On/Off Switch for Parking Mode

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Forester25

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Brand new member and yes with a question. I am an older guy retired Tool&Die Maker and have some Electrical experience. Do not have a cell phone, so my decision for buying a Viofo a329s is partially base on it not needing a cell phone for operation on most uses. And not using a dedicated dash cam battery.

I would like to install in our 2025 Forester using the H6 hard wire kit. 95% of the time our car is parked in our yard and park mode is not wanted to be on. (Especially with the cost of new car batteries.) But then I would like it simple and easy to turn park mode back on.

So I have this idea and would like to get some response to if it might work. Would connect yellow wire to acc so it would only be on when car is on. And the red wire connect to a simple on/off switch and then to batt on at the fuse box. Mounting the switch would be very easy and convenient to use in this car to make sure park mode is off. But with the car off will switching the power on and off using the red wire shut off parking mode and then turn it back on ?? Also would the a329s retain the park mode settings that were last used ??

Well if you have read this far and have any ideas for me would appreciated your help. If this question has already been asked would you give me a link to get started. Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum Forester.

Me also machinist -> tool maker,,,,, and a lot more CUZ could not sit still.

Most dashcams will let you turn off the parking guard mode by simply long pressing the power button, say when you have stopped in your garage where you do not need that stuff.

The 3 wire hard wire kits use the always on for power, the ACC are pretty much just signaling for the car being on / off, so i suppose you could put a switch on the 12 V wire, but i would personally prefer the press of the systems power button.

My preferred mode are low bitrate, and then just use it on a 3 hour timer if something like that is there, CUZ at home and other places i visit there are CCTV so no need to put a load on the little battery in my almost micro car.
 
Thanks for your response. As Tool Makers I am sure you understand getting all your moves in order so there will not be any surprises and your game plan is good. From what I understand there are ways at the unit to shut park mode off. I was hoping to mount on passenger side and not need to make changes after dialed in. So that does not make it that convenient. Again thanks for your get-back.
 
Forester25 said:
I was hoping to mount on passenger side and not need to make changes after dialed in. So that does not make it that convenient.
Click to expand...
Hello,
Welcome to the club.
I agree with Brian (Kamkar).
It will be "easier" to just use the power button on the camera.
But since it won't be within your reach that won't work.

I think I remember the new 3-Button Remote Control has a function to turn off the camera with one of the programmable buttons.
https://www.viofo.com/products/viofo-btr200-wireless-bluetooth-remote-control

I can't remember, so better to ask Viofo directly here; SUBMIT A TICKET

Also, you sound like a meticulous planner, so whatever dash cam you buy, I recommend bench testing everything BEFORE you install it in your car.
But I have a feeling you already know that. lol
-Chuck

Screenshot 2025-09-17 6.43.56 PM.webp
 
Thank you very much for checking out my post. I was hoping to save the remote for other jobs, but that may need to be the answer if this will not work. I am still not sure if disconnecting the red wire with a switch and then turning it back on would power up the dash cam in park mode. During the time red and ign off the camera would have no power.
Very good advice on checking all things out before install, I will differently take that grain of salt. Thanks again
 
This has always been my major gripe with dashcams, there is no easy way to switch parking mode on/off.

Everytime this discussion comes up someone suggests just switching the dashcam off when parking mode is not needed (using a long press of the power button)

This works but if parking mode is the exception, but you have to remember to power down the camera each time you don't need parking mode (which I end up forgetting, meaning the dashcam stays on all night)

I am not sure about the newer hardwire kits, but certainly on the HK3-C, switching on the RED wire (BATT on viofo) will not power up the camera, it requires both BATT and ACC to power up.

One solution that does come up on here is to put a SPDT switch on the RED Wire that switches between a BATT/ACC

These posts better explain:

kesawi

Post in thread 'Adding an ON/OFF switch for hard wired parking mode.'

I think that I've found a simpler solution to my problem in this thread using a single pole dual throw switch:

Adding ON/OFF switch to battery cable

I want to install a switch to my HK3 for the Viofo 129 Plus camera so I can turn off the camera parking mode in my garage instead of removing the power cable, I was wondering if I cut the red wire (battery) and connect the 2 wires to a 2-prong switch like shown in the picture, would that work...
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com

I've sketched up the schematic below.
Camera Parking Switch SPDT.webp

Avoids the need for relays and issues with coil surge.
Using the switch while the camera is on will cause a momentary loss of power to the Batt terminal of the camera and cause it to restart (can a capacitor be used?)
  • Like
jokiin

Post in thread 'Will this on/off switch work?'

better to use a SPDT switch, wire one input to B+ and one to ACC, if you switch it to ACC camera will power off when you turn the car off, when on B+ it will continue to run

your current SPST switch will mean if you forget to switch it back on you won't be recording, easy thing to forget to do, SPDT means you won't get caught off guard
  • Like
 
Thank you Joe384 for your information and links that explain exactly what I would like to achieve. I am glad to hear other people have been trying to do same or similar. Will study those links, as they appear to address the challenge. Knowing what does what is a big help. Thanks again for your reply. There are some work around options that might be good, but this was direct to the question.
 
