Motorcycle batteries too weak to power both horn and camera at the same time?

[oakzaa]

Hi i have been scouting around for motorcycle dash cams, but i have discovered one major flaw based on a dash cam video posted by someone riding, that when you activate your horn the dash cam will get cut off as there is not enough power for both the camera and the horn, so just want to ask if you guys experience this same issue as well? i was thinking of installing hella horn on my bike but i heard that hella horn uses twice as much power than a stock horn which means it will cut off the power supplied to the camera. Also thinking of getting the vsys p6f dash cam but havent really bought anything yet due to this problem i discovered

 

[jokiin]

What bike do you have?

 

[oakzaa]

What bike do you have?

cb190r

 

[jokiin]

it's not the battery so much that is the problem, will be the charging system, they don't have much overhead to run other devices

 

[oakzaa]

it's not the battery so much that is the problem, will be the charging system, they don't have much overhead to run other devices

hm i see, i suppose there isnt anyway to solve this issue other than getting an external battery or changing the charging system? i guess ill still get the dash cam as most of the time if i am using my horn it means i already avoided the accident.

 

[Nigel]

I guess it depends on the dashcam too. If you have a small charging system then you don't want a dashcam with a low voltage cutoff, or you want one that disables the low voltage cut off if the ignition is on. I guess that is why some motorcycle cameras have an ignition input as well as a power input even though they don't run parking mode, eg Viofo MT1.

 

[oakzaa]

I guess it depends on the dashcam too. If you have a small charging system then you don't want a dashcam with a low voltage cutoff, or you want one that disables the low voltage cut off if the ignition is on. I guess that is why some motorcycle cameras have an ignition input as well as a power input even though they don't run parking mode, eg Viofo MT1.

i see, so all i have to do is to find a dash cam that doesnt have a low votlage cut off and this horn issue will be fixed?

 

[jokiin]

You'll need something that has an internal battery, you're not spoilt for choice when it comes to bike cams though, a lot of them are pretty ordinary

 

[jokiin]

You'll need something that has an internal battery, you're not spoilt for choice when it comes to bike cams though, a lot of them are pretty ordinary

 

[oakzaa]

You'll need something that has an internal battery, you're not spoilt for choice when it comes to bike cams though, a lot of them are pretty ordinary

ah ok, yeah the internal battery thing does sound like a good solution, do you have any brands to recommend? and yes its so hard to find a dash cam that isnt a standard chinese made one but most of them do the job quite well other than the battery issue. which is a pretty big issue actually since you dont want your camera to be cutting off when you are about to get into an accident while using your horn

 

[Nigel]

You'll need something that has an internal battery, you're not spoilt for choice when it comes to bike cams though, a lot of them are pretty ordinary

Or a super capacitor.

 

[jokiin]

Not a fan of batteries in cameras but for this particular issue it will handle it better, challenge though is that most bike cameras are rubbish so it might be hard to find something regardless, running off a power bank rather than the bike may turn out to be a better option

 

[Nigel]

Not a fan of batteries in cameras but for this particular issue it will handle it better, challenge though is that most bike cameras are rubbish so it might be hard to find something regardless, running off a power bank rather than the bike may turn out to be a better option

Yes, powerbank is a decent option, I normally run my Viofo MT1 off powerbank, makes it easier to move around, and if I have it on my bike, well my bicycle doesn't have a charging system!

If I wanted it permanently on a motorbike designed for the road, I'd install it properly and wire it in though, one less thing to worry about when heading out.

 

[oakzaa]

Not a fan of batteries in cameras but for this particular issue it will handle it better, challenge though is that most bike cameras are rubbish so it might be hard to find something regardless, running off a power bank rather than the bike may turn out to be a better option

how about both though, is that possible? if i start using my horn and the bikes battery gets too low in voltage, the powerbank will come in as a backup. I also found the halo cam M1 that said it has an internal lithium battery for energency cases, which seems to be useful for my horn problem

 

[dash riposki]

The chinese trike I have has a 1 amp charging system, claims 32 AH battery. 155cc engine.
it has mostly LED lights, a radio that doesn't work with a damn, electric starter, etc.
I've been running an A119V3 in it since it has a somewhat enclosed cab, and powering it via a hardwire kit. I've only got the OEM puny horn, but not noticed any power limitations. I do sometimes don't have some cam startup issues,and I suspect the hardwire kit/and low tech lead/acid battery are the culprits, but, if i remove the cam and replace it, hit the power on button, it usually starts up.
If you aren't riding more than an hour, I'd probably go with a waterprood action cam, and just remove it when you park the bike.

 

[oakzaa]

The chinese trike I have has a 1 amp charging system, claims 32 AH battery. 155cc engine.
it has mostly LED lights, a radio that doesn't work with a damn, electric starter, etc.
I've been running an A119V3 in it since it has a somewhat enclosed cab, and powering it via a hardwire kit. I've only got the OEM puny horn, but not noticed any power limitations. I do sometimes don't have some cam startup issues,and I suspect the hardwire kit/and low tech lead/acid battery are the culprits, but, if i remove the cam and replace it, hit the power on button, it usually starts up.
If you aren't riding more than an hour, I'd probably go with a waterprood action cam, and just remove it when you park the bike.

most of the time yeah my commute to work is half an hour at most but on weekends i tend to be riding for more than 8 hours travelling around the country

 

[Nigel]

how about both though, is that possible? if i start using my horn and the bikes battery gets too low in voltage, the powerbank will come in as a backup. I also found the halo cam M1 that said it has an internal lithium battery for energency cases, which seems to be useful for my horn problem

Just tested the MT1 and it is happy to run at anything over 9 volts, and can drop below that without shutting down. I don't think a horn should drop the voltage that low, and if it does, maybe you could upgrade the bike battery to a lithium one which would hardly drop voltage at all.

 

[dash riposki]

Not sure what cameras the people are using, or what other things may be taxing the battery/charging system?
You've got limitations.

Maybe skip the airhorn?
Or try to figure out how much of the capacity you are using, normally?

I'm not sure how long a powerbank would hold up in daily, 'buffer' use?

An action cam, with a handful of charged batteries for your longer trips still may be the simplest solution.

 

[oakzaa]

i

Just tested the MT1 and it is happy to run at anything over 9 volts, and can drop below that without shutting down. I don't think a horn should drop the voltage that low, and if it does, maybe you could upgrade the bike battery to a lithium one which would hardly drop voltage at all.

well thats good to hear, thought i was out of options but this forum is really useful with providing lots of ideas thanks!

 

[Nigel]

The chinese trike I have has a 1 amp charging system, claims 32 AH battery. 155cc engine.

That is 12W available, 3W each for the tail lights, 4W for a decent 4K dual dashcam, leaves 5W for the headlight, even with LED lamps that is not a lot of power, probably a good thing the radio doesn't work and use another 12W!

... Unless it is a 6V system?