VIOFO BP100 Dash Cam Battery Pack - Test & Review PP

[Hack_man]

Hi, all. First post here. I've got an A329S and BP100 on the way as my first dashcam, so I appreciate all the info and discussion.

I'm more of a computer—than a car—guy, so I'm not familiar with voltages and the inner workings of a car's electrical system. However, I did do my due diligence to research various reviews, install processes, and general information, part of which admittedly involved Google Gemini which I know isn't perfect. One recommendation I got for the BP100 (via Gemini) is to twist together the BP100's ACC and battery wires to connect them to a single fuse tap instead of individual fuse taps for both wires. I'd like to know if this is safe, with the intent of connecting that single fuse tap to an accessory fuse so there's no draw from the car's battery when the car is shut off, leaving the dashcam power draw solely from the BP100.

I will be installing this in a Mazda 6 which has a feature called i-ELOOP which uses a supercapacitor to store energy for the car's electrical accessories during regenerative braking. I intend on using the A329S' parking mode, and my concern—even with the low voltage cutoff—is that connecting the BP100's battery wire to a constant power fuse will interfere with i-ELOOP with parking mode on. Gemini seems to think that with the battery cable connected, the BP100 will continue to charge itself even when the car is off.

In all, would I connect the ACC and battery wires separately as instructed (in the BP100 manual), twist together the ACC and battery wires to connect them to a single fuse tap, or connect only the ACC wire to a fuse tap and leave the battery wire disconnected?

That is probably not a good approach to twist ACC and BAT wires together and use an ACC fuse. You will be drawing maximum charging current (11A) from the Battery (Red) wire when the Accessory (Yellow) wire is enabled. The problem is that most modern accessory fuses would not be happy with an additional 11A load but check the fuse ratings. The ACC wire is a low current signal that triggers high current to flow in the BATTERY wire, which is tapped into a high current fuse. It also may provide for a "delayed" current which allows the car voltage to stabilize before charging the BP100.

You cannot "connect only the ACC wire and leave the battery wire disconnected", since the BP100 would never charge. The BP100 gets its charging current thru the Red Battery wire.

I'm not familiar with the i_ELOOP Mazda feature, but the BATT wire will not draw current if you tap the ACC wire into a fuse that has no voltage when the ignition is off.

Why not just use the CLA cable ? The only disadvantage is the battery will charge slower and you have to make sure the 12V port is OFF when the car is OFF.

@Karagandinez has good advice, read the link he attached.

 

[Noob987]

Hello everyone,

My setup is as follows:

Front unit:
A229 Pro 3CH (RTC300 telephoto as rear channel, RNF210 fisheye cabin camera)
– hardwired with HK6 (parking mode enabled)

Rear unit:
A229 Pro 3CH (RTC300 telephoto as rear channel, original RF200 cabin camera)
– powered from the rear cigarette lighter via a multi-USB socket
(planning to use BP100 for parking mode with the rear unit)

Side cameras:
2× good old A119 V3 🙂 (previous front + rear setup)
– also powered from the rear cigarette lighter via a multi-USB socket

I’ve gone through most of the posts in this thread, but I may have missed something, so I have a few questions:

1) Is the BP100 compatible with HK6 on the input side?
Can I connect the BP100 upstream of HK6 if I wanted to power the front unit from BP100 as well, or would I need to remove HK6 entirely (which would mean re-doing all the fuse-box wiring)?
2) For my rear unit, is there any better alternative to BP100?
I see the Energy Well P8 mentioned in this thread. It also supports a CLA connection, is similarly priced, and has about 1.5× higher capacity (~150 Wh).
3) I believe I can charge BP100 at home with 12V 5 A max output via CL, right? Or would 5 A be not enough? I doubt.

