SG9665GC quality issue: multiple defective cameras

[PrivateSlow]

I have now had two SG9665GC (v3) cameras fail within three months.

The first had a failure of the RTC (real-time clock) battery, which meant after being off for more than a few hours the time reset. This is a big problem for dashcams, since they always overwrite the oldest recordings! I found out when I needed to get a license plate and found an assortment of random clips from the previous month, in no order at all. That's unexpected on a 2 month old camera, but these things happen; DashCamBros sent me a return shipping label, confirmed the battery was defective, and sent me a new camera a couple of weeks ago.

And yesterday the new one started acting up: it usually locks up when booting. The first two times there was no startup sound and just the power LED lit up, requiring some combination of being unplugged and the reset button. (Neither alone fixed it.) Then this afternoon I checked while driving and noticed it had frozen after beginning to record! In that case the screen was still showing the parking lot I'd left ten minutes prior.

Unless someone has a clever fix besides the SD card (I'm using the one that came with the camera) or power (I'm using a 20-gauge USB wire, if you can believe it) I'm probably going to return this camera. It's vital that a dashcam be dependable, but with two defective units in a row I have serious doubts about this one. My two year old no-brand A118C has worse image quality but it never missed a beat.

 

[Harsh]

Unless someone has a clever fix besides the SD card (I'm using the one that came with the camera) or power (I'm using a 20-gauge USB wire, if you can believe it) I'm probably going to return this camera. It's vital that a dashcam be dependable, but with two defective units in a row I have serious doubts about this one. My two year old no-brand A118C has worse image quality but it never missed a beat.

Have you tried using the supplied charger?

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Sorry about the RTC button battery, rare but happens once in a blue moon. (quick swap)

Freezing on startup is usually a bad power supply or failing memory card. Which memory card (Brand make/model/size)? Is it Transcend or Samsung? Both are shipped. Even though it was supplied with the camera, it's possible the card itself is defective. (rare, but can happen) If you have any other card to troubleshoot with short term as a test that would help.

You said:

(I'm using a 20-gauge USB wire, if you can believe it) .

I'd point the finger at this. It doesn't matter what the gauge is, seen plenty of 3rd party cables have issues on all dashcam products. I would use the included cigarette power adapter for a week as a test and see how it works out. I bet you'll find it operates normal again suddenly. (you wouldn't be the first) Many 3rd party USB ports are under powered and will cause the CPU to freak out. Many USB Cables don't have much real copper inside and flake out.

I can assure you the SG9665GC is very reliable & stable long term. It's a version 3 for a reason. Odd things can happen form time to time. (happy to help troubleshoot with you)

 

[jokiin]

the USB cable at 20 gauge would be fine, what's it plugged into though, it does use a USB connector but the camera is not a USB device as such and a lot of power supplies are underrated for our purpose, a power related problem would cause problems like you're having

Whatever the issue we'll help get things sorted for you regardless

 

[PrivateSlow]

First of all, thank you for the quick reply. The memory card is a Transcend 32GB.

I'd point the finger at this. It doesn't matter what the gauge is, seen plenty of 3rd party cables have issues on all dashcam products. I would use the included cigarette power adapter for a week as a test and see how it works out. I bet you'll find it operates normal again suddenly. (you wouldn't be the first) Many 3rd party USB ports are under powered and will cause the CPU to freak out. Many USB Cables don't have much real copper inside and flake out.

For what it's worth, the USB power supply is this one, which is rated for 3A, and this is the cable. I honestly hadn't given much thought to the power supply because my previous camera used it for over a year without issue. With those, the voltage at the camera (with it running) is 4.98V, while the included power adapter was 5.03V. I only have one 12V socket so I hard-wired the dashcam in order to charge a phone or run a GPS without splitters and wires all over the place, but I'll try the included power adapter tomorrow. Thanks again.

 

[jokiin]

trying the included adapter is the quickest way to rule that out, from experience those buck converters aren't suitable so could well be your problem, there's a tear down on our power supply here https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sg-power-supply-tear-down.28690/

see how you go once you test with the right power lead, ours has nothing in the plug so you can always cut the plug off to hardwire

 

[PrivateSlow]

see how you go once you test with the right power lead, ours has nothing in the plug so you can always cut the plug off to hardwire

That's good to know, though using the supplied power adapter did not change a thing: once today the camera booted up, but otherwise the power LED lights and nothing else happens. Also, the power LED usually stays lit even after unplugging, then gradually fades away. Is there any significance to that? (edit: holding the power button down for a few seconds turns the LED off, for whatever that's worth.)

