Power loss instantly turns off camera, no shutdown

Can you describe 'frozen'? Is it still recording, or does it stop recording?

Mine still records when very hot and doesn't lose any files, but, if you pull the power it doesn't shut down cleanly and corrupts the last file.
1. In 2k-FHD-FHD the camera overheats and turns off. Corrupting the last file in the processing of being written.

2. In FHD-FHD-FHD the camera "freezes" but never turns off. Simply put, the lights remain lit, but the camera is unresponsive. The files being written at the moment where the A139 froze are also corrupted. The difference being is the camera "never shuts down".

Conclusion: My camera is either faulty or this Camera doesn't do great in an enclosed car on a hot sunny day. I could have stuck with the Zenfox T3 and saved myself a bunch of money. Hoping others come here with their results. I'd be very happy to find my camera is defective and this isn't affecting others.

FINDINGS:

A. 2k - FHD - FHD: Overheats, shuts off, and corrupts last file being written.

B. FHD-FHD-FHD remains on but freezes. Last file being written corrupted at time of camera freeze.

NOTES: The beeping you hear is the A129 Duo. I am starting and restarting car to show the A139 is unresponsive. I tested the buttons and nothing worked either. On the other hand, the beeping is coming from my A129 Duo indicates the A129 Duo is working 100% without issue alongside the A139 that is crashing / freezing.


And here's

CAMERA OVERHEATING SEQUENCE: Low Bitrate Parking Mode at 2k-FHD-FHD Test- Camera Shuts Off Spontaneously - Corrupts Front / Rear / Interior File being Written at time of Shutdown (Happens at 51 Seconds).

 
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Viofo trying to claim whats happening to my camera is normal:

We have checked the videos you took,

there is overheat protection and the cam will restart when overheats,

please understand this is 3CH cam and consumption is relatively higher,

if you have any other problem, you may contact us.
 
Your camera functions differently to mine. Mine does not freeze up at all even when stupidly hot at 80C. I am still able to press the power button to do a clean shut down. The files never stop being recorded just because of heat. The only problem I have is pulling the power out when very hot makes an unclean shutdown, perhaps the camera logic is wrong.

I think HonestReview's camera is faulty, because it just flat out freezes up and screws up when hot. This is different to mine.

The only problem stupid high heat causes with mine is that I will have to press the power button to shut down instead of turning off ignition etc. Not a big deal as I think it is rare it will get this hot.
 
Viofo trying to claim whats happening to my camera is normal:

We have checked the videos you took,

there is overheat protection and the cam will restart when overheats,

please understand this is 3CH cam and consumption is relatively higher,

if you have any other problem, you may contact us.
But your camera is not restarting, so according to that logic yours is faulty as it's not doing what they just told you it's meant to do
 
But your camera is not restarting, so according to that logic yours is faulty as it's not doing what they just told you it's meant to do
Good point! Then even turn-off is a faulty behaviour because nobody yet ever reported that A139 comes back to life after some time (without external interaction) of restart/cool down(?).
 
No problems with mine. When I parked at home tonight, I left the engine running and pulled the power plug. I turned the engine off and replaced the plug; the cam booted into parking mode. I gave it maybe 10 seconds then pulled the power plug. I switched the ignition on, engine not started or running, replaced the plug; cam booted into driving recording. I pulled the plug then came into the house. All files closed properly and were viewable with Potplayer. File lengths seem appropriate. Interior cam captured me pulling the power plug so it does record right up to power loss. I also checked some random driving and parking files, all is well. FW version is 1.0_0315 , performance settings maxxed out, and low-bitrate parking w/timer function. Moderate summer temperatures all day.

Noting that some others have what seems to be overheating issues, and knowing that bad supercaps can exhibit high electrical resistance which makes them heat up, it seems plausible to me that failed supercaps may be behind both of these issues. That would certainly match the 'corrupt files at power loss' scenario here, and could also do similarly when powering off by button press according to how the FW has been done and/or how it interfaces with the processor.

Phil
 
Noting that some others have what seems to be overheating issues, and knowing that bad supercaps can exhibit high electrical resistance which makes them heat up, it seems plausible to me that failed supercaps may be behind both of these issues. That would certainly match the 'corrupt files at power loss' scenario here, and could also do similarly when powering off by button press according to how the FW has been done and/or how it interfaces with the processor.

Phil
I'd put my money on it being a hardware lockup/software crash rather than failing capacitors based on the various results seen by users with this problem
 
I'd put my money on it being a hardware lockup/software crash rather than failing capacitors based on the various results seen by users with this problem
I can't rule that out. I know something of electronics but little of software-related things.

Phil
 
SawMaster you have older version of firmware FYI.
Oops! Then that might explain the differences. No work tomorrow so going to spend the morning testing this cam. Looks like I'll need to do 2 rounds of testing now- thanks for pointing this out (y)(y)

Phil
 
Most consumers buy Dashcams to record evidence of vehicle damage and capturing nearby accidents.
If the Dashcam overheats while recording becoming unstable and the power is disconnected due to a crash the last video clip will be corrupted because the SuperCapacitors failed to provide power at the critical moment to save the file.

Currently VIOFO Dashcam Firmware sets internal camera thermal shutdown to 70-72C to protect its components which is good, But the low spec SuperCapacitors used are only rated for +65C to +70C.

Solution is to reduce heat obviously by not driving with WiFi enabled, use smaller capacity micro SD memory cards, improve airflow, set 30fps, run fewer cams, use grey housing color not black...
oh yeah... and install higher quality SuperCapacitors rated for -40C to +100C for maximum Dash Camera video evidence protection recordings.
(remind me to post my DIY Dashcam SuperCapacitor replacement video)
 
Remember to post your DIY Dashcam SuperCapacitor replacement video
 
But the low spec SuperCapacitors used are only rated for +65C to +70C.
That will not be their maximum temperature, just the temperature that will result in the specified lifespan, but if the camera spends most of the time at much cooler temperatures then you will still get a good lifespan even with occasional much higher temperatures. The wear is cumulative and higher at higher temperatures.

oh yeah... and install higher quality SuperCapacitors rated for -40C to +100C for maximum Dash Camera video evidence protection recordings.
All supercapacitors have much the same temperature range, although the specifications are often different because specifying a lower temperature allows them to specify a much longer lifetime, which will look good for some applications but not for others.

I don't think we have been hearing of problems with Viofo supercapacitors, at least not with recent cameras. In the early supercapacitor cameras, I think some of the capacitors used had poor tolerances which led to the deaths of a few of them that by chance happened to by poorly matched.
 
Remember to post your DIY Dashcam SuperCapacitor replacement video
Requesting A139 owners post photo showing SuperCapacitors on main circuit board to verify of component variations since Oct 2020 sample release.
 
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