Viofo A119 V3 not recording/saving to SD. I feel like I've tried everything.

[deniall83]

I have a Viofo A119 V3 which I bought a couple of years ago. I installed it with the hardwire kit into my interior fuse box. It worked for a while but I was having issues with my car battery so I disconnected it. A recent local incident prompted me to install it correctly and start using it again. I updated it to the latest firmware and formatted the SD card. It didn't seem to be recording so I did a ton of reading and I deduced that the SD card I was using was probably cooked (Sandisk Ultra 32GB) so I replaced it with the recommended Sandisk Max Endurance 128GB card. I formatted the card to FAT32 using some software and re-formatted in the camera. Despite doing all this, the camera still wasn't saving anything to the SD card. If I remove it and look at the contents, it just shows as an empty card. No folders or anything.

I have reset the camera to factory settings, reformatted the card multiple times both in and out of the camera, changed settings, different cables, updated firmware and tried pretty much everything I can find online to get it working with no luck. The screen shows all the data and the Viofo logo but not the picture it's recording. I haven't been able to get it to display the picture from the camera at any point. All the buttons seem to work and the menu is accessible. Clicking the record button results in the beep warning and flashing LED indicating that recording has stopped. The camera seems to be doing everything right except actually recording and saving the files.

I don't know what to do here and I'm hoping someone has a suggestion for me. I have attached a picture of the screen when powered on in my car.

 

[deniall83]

Apologies, the image didn't attach.

 

[Kremmen]

Plug the dash cam into an internal house power socket using a mobile phone charging 'brick'

USB to Mini USB lead required.

If it works then you have a car power issue, if you don't then it's likely a card issue.

 

[deniall83]

Plug the dash cam into an internal house power socket using a mobile phone charging 'brick'

USB to Mini USB lead required.

If it works then you have a car power issue, if you don't then it's likely a card issue.

I have done this with the same result. Two different cables.

 

[LateralNW]

I have a Viofo A119 V3 which I bought a couple of years ago. I installed it with the hardwire kit into my interior fuse box. It worked for a while but I was having issues with my car battery so I disconnected it. A recent local incident prompted me to install it correctly and start using it again. I updated it to the latest firmware and formatted the SD card. It didn't seem to be recording so I did a ton of reading and I deduced that the SD card I was using was probably cooked (Sandisk Ultra 32GB) so I replaced it with the recommended Sandisk Max Endurance 128GB card. I formatted the card to FAT32 using some software and re-formatted in the camera. Despite doing all this, the camera still wasn't saving anything to the SD card. If I remove it and look at the contents, it just shows as an empty card. No folders or anything.

I have reset the camera to factory settings, reformatted the card multiple times both in and out of the camera, changed settings, different cables, updated firmware and tried pretty much everything I can find online to get it working with no luck. The screen shows all the data and the Viofo logo but not the picture it's recording. I haven't been able to get it to display the picture from the camera at any point. All the buttons seem to work and the menu is accessible. Clicking the record button results in the beep warning and flashing LED indicating that recording has stopped. The camera seems to be doing everything right except actually recording and saving the files.

I don't know what to do here and I'm hoping someone has a suggestion for me. I have attached a picture of the screen when powered on in my car.

I'm wondering if the ribbon cable from the camera to the circuit board may have dislodged.
Has the pivot point of the camera been moved a lot or the unit had a heavy impact like being dropped? I don't think what I am suggesting is common in your case it does make me wonder if it could be the cause.
Unfortunately to check would require the dashcam being pulled apart.
The good news if it is dislodged pushing it back in will give you back a working V3

Generally TF cards do cause problems but the fact you don't see any image on the screen and i presume you don't have it covered with black tap it seems the camera for whatever reason has stopped working.

 

[deniall83]

I'm wondering if the ribbon cable from the camera to the circuit board may have dislodged.
Has the pivot point of the camera been moved a lot or the unit had a heavy impact like being dropped? I don't think what I am suggesting is common in your case it does make me wonder if it could be the cause.
Unfortunately to check would require the dashcam being pulled apart.
The good news if it is dislodged pushing it back in will give you back a working V3

Generally TF cards do cause problems but the fact you don't see any image on the screen and i presume you don't have it covered with black tap it seems the camera for whatever reason has stopped working.

I disassembled the camera and everything was seated correctly and ribbons look fine.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I disassembled the camera and everything was seated correctly and ribbons look fine.

But did you pull the ribbon cable out of it's slot on the mainboard, then reinsert it? If not, that should be done. I believe I suggested this to you on Reddit as well. It may look OK, but removal and reinserting is what is needed.

 

[deniall83]

But did you pull the ribbon cable out of it's slot on the mainboard, then reinsert it? If not, that should be done. I believe I suggested this to you on Reddit as well. It may look OK, but removal and reinserting is what is needed.

Yes I removed the tape and pulled out the ribbons and re-seated them all including the power one.

 

[deniall83]

Just wanted to post an update as I think I've fixed it. I disassembled it and re-seated the ribbon cables about 10 times and eventually I got a picture. Frustratingly, the picture would seem ok and then while reassembling it would go fuzzy again. I did eventually get it working though so hopefully it stays that way.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Just wanted to post an update as I think I've fixed it. I disassembled it and re-seated the ribbon cables about 10 times and eventually I got a picture. Frustratingly, the picture would seem ok and then while reassembling it would go fuzzy again. I did eventually get it working though so hopefully it stays that way.

If it happens again, try cleaning the contacts with a pencil eraser and alcohol.

 

[Kremmen]

He's already posted it's solved by reseating the ribbon cable