Not another Parking Mode query......(yes it is)

JBailey197

New Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2018
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Hello All,

I'll try and keep this succinct. NextBase support have been helping me troubleshoot freezing issues with my hardwired ignition-live 512GW and 512GWRC setup, and my conclusion was that the system is more stable with Parking Mode switched off. Unfortunately, late one evening just before Christmas a suspected hit & run delivery driver put a big dent in my passenger door, and of course nothing was captured. Fed up, I have now installed a Cellink Neo to allow 24/7 recording without endangering the Beemer's main battery. However, the cameras are not behaving as I would expect - and from reading many threads on here I fear that I may be no better off!

Despite a permanent live am I correct in thinking there is no way for the 512GW to record continuously, regardless of whether in motion?

Cheers,
James
 
It should trigger by the G sensor when you are hit so that you can see the culprit driving off.
 
The problem I had was that the system kept freezing up when using Parking Mode, and given the choice I prioritised recording my journeys. I'm fairly miffed that I had to fork out two hundred quid on a battery so that the two cameras work properly, and was hoping to make the most of it with round the clock recording. At least I can use Parking Mode now and be confident the cameras will record normally when driving away.
 
I feel your pain. I found the front and rear are too troublesome with parking mode on. As I've mentioned in another post the battery flattens all to quickly leading to the camera freezing when when you start the car. I think nextbase should have stipulated that to use the parking mode an external battery needs to be used.
 
The problem I had was that the system kept freezing up when using Parking Mode, and given the choice I prioritised recording my journeys. I'm fairly miffed that I had to fork out two hundred quid on a battery so that the two cameras work properly, and was hoping to make the most of it with round the clock recording. At least I can use Parking Mode now and be confident the cameras will record normally when driving away.

I'm having exactly the same issue. I have front and rear 512GW connected to a permanent live fuse, and every few days, it freezes, and doesn't record. Inevitably I don't notice this for a few days, and have therefore missed several days of recording (my wife drives it more than me and has much better things to do than check that the cam is recording!).

The Cellink Neo looks like a good option to resolve this issue, even though it really shouldn't be necessary. How are you finding it; still working well for you? Did you need any adapters for the Nextbase? How does the cam connect to the battery?

Thanks in advance.
 
Somewhat grudgingly, Normal and Parking Mode recordings have been faultless since fitting the Neo. Absolutely shouldn't be necessary though - and for a daily driver is a bit overkill. It just seems to be that these cameras do not like the momentary voltage and/or current drop during engine start. The Cellink app allows remote battery monitoring via bluetooth and from what I've seen, given the low consumption of the two cameras (and depending on the level of detections), I could probably run Parking Mode for at least a week. I stumbled onto the Neo 6 when reading about another setup (a Blackvue or Thinkware I believe) that did perform full-time surveillance.

The Neo connects to the car in identical fashion to the Nextbase hardwire kit - but its cables are a bit thicker to allow higher current charging. Fitment difficulty depends on a few things. As I already had the Nextbase hardwire kit piggy-backed onto an ignition live fuse, and the main battery and interior fusebox in my car are under the boot floor where the spare wheel ought to be, my installation was straightforward. The Neo comes with a bunch of generic output adapters in the box as well as several fuse taps. I removed the Nextbase fuse tap and fitted the Neo's version and meaty power leads in its place (same 20A ignition live fuse). I chose to sacrifice the Neo output cable with a cigarette lighter socket (I'd never use it). I simply chopped off the socket and joined its wires onto the Nextbase kit earth and live (retaining the little low-voltage protection box, although now redundant, as it is half-way along the car wherever the Halfords guy tucked it). There was just enough space next to the tyre inflator to tuck the Neo, which is about the size of a broadband hub.

If your fusebox is in the usual location underneath the dash, the Neo is small enough to site under the front passenger seat.

All this being said, to run Parking Mode Front + Rear overnight you could probably get away with a cheaper Power Bank provided you drive far enough to recharge it again.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
@JBailey197 thanks so much for your detailed reply. My Cellink Neo9 (decided to go for the biggun) arrived yesterday, and I got it installed fairly painlessly. I used the included 3+1 core wire to install it, and hooked it up to my existing NextBase hard wire kit.

I'm a terrible bodger; I never have the right tools for the job, and I think electrical tape is the best substance known to man, so my installation isn't the prettiest. I managed to find a nice space under the front passenger seat for the Cellink, then fed the cables around the edge of the carpet and up into the glove box (my fuse box sits just behind the glove box).

I replaced the NextBase fuse tap with the Cellink one, and swapped the grounding wires over (nextbase ground swapped for cellink ground), then I took the yellow (live) and black (ground) cables from the 3 core wire, and unceremoniously wrapped them around the terminals on the nextbase hardwire kit (already fed into the fuse box area from previous install), then I just wrapped the terminals up in electrical tape. All working well so far. Fairly confident it should hold and maintain a good connection. May go back and tidy up a few things at some point.

The instructions for the Cellink were good on the whole, but there were a few things I could safely ignore with the Nextbase hardwire kit: 1) The green ACC wire isn't needed, so just tuck it away 2) The red ACC wire is also not needed for the Nextbase.

EDIT: The green wire IS needed. It's a little odd, as the green wire is actually an input, despite being connected to the output cable. If the green wire isn't connected to an ignition-switched fuse, the Cellink does not charge. You will see an input voltage reading in the app, but no current. I connected the green wire, and it now works as expected.

Hopefully this is useful to someone else in future trying to install a Nextbase camera with Cellink Neo battery pack.

Thanks again.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top