As for the memory card being bad, last night it was booting without a memory card so I ordered a couple of spares, but right now it's not powering up even without one so I'm still flummoxed. :-/

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Very odd well if you need a replacement it's no problem. I would avoid using that 3rd party power supply ever again though as maybe that's what damaged something in the camera.

 

[PrivateSlow]

Very odd well if you need a replacement it's no problem. I would avoid using that 3rd party power supply ever again though as maybe that's what damaged something in the camera.

If the only suitable power supply is the one supplied, I would suggest that the camera should have a proprietary plug, not a USB one.

I'm also confused because both my no-brand A118C and a Mobius on a similar setup have never had a problem with that power, but it could damage the SG9665GC? I'm not trying to be negative, but that honestly seems like a deficiency with the camera to me. Like if you bought a car that only ran on (Brand) gasoline, and other brands would damage the engine; sure, maybe (Brand) is a little bit better, but shouldn't a car run on any brand of gas?

And thank you, I'll consider trying another warranty replacement.

 

[jokiin]

The slow fade out indicates a software crash, locking up due to a memory error is the most common cause of that happening

It can use other USB power leads, it's not proprietary but a lot of USB power supplies are not sufficient

 

[PrivateSlow]

The slow fade out indicates a software crash, locking up due to a memory error is the most common cause of that happening

It can use other USB power leads, it's not proprietary but a lot of USB power supplies are not sufficient

The only action I can get out of it now is turning the LED off and on with the power button. Nothing else, including the reset button or powering up with or without an SD card, has an effect. Should I try re-flashing the firmware?

I guess I was naive to believe that 5V + sufficient amperage = USB power goodness. And I'm afraid I'm still curious why one camera would have a problem with power that other cams readily accept.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Do you have the GPS plugged into the AV out port by mistake? That wild keep the screen off. GC takes a bit more power than generic USB ports put out. (Some cables can attenuate the power as well) Under powering the unit can stress the NT96655 CPU.

 

[PrivateSlow]

Do you have the GPS plugged into the AV out port by mistake? That wild keep the screen off. GC takes a bit more power than generic USB ports put out. (Some cables can attenuate the power as well) Under powering the unit can stress the NT96655 CPU.

No, I've never used the GPS. And the power supply I have is rated for 3A, though apparently that isn't enough on its own. (I'm afraid my knowledge of electricity doesn't go much beyond Watts = Amps x Volts.)

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Many generic low cost power supplies don't live up to advertised specs and or are noisy / spike'y. Many budget USB cables will attenuate the current Way more than they are supposed to as well

 

[PrivateSlow]

Many generic low cost power supplies don't live up to advertised specs and or are noisy / spike'y. Many budget USB cables will attenuate the current Way more than they are supposed to as well

For what it's worth, as I stated above last night (when the camera still booted) the voltage through my USB cable was 4.98V, versus the supplied adapter at 5.03V. And those were with the camera on and running.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

You can't assume the power stays that stable the whole time though from generic power supply. You're only measuring a small moment

 

[PrivateSlow]

You can't assume the power stays that stable the whole time though from generic power supply. You're only measuring a small moment

Granted, but I'm still confused because 1) the supplied adapter didn't fix the problem (the camera didn't boot this morning, though it did a couple of times while messing with it on my lunch break) and 2) my other camera not only used that power for years but used it again today. I'm not saying there isn't a possibility of my power adapter being poor quality, just that I don't understand how that explains what I've seen.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

GC could be damaged now. It wouldn't be the first time.

This popular budget one has fried a few cameras over the years for example. Looks like they raised the price recently. https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01N0GR4ON

 

[jokiin]

If the camera has a power related issue just reverting to the correct power supply won't fix that now unfortunately

 

[PrivateSlow]

GC could be damaged now. It wouldn't be the first time.

This popular budget one has fried a few cameras over the years for example. Looks like they raised the price recently. https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01N0GR4ON

Wow, I looked it up in my Amazon order history and that exact adapter has been powering my Mobius for almost two years now.

I guess I'll see about another warranty exchange, but I'm afraid I still have reservations. I'm sure you can understand, when these power supplies have been running my other cameras without issue. Is there something about the SG9665GC that makes it especially sensitive/fragile? And on my other power supply the first SG9665GC worked well enough for the two months I had it (except for the clock battery) but the second one died in two weeks. If they'd both failed in the same way, or if I understood why a power supply would be fine for one camera and deadly to another, this would all make more sense to me. But if I can get this second one exchanged I'll hard wire the supplied power adapter and see how that goes.

(And perhaps install my old cam next to it, just in case.)