A slightly off-topic question:

4) My HK6 is connected to:
– BAT: 20 A (door locking)
– ACC: 7.5 A (radio / climate control panel / ventilation / rear cigarette lighter)

However, I’m using 10 A (red) add-on fuses supplied with this mini/ATS fuse tap: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004940767847.html
I believe Viofo supplies 5 A (orange) fuses with their official fuse taps: https://www.viofo.com/products/2pcs...o2-micro3-ato-mini-low-profile-adapter-holder
Should I better use 5 A fuses or is 10 A also ok? If I understand correctly, in the event of a fault it would at worst damage the HK6, while the dashcam itself should remain safe, since HK6 limits the output to ~2 A and has its own internal protection/fuse.

 

[Hack_man]

Wow what a cool setup you have!
I'll try to answer your questions:

1) Is the BP100 compatible with HK6 on the input side?
Can I connect the BP100 upstream of HK6 if I wanted to power the front unit from BP100 as well, or would I need to remove HK6 entirely (which would mean re-doing all the fuse-box wiring)?

Yes the BP100 is compatible with the HK6 on the input side of the HK6
Refer to this earlier post from @rcg530
I can't picture what you are suggesting regarding configuring the BP100 upstream of the HK6

2) For my rear unit, is there any better alternative to BP100?
I see the Energy Well P8 mentioned in this thread. It also supports a CLA connection, is similarly priced, and has about 1.5× higher capacity (~150 Wh).

The BP100 is a full featured dashcam battery pack but the Energy Well P8 has some extras.
The PC8 has a higher capacity (154 Wh vs 96 Wh) and there are more USB output ports on the P8. There is also a nice LCD display on it.
The BP100 can, however be expanded to add an external battery, as can the P8.
I find it odd that the EnergyWell specs don't mention the charging temperature is limited to a low of 0ºF for LFP chemistry.
The P8 appears to be around $370 vs $280 for the BP100 so I'm not sure why you say they are about the same cost.

3) I believe I can charge BP100 at home with 12V 5 A max output via CL, right? Or would 5 A be not enough? I doubt.

I cannot say it won't work to charge the BP100 at 5A but the spec says it can charge at 6A max and I have observed 6.5A on the battery app using the CLA charger.
It may just charge slower if limited to 5A.

4) My HK6 is connected to:
– BAT: 20 A (door locking)
– ACC: 7.5 A (radio / climate control panel / ventilation / rear cigarette lighter)

However, I’m using 10 A (red) add-on fuses supplied with this mini/ATS fuse tap: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004940767847.html
I believe Viofo supplies 5 A (orange) fuses with their official fuse taps: https://www.viofo.com/products/2pcs...o2-micro3-ato-mini-low-profile-adapter-holder
Should I better use 5 A fuses or is 10 A also ok? If I understand correctly, in the event of a fault it would at worst damage the HK6, while the dashcam itself should remain safe, since HK6 limits the output to ~2 A and has its own internal protection/fuse.

I would never use a higher rated fuse than what is specified. The fuse is not intended to "protect" the HK6. It's rating is sized for the wiring and weakest link in the current chain. Oversizing risks a fire.
Why would you not just use the add-on fuses which were supplied with the HK6 kit?

 

[Noob987]

Wow what a cool setup you have!

Thanks! 🙂

Yes the BP100 is compatible with the HK6 on the input side of the HK6

I meant the input side of BP100. My front unit connection: fuses->HK6->A229. Is it possible to have it: fuses->HK6->BP100->A229 to avoid re-doing all the fuse-box wiring?

The P8 appears to be around $370 vs $280 for the BP100 so I'm not sure why you say they are about the same cost.

Look here and calculate PLN to USD: https://allegro.pl/oferta/akumulato...ochodowych-energy-well-p8-153-6wh-17698275774
Would P8 work with no issues regarding Viofo parking mode? Maybe some hassle with extra cables to buy needed?

Why would you not just use the add-on fuses which were supplied with the HK6 kit?