Forester25 said:
Brand new member and yes with a question. I am an older guy retired Tool&Die Maker and have some Electrical experience. Do not have a cell phone, so my decision for buying a Viofo a329s is partially base on it not needing a cell phone for operation on most uses. And not using a dedicated dash cam battery.

I would like to install in our 2025 Forester using the H6 hard wire kit. 95% of the time our car is parked in our yard and park mode is not wanted to be on. (Especially with the cost of new car batteries.) But then I would like it simple and easy to turn park mode back on.

So I have this idea and would like to get some response to if it might work. Would connect yellow wire to acc so it would only be on when car is on. And the red wire connect to a simple on/off switch and then to batt on at the fuse box. Mounting the switch would be very easy and convenient to use in this car to make sure park mode is off. But with the car off will switching the power on and off using the red wire shut off parking mode and then turn it back on ?? Also would the a329s retain the park mode settings that were last used ??

Well if you have read this far and have any ideas for me would appreciated your help. If this question has already been asked would you give me a link to get started. Thanks
Click to expand...
You can install the hardwire kit in the normal way, and use this bluetooth to turn on/off parking mode before you parked at your will:
www.viofo.com

VIOFO Upgraded Version BTR200 Wireless Bluetooth Remote Control

【Easy to Use】Just simply press on the remote, important videos can be saved and locked, which lets you drive more safely. You can stick it to a suitable location on your dashboard, and the small body would keep the original appearance inside your car. 【Simple Pairing】Power on the camera and...
www.viofo.com www.viofo.com
 
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Thanks for your reply VIOFO-SUPPORT.
Are you saying that with one of side buttons the Park mode can be shut off till I turn park mode back on when I want to use. Or every time before shutting down car I would need to make the choice of shutting off park mode? Wow, this can get confusing to write.
 
I have a switch in my HK4 hardwire kit since about 3-4 years now. When I'm at a place where I don't need it, I just flip it and the camera is off. No need to long press any button.
The switch is in the ground wire to completely disable any current draw from the hardwire kit.
This avoids any unnecessary power consumption while the car is parked for a longer period. Especially helpful in the winter.
To turn it back on, the switch needs to be in the on position and the ignition has to be turned on.
Then everything is running normally.
 
Very interesting. What model dash cam do you use? So you switch the ground wire off and to bring it back to life you switch on the ground and then start the car? Sounds like it is working good for you. Thanks for your input.
 
I used this with the T130 back then. It also works with the A329S that I currently have.
Yes, exactly. Enable the switch, turn on the ignition and it's "armed" again.
 
Amazing, by any chance have you tried turning the ground switch back on without starting car. If so was the parking mode still off?
How do you like the a329s? Thanks for your getting back.
 
The camera won't start if the ignition is off and I turn on the switch.
It needs the trigger from the ignition to wake up.

The A329S or to be more precise the A329T in my case has been a very solid unit.
If you want to read a little more about it feel free to check out my threads:

Testing Thread
Final thoughts
 
Forester25 said:
Thanks for your reply VIOFO-SUPPORT.
Are you saying that with one of side buttons the Park mode can be shut off till I turn park mode back on when I want to use. Or every time before shutting down car I would need to make the choice of shutting off park mode? Wow, this can get confusing to write.
Click to expand...
With one of side buttons the Park mode can be shut off till I turn park mode back on when I want to use.
 
Every post from top to bottom has given me lots of information and ideas to consider. For a new comer here I have been treated very well and in such a short time received such great response. I also recognize that all posting was done by seasoned veterans that have the experience to give proven advice. So I would like to thank you all for the help and now have lots of links to look at and read. Will probably order my new camera in Oct. as the kitty needs a little more cash if I want to play with the good stuff. Thanks again
Going to the Viofo site I find there fall sale is going on. So my arm was twisted and gave in. Will be fun.
 
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Well surprise to me. The Viofo 329s came in today. That was just 8 days. I expected longer shipping time.
Had to finish my order to Amazon now to get the power 6 cord and remote.
Rear camera has 8m cable as I hope to run the low route with door sill foot panels in the Forester for the back camera. Need to check everything out first and then hope the install goes well.
 
viofo said:
With one of side buttons the Park mode can be shut off till I turn park mode back on when I want to use.
Click to expand...
@viofo
Can two BTR-200 remotes be paired at the same time to an A229 Pro (as supported by the Bluetooth 5.0 standard) ?
I want to be able to power down the camera from two different locations.
 
Hack_man said:
@viofo
Can two BTR-200 remotes be paired at the same time to an A229 Pro (as supported by the Bluetooth 5.0 standard) ?
I want to be able to power down the camera from two different locations.
Click to expand...
It doesn't support pairing with two remote controls.
 
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