My cam power cycles/dies on the first car start of the day

unitrol

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I will preface this with I know little about cars or electrical systems in general. So if you could word your posts for the layman like me, it would be really helpful.

My car is a 1997 Honda CR-V with 240,000 miles on it. I bought it secondhand in 2012, and haven't replaced the battery. However, the battery has never given me any reasons to replace it. The camera was hardwired by a professional, directly into the fuse box. I also have a SiriusXM portable radio hardwired into the fuse box.

My Viofo A119S also works like a charm. Except for when I first start up my car for the day, or when I leave it off for an extended period of time. It will turn on, record 1-2 seconds and then power cycle, or completely die. To resolve this issue, I just turn off the engine, and then turn it on again. Then it works like a charm. When I run errands, or come out of the grocery store for example, it will work fine during startup. I do not have the GPS mount, so I have the USB directly plugged into the side of the camera. And yes, the professional used the hardwire kit provided by Viofo.

I am trying to troubleshoot this right now. I have formatted my SD card, and have turned audio recording and the LED lights off. I don't know why, but I think it might help? Maybe if I try to reduce the workload on the camera, it'll be fine? I have also turned the brightness down on my SiriusXM radio. I do not have anything plugged into the cigarette lighter. I am trying to see whatever will work.

Do you think this might be a battery issue? Maybe my battery is discharging at night? Time for a new battery? Any insight for the non-experienced car person would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
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If you take the camera into the house overnight and then power it up with your PC or adapter in the house, does it still do the initial start reboot?

If it is a car thing, can you disconnect the power at the camera, start up the car and wait a few seconds then plug it in?

Just trying to isolate if it's the camera or the circuit powering it in the car...
 
I will preface this with I know little about cars or electrical systems in general. So if you could word your posts for the layman like me, it would be really helpful.

My car is a 1997 Honda CR-V with 240,000 miles on it. I bought it secondhand in 2012, and haven't replaced the battery. However, the battery has never given me any reasons to replace it. The camera was hardwired by a professional, directly into the fuse box. I also have a SiriusXM portable radio hardwired into the fuse box.

My Viofo A119S also works like a charm. Except for when I first start up my car for the day, or when I leave it off for an extended period of time. It will turn on, record 1-2 seconds and then power cycle, or completely die. To resolve this issue, I just turn off the engine, and then turn it on again. Then it works like a charm. When I run errands, or come out of the grocery store for example, it will work fine during startup. I do not have the GPS mount, so I have the USB directly plugged into the side of the camera. And yes, the professional used the hardwire kit provided by Viofo.

I am trying to troubleshoot this right now. I have formatted my SD card, and have turned audio recording and the LED lights off. I don't know why, but I think it might help? Maybe if I try to reduce the workload on the camera, it'll be fine? I have also turned the brightness down on my SiriusXM radio. I do not have anything plugged into the cigarette lighter. I am trying to see whatever will work.

Do you think this might be a battery issue? Maybe my battery is discharging at night? Time for a new battery? Any insight for the non-experienced car person would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
Might want to use the USB car charger and miniUSB cable that came with the camera to rule out the hardwire kit being an issue.
 
I'm wondering if they tapped the hard wire kit into some circuit that is switched off temporarily when starting?
 
I'm wondering if they tapped the hard wire kit into some circuit that is switched off temporarily when starting?

Also could be cam gets power just in time for the starter to pull down the voltage below cam's threshold. Could try different circuit. I'm not a fan of any hardwire kit and prefer to use the provided 12V cord plugged into a loose socket wired with an add-a-fuse to a circuit energized with ignition. If you still have the original 12V cigarette lighter cord, I suggest you see if you get the same grief with it.
 
Before you crank the engine over, try leaving the key on ACC or IGN for 15 seconds or so. The super capacitor in the cam isnt fully charged up in the morning.
 
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