I don't remember now but I believe it was not my stupidity. 🙂 They must have not been attached with HK6 that I bought: https://allegro.pl/oferta/adapter-z...ryb-parkingowy-do-kamer-a329s-t-w-17855118171

 

[Hack_man]

Noob987 said:
I meant the input side of BP100. My front unit connection: fuses->HK6->A229. Is it possible to have it: fuses->HK6->BP100->A229 to avoid re-doing all the fuse-box wiring?

Definitely not. The wires in the HK6 are not sized for charging the BP100 so even if you modified the 3 wire connector on the input side (12V) of the HK6 converter module to fit the BP100's charging (12V) input, it would not work.

Look here and calculate PLN to USD: https://allegro.pl/oferta/akumulato...ochodowych-energy-well-p8-153-6wh-17698275774
Would P8 work with no issues regarding Viofo parking mode? Maybe some hassle with extra cables to buy needed?

Hmm, The cost appears to be inexpensive for the PC8 at Allegro when converting PLN to USD.

Functionally the P8 would work with Viofo parking mode, but the question is compatibility of the HK6/P8 connector. You may need a splice/adapter.
@Energywell can you please answer this?

 

[Noob987]

Thanks for your answer. Still waiting also for @Energywell
Meanwhile, I started charging the BP100 for the first time. It was at 31% when I bought it. Surprisingly, after a few minutes the Android app suddenly jumped from 31% to 100%… but it’s still charging. That makes me wonder.

 

[Hack_man]

I just realized this is kind of hijacking Chuck's thread meant for the BP100!
Maybe he won't notice

The photo below shows you would need to splice the dashcam's power cable into the P8's output cable (see lower right side of photo). Not a big deal but it's not a "plug and play" connection.

But I find the instructions for connecting to the vehicle +12V for charging the unit VERY confusing.

The photo shows red and black wires from the right side connector labelled "output" going to the car's fuse box. This makes sense. But the Option 2 instructions indicate there should be three wires where it states: "Using the provided ACC power cable, connect the appropriate wires to your vehicle's fuse box. Typically, this involves connecting to a constant power source (B+) and an accessory power source (ACC) that turns on/off with the ignition, as well as a ground wire (GND). "
So why are there only two wires shown in the photo (red and black) and why does step 2 state "Connect the other end of the ACC power cable to the DC-IN 12V port of the P8"? The DC-IN 12V connection is shown as using a completely separate and single cable in the photo.

Why would you need to use the DC-IN 12V port of the P8 if you are hardwiring with the connector labelled "Output" ? And why is this Connector called an output when it's clearly used for both DC input and camera output power?

I question if parking mode even works if you use the CLC (Option 1) since the last sentence in Option 2 states "This method allows the P8 to detect ignition status and automatically switch between driving and parking modes, providing continuous power to your dashcam for extended parking surveillance." So does that mean Option 1 does not support parking mode?

 

[Hack_man]

Thanks for your answer. Still waiting also for @Energywell
Meanwhile, I started charging the BP100 for the first time. It was at 31% when I bought it. Surprisingly, after a few minutes the Android app suddenly jumped from 31% to 100%… but it’s still charging. That makes me wonder.

That is strange behavior for it to jump from 31% to 100% so quickly.
I think the app remembers the level from the last time it was connected via bluetooth, but updates to the correct reading once re-connected. But that does not appear to be what happened in your case.

 

[viofo]

That is strange behavior for it to jump from 31% to 100% so quickly.
I think the app remembers the level from the last time it was connected via bluetooth, but updates to the correct reading once re-connected. But that does not appear to be what happened in your case.

This should be fixed in last OTA update.

There are two OTA update pushes:
1. The 1st time, reduce the 3 mins charging time from 0% to 100%.
2. The 2nd time, fixed this strange jump from 31% to 100%.

 

[Noob987]

My app version is 1.0, no updates available at this moment.

 

[tenderloins_strigilator]

My app version is 1.0, no updates available at this moment.

They probably meant the firmware updates for BP100 that you can install via the app.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

My app version is 1.0, no updates available at this moment.

