Need some guidance from the community - Hybrid Car / Parking Mode / Accessory Battery

caquino

caquino

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Hello Everyone,

I just acquired a Toyota Corolla Hatchback Hybrid 2021 and have been trying to choose the right camera for my car, but the decision has been more difficult than expected.

Let me start by sharing what my requirements are:
- Good parking mode
- Readable licence plates

Now, this is where my concerns start, especially regarding parking mode. As far as I understand, 12v accessory batteries, at least on the Toyota Corolla Hybrid, are relatively small as the car does not use them as much; they are mostly for accessories, as the name says.

By using parking mode, I am worried that I will have constant issues with the car, and it will shorten the life of the accessory battery.

As far as I can tell, the only options I have to mitigate my concern are to either use a dash cam battery, which is quite expensive or go with a Thinkware U3000 and use the radar functionality.

The cameras I am considering at the moment are:
- Thinkware U3000
- 70mai A810 (I do understand that if my concern is about battery usage, this may be one of the worse options unless I add a diode to the hardware to have it cut off at a higher voltage as you cannot configure the cut-off voltage, and also the concerns about the internal battery instead of a supercapacitor)
- Viofo A229 Plus/Pro

I understand that the Thinkware U3000 is much more expensive than the other two on the list. Still, if I add the cost of an extra external battery, the U3000 will be cheaper as it will not require such a battery.

Now we get to the point where I'm looking for someone with more experience to help me answer one question:

Am I overthinking this, and it is not likely to have issues with the parking mode?
Even if the accessory battery degrades, is it cheaper to replace it when/if needed than to have an extra external battery?
Should I have a proper cut-off voltage and replace the accessory battery when/if needed? Also, because of the need for a proper cut-off configuration, is it better to consider the Viofo instead of the 70mai, or is the diode solution reasonable as long as I understand how it works?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
Be very wary of parking mode with mild or full hybrid vehicles

Typically the 12v battery is very weak as it's not required to crank a starter motor

If you flatten it then that can cause all sorts of problems

For parking mode I think you need a separate powerbank sort of device
 
Let me ask another dumb question.

Considering how expensive dashcam dedicated battery packs are, would it not be more economical to replace the car's 12v battery with another one with a larger capacity?

I understand that in non-hybrid cars, alternator limitations may impact how long it takes to charge.
On hybrids, the DC/DC converter may also be impacted, but the same can be said for the dedicated dashcam battery for both hybrids and non-hybrids; isn't it effectively an extra load on the car's electrical circuit, causing the same extra load as a larger 12v battery?


Am I incorrect in my understanding? Would replacing the 12v battery with a larger one impact other non-technical issues, such as insurance issues, manufacturer warranties, etc.?
 
I'm not sure if I can edit posts to add some extra information, so I'm creating a new one.

I do understand the advantage of using a dedicated battery for the dash cam: It guarantees that the camera will record whatever happens, even if something else in the car drains the 12v accessory battery.

That being said, at least with my current knowledge, I cannot think of any other reason to upgrade the 12v accessory battery to a larger battery to use a dedicated dashcam battery that could justify the price. In my understanding, both can be seen as car modifications, depending on the argument, so I would say that they both carry the same risk non-technically.

To be fair, replacing the existing battery with a larger one looks like less of a "car modification" as it does not add extra wiring
 
caquino said:
Let me ask another dumb question.

Considering how expensive dashcam dedicated battery packs are, would it not be more economical to replace the car's 12v battery with another one with a larger capacity?
Click to expand...

You might want to consider using a portable LiFePO4 power station, in particular the EcoFlow RIVER 2 ? This solution tends to be less expensive than the available dedicated dash cam battery packs and has a few advantages, including the ability to run longer as well as use it for other purposes if needed beyond just powering your dash cam.

You find a good discussion about the EcoFlow RIVER 2 here:

mentadent

Thread 'ECOFLOW and Viofo'

If I was to get an ECOFLOW River 2, would it work with my Viofo and hard wiring? I currently have a PowerCore but I'm looking for something that would last longer.
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