so far.
Will report back later....... The wife's shouting at me..... again.

 

[ajw1100]

Hi Cowbells, that makes sense, I couldn't understand where it had gone!

 

[5Cowbells]

Well, it seems you've done most of the troubleshooting things that I know of. Although yours will be the first I've seen to have a hardware failure that you can't fixed. If you are the curious type, I wouldn't give up yet. There are often poor communications between respondents that confuse the situation and don't communicate well. Folks will still keep chiming in with suggestions. When you stop receiving good suggestions going forward, it may be time to consider a return if you are still under warranty. Seems like every time I suggest this, someone else comes up with a solution. Let's see if it happens now.

 

[5Cowbells]

I turned it off and jury rigged a 12v supply (Capable of up to 20A) and connected the supplied 12 ~ 5v converter. Started up again without any problems. I had two recordings of around 60 seconds each. I took out the card and plugged it into the adapter and the PC, both recordings played fine. I will do some more recordings and testing but it looks very promising so far.

This is an encouraging sign. I was somewhat concerned over your 1.0 Amp 12 to 5 Vdc converter, that if not up to snuff, the voltage may drop as power demand increases. Even though 1A at 5 volts should be adequate, the voltage output by the 12 to 5Vdc converter may start to fall off before 1 amp output is reached. Though difficult to measure, I've found that a voltage of very roughly 4 Vdc at the input of the A119S is low enough to start power cycling. Edit: And there are resistive losses in the long supplied USB cable.

 

[ajw1100]

Okay, think we (you) have found the problem, power.
Below I have copied the files in the camera's SD card. the top 2 are the ones I mentioned earlier. The first with the TomTom charger the second my jury rigged supply.

I had two recordings of around 60 seconds each. I took out the card and plugged it into the adapter and the PC, both recordings played fine.

At that point I had not made any changes in the Menu it was as first loaded. Just different power supplies.

The next 5 do not play, are 'wrong codec' or 'corrupted'. These were when the A119s was connected to my TomTom charger and AFTER I had changed the settings in the Menu. So changing the Menu settings seems to have been too much for the power supply? Seemed would work on the TomTom with no changes to Menu but would not after Menu changes. Don't get that but there you go.

The following recordings timed as 12.45 and onward were as I had set the timings on the Menu to 3 min. the Previous 5 files had much smaller KB sized files, whereas the one from 12.45 all had 3 min intervals and similar KB sizes. All these were when the A119s was connected to my jury rigged power supply.



This A119s has been in my car for over a year, connected to the same power converter so I will need to check that out. I have no idea when the camera stopped working, it is mounted behind the mirror and on the far side, so I cannot see the camera screen to know if it is working or not.

I will put it back in the car and see how it goes, hopefully back to normal!! If it doesn't I will bin the converter and buy a new one....... Reckon I'll buy one anyway, Any suggestions?????

Thank you all for your valuable suggestions, your help is very much appreciated.

Alan.