Reinstall this battery app: https://we.tl/t-C5pzu048gs
Connect the app to the battery, there will be an OTA update reminder, confirm it to update the firmware and test again.

 

[Noob987]

Reinstall this battery app: https://we.tl/t-C5pzu048gs
Connect the app to the battery, there will be an OTA update reminder, confirm it to update the firmware and test again.

That is the first thing I did after installing the app. To be precise, I updated the battery firmware on 16th January 16:20 GMT, after which I charged the battery.
Please let me know if there was another OTA since then.

 

[Hack_man]

Reinstall this battery app: https://we.tl/t-C5pzu048gs
Connect the app to the battery, there will be an OTA update reminder, confirm it to update the firmware and test again.

The Viofo Battery app uses the latest FW from Viofo's servers so I don't see how to instruct the app to use the download version that you provided?
How does the Firmware downloaded from the link get loaded into the Battery?

Edit:
Now I see they are providing the battery app, not FW

 

[Noob987]

What they gave is the Android app "VIOFO Battery" I don't know why. I can as well reinstall it from Google Store but first I need to know if there is any point. Like I say, on 16.01.2026 I upgraded BP100 firmware in the app.

 

[losang30]

@viofo

Can you please let us know when the new firmware will be released, I believe it is suppose to be 2.1 where the new firmware will be able to use the percentage of battery left in the battery pack in order to utilize it for low power impact detection to switch over.

Also, is there any way to tell which firmware is currently installed for the battery pack. i know I have gotten two updates but I can't tell which firmware I am currently running.

Thank you

 

[Noob987]

What they gave is the Android app "VIOFO Battery" I don't know why. I can as well reinstall it from Google Store but first I need to know if there is any point. Like I say, on 16.01.2026 I upgraded BP100 firmware in the app.

I reinstalled the app, assuming this was Viofo's intention - that the app should completely forget the previously associated battery. I then added the battery again, but no new firmware update appeared.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

@viofo

Can you please let us know when the new firmware will be released, I believe it is suppose to be 2.1 where the new firmware will be able to use the percentage of battery left in the battery pack in order to utilize it for low power impact detection to switch over.

Alos, is there any way to tell which firmware is currently installed for the battery pack. i know I have gotten two updates but I can't tell which firmware I am currently running.

Thank you

The new version is under testing now.

 

[puschel_1]

Hello everyone,

I have an idea that I would like to discuss with you.
I am planning to buy a Viofo A329 with a BP100.
I would like to connect the BP 100 using a hardwire kit.
Question 1: Does it stop charging as soon as the engine is no longer running?
Since my commute to work is only 10 minutes, the battery will no longer be fully charged.
I have a 240V DEFA connection in my car for an electric parking heater. My idea would be to install a 12V power supply and connect it to the "Ext. Bat“ connection to charge the BP100 as soon as I connect the DEFA cable to the vehicle.
Question 2: Of course, I will install a fuse in between, but would this work in principle? 240V --> 12V power supply --> ”Ext. Bat" BP100.

Thank you in advance!

Florian

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Hello everyone,

I have an idea that I would like to discuss with you.
I am planning to buy a Viofo A329 with a BP100.
I would like to connect the BP 100 using a hardwire kit.
Question 1: Does it stop charging as soon as the engine is no longer running?
Since my commute to work is only 10 minutes, the battery will no longer be fully charged.
I have a 240V DEFA connection in my car for an electric parking heater. My idea would be to install a 12V power supply and connect it to the "Ext. Bat“ connection to charge the BP100 as soon as I connect the DEFA cable to the vehicle.
Question 2: Of course, I will install a fuse in between, but would this work in principle? 240V --> 12V power supply --> ”Ext. Bat" BP100.

Thank you in advance!

Florian

It depends how you charge the BP100. If there is a signal from ACC cable, the BP100 will keep charging.
For some cars, even the car turned off, there is still a power supply, it will last from 5 to 30 mins until it cut off the ACC.