LK-7900 Ace Hardwiring question

[Khanh]

Hey there guys!

I've lurking and interested in the Lukas 7900 Ace cam for my car. I tried searching and reading the manual but I could not find how the Driving mode and Parking mode work or activated. I am planning on buying from GreenSum on eBay.

My questions:

How does the park/driving mode are activated? manually or auto? I plan to hard wire it to my fuse box. Cutting the cigarette light plug end, exposing the 12v and ground. So it will be on 24/7.

I see that GreenSum sells the power cables A,B, and C. What exactly is that for? Will I need that if I plan on hardwiring it?

 

[johnf]

I've had 2 Lukas's for many months now, a 7500 and 7700. Camera hardware and firmware is functionally equivalent to the 7900. I've always kept the 'parking mode' in auto mode, and it has always worked perfectly. This alone makes the Lukas worth its price, even though its video quality is a step below some of the cheaper Chinese cams. It uses the 'g' sensor to know when to go to parking mode, and to change back to driving mode shortly after starting to move. You will want to wire to a constant power source, whether it is cig lighter or fuse box adapter.

 

[BlackBoxed.ca]

The Parking/Driving mode is indeed activated automatically and it notifies you, both on the display and with sound, when it changes between the two modes.

I would recommend getting a LK250/LK350 hardwiring kit so that you don't run your battery dead and be left to jump start your car. The LK250/LK350 will watch your battery and turn off the dash cam if your battery falls below a predetermined level.

Here is a guide to do this: http://www.blackboxed.ca/pages/hardwire-guide

Kelvin

 

[mowmow]

Kelvin but what does all the different Type means ?? on the LK350 ( A, B , C Type ) what does each means ?

 

[BlackBoxed.ca]

Hope this helps:

 

[mowmow]

Thank you Kelvin now it starts to make sense now if I run 2 Lk7900 do I need 2 of the UPC or can I get away with only 1 Type A or C

 

[BlackBoxed.ca]

You will need to have two, but you can mix the types, as each LK7900 will plug into one each.

Kelvin

 

[reverend]

Couldn't you just run one LK290 Type C which has two cigar adaptors?

 

[BlackBoxed.ca]

Yes, however, with two, you can control which one to turn on. Most of the time, you only need one to be on at all times. Your battery will last longer than having two dash cams draining your battery at once. Also, the LK350 is easier to use.

Kelvin

 

[JD2K]

Hey there guys!

I see that GreenSum sells the power cables A,B, and C. What exactly is that for? Will I need that if I plan on hardwiring it?

In my limited experience, I'd have to say it depends on the car. I had a VW Jetta with a BlackVue camera and PowerMagic Pro, which is basically the same as what Kelvin suggested for the Lukas camera. With that camera, and in that car, the PowerMagic would kick in after ~24 hours and shut down the camera when battery voltage got too low.

I moved that BlackVue to a different car (Audi S5) and had issues with the PowerMagic working properly (I'm no fan of the BlackVue devices BTW...), so I removed it from the mix. I never had battery issues, even with the camera in parking mode for 3 days. I now have a new Lukas 7900. It was in parking mode for 12 hours last night and the digital battery meter on my car showed no loss of juice at all. But, the battery in this car is rather massive. The car also monitors it's own voltage levels and shuts down components as the battery drains while parked.

So... these battery saving devices certainly have their place, and depending on the car, they could be a necessity if you're going to run the camera 24/7 and may end up leaving the car parked for more than 1-2 days. They are relatively cheap compared to the cameras, and installation isn't much more complicated than a direct hard-wire. If I didn't stumble upon the fact that my current car doesn't really need it I would have replaced the PowerMagic.

 

[mowmow]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I'm new to all this too.