SG9665DC - Melted in Houston Heat

[YX5CZW2Y]

Disappointing that camera melted from summer heat! Every time it gets hot am I to remove both camera's on a dual camera unit? I mean how would you park your car to avoid heat from both front and back? This caused LCD screen cover to pop off (slight curvature of the body), I was able to stick the cover back on but there is now permanent melted damage to the body. I'm sure Houston, TX doesn't even get as hot as Australia, isn't that Street Guardian's headquarters? Seems like some improved heat resistant plastic is a much needed improvement.

 

[niko]

Do you have it hardwired and recording while parked?
Did you had a chance to measure the ambient temetature inside car and from dashcam unit body?

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[Street Guardian USA]

Do you put up a heat shield in the windshield when parked? (that would amplify the heat even more)
Do you crack the windows to vent heat?
New Street Guardian products already use a higher grade plastic than first generation products
What was the ambient temperature getting up to in your vehicle when parked?
Are you powering the system while parked? If yes, are you using the SGDCHW with latest 1.34 firmware?
SG9663DC shouldn't be left recording at full bitrate while parked.

SG9663DC Specs:
Storage Temp -40°C to +85°C
Operating Temp: -20°C to +70°C
Optimal Operating Temp: -10°C to +60°C
(and these are tested beyond that in heat/cold chambers)

 

[YX5CZW2Y]

Did not measure ambient temperature in car when it happened, just noticed it when getting in the car after it was parked for the last week. I’m sure it was close to 37 C outside if that helps. No screen up in windshield. Wouldn’t the screen sandwich camera between windshield and screen and essentially make the camera hotter? Was not powered or recording. Did not crack windows, due to not wanting potential rain in car.


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[Nigel]

Do you live near one of these? : https://gizmodo.com/a-brief-history-of-buildings-that-melt-things-1247657178


A photo of the damage may help...

 

[YX5CZW2Y]

No shiny buildings nearby, photos to follow.

 

[YX5CZW2Y]

Pictures showing damage, and car / camera orientation.

 

[kamkar]

Hot giggity them cooked buttons, the Danish summer this year never got that hot though it was exceptional good.

 

[DashcamDPR]

literally chocolate buttons

Sorry, I shouldn't joke, It's not what you want from a dashcam

 

[Street Guardian USA]

The dashcam housing plastic is as good as it gets when it comes to plastic grade/material choices. I’ll let @jokiin (the manufacturer) comment further. It’s early morning Sunday in Sydney at the moment though. Not sure how this could of happened. I’m parked in the Nevada desert where it gets even hotter than that.

 

[YX5CZW2Y]

Yes buttons a little deformed now but at least they still work. High temps for last two weeks in Houston range 91-99 F (33-37 C)


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[Street Guardian USA]

Yes buttons a little deformed now but at least they still work. High temps for last two weeks in Houston range 91-99 F (33-37 C)


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Please private message or email me your original order details / address / email and I’ll arrange a replacement.

 

[jokiin]

Yes buttons a little deformed now but at least they still work. High temps for last two weeks in Houston range 91-99 F (33-37 C)


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it shouldn't happen in these types of temps, we've tested in hotter temps, we have had two prior cases of buttons warping but that was running while parked due to a firmware bug with the hardwire kit, I do have the hardware engineer already looking at the buttons to see if we need to change the design or the material as it shouldn't happen, we will of course cover this under warranty, apologies in advance for any inconvenience while we sort this out

 

[SawMaster]

The dashcam housing plastic is as good as it gets

While I do not doubt SG's efforts which are boundless, there is something not quite right when none of the other plastics shown in the pic melted under the very same conditions. It would seem that either the car factory has better plastics or that yours isn't up to the specs it should be. Maybe your material supplier sold you a substandard batch? Maybe there's a difference in the molding processes? I'm certainly no expert here, just stating the obvious.

And as always with SG, after-sales support is the best in the world

Phil

 

[DashcamDPR]

Did not measure ambient temperature in car when it happened, just noticed it when getting in the car after it was parked for the last week. I’m sure it was close to 37 C outside if that helps. No screen up in windshield. Wouldn’t the screen sandwich camera between windshield and screen and essentially make the camera hotter? Was not powered or recording. Did not crack windows, due to not wanting potential rain in car.


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possible solution, wind deflectors? I have them on my car purposely because it'll allow cracking without letting rain in... for that 2 days every few decades here where we actually go above 30c

Was there anything left in the car that may have inadvertently deflected the heat upto the dashcam? We had warnings in our heatwave saying not to leave bottles of water in cars due to the way they can reflect heat, not only causing damage inside vehicles but because the melting plastic becomes toxic and mixes into the water, which then may get consumed!

 

[YX5CZW2Y]

it shouldn't happen in these types of temps, we've tested in hotter temps, we have had two prior cases of buttons warping but that was running while parked due to a firmware bug with the hardwire kit, I do have the hardware engineer already looking at the buttons to see if we need to change the design or the material as it shouldn't happen, we will of course cover this under warranty, apologies in advance for any inconvenience while we sort this out

What hardwire kit is that with the firmware issue? I was thinking of buying one, this way I know which one I should be wary of.


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[jokiin]

What hardwire kit is that with the firmware issue? I was thinking of buying one, this way I know which one I should be wary of.


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the SGDCHW hardwire kit is ok, it was a camera firmware problem we've been working on sorting, will hopefully release the new firmware for that very soon, we're just testing a new version now

 

[jokiin]

While I do not doubt SG's efforts which are boundless, there is something not quite right when none of the other plastics shown in the pic melted under the very same conditions. It would seem that either the car factory has better plastics or that yours isn't up to the specs it should be. Maybe your material supplier sold you a substandard batch? Maybe there's a difference in the molding processes? I'm certainly no expert here, just stating the obvious.

And as always with SG, after-sales support is the best in the world

Phil

we have had bad batch of plastic before due to incorrect mix being used, try as you might these things can happen unfortunately

 

[kamkar]

What hardwire kit is that with the firmware issue

There are just 1 hard wire kit for the DC and thats the SGDCHW kit. And no problem with the hard wire kit, but the DC had a little teething problems working with the hard wire kit, but the guys are flat out fixing those.
I think you can run others too, but then you cant take advantage of the parking features in the DC.

 

[Beano]

What hardwire kit is that with the firmware issue? I was thinking of buying one, this way I know which one I should be wary of.


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The SGDCHW optional 3 wire kit works as designed, and is a very reliable power source. Street Guardian has made some great strides in the firmware development and it continues so it would be a safe purchase.