Why do new dashcams require ACC wire for hardwire kit?

[J Ward]

It wasn't like this in the past. In the past hardwire kits only needed a ground wire and a power wire for voltage cutoff at say, 11.5v (example)
Now these new cameras require both ground and power wire but also ACC, why is this?

 

[Nigel]

To let the dashcam know when it should be in parking mode.

The BAT connection should provide power at all times.

 

[J Ward]

To let the dashcam know when it should be in parking mode.

The BAT connection should provide power at all times.

Certainly agreed but this was possible a couple of years ago w/ just the red power wire and black ground.
Surprising to see it now requires an ACC wire.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah to me it seem like the ACC wire are just the trigger / sensor that tell what state the camera should go to.
Old school systems would use the G-sensor to do the same, so sit still in the car even if it was running, and they would change to parking mode after a few minutes.

The + with the ACC wire is it can do the hand over immediately, though that is a negative, CUZ then you leaving the car and slamming the door will create a event, hence why many have a option to delay hand over a few seconds.

 

[Vortex Radar]

I like having the ACC wire in place so that a voltage drop from a start/stop system kicking in at a red light doesn't send the dashcam into parking mode.

 

[J Ward]

I like having the ACC wire in place so that a voltage drop from a start/stop system kicking in at a red light doesn't send the dashcam into parking mode.

Fair point for vehicles that have that. I didn't think of that.

 

[J Ward]

Yeah to me it seem like the ACC wire are just the trigger / sensor that tell what state the camera should go to.
Old school systems would use the G-sensor to do the same, so sit still in the car even if it was running, and they would change to parking mode after a few minutes.

The + with the ACC wire is it can do the hand over immediately, though that is a negative, CUZ then you leaving the car and slamming the door will create a event, hence why many have a option to delay hand over a few seconds.

I see. Thank you for the insight.

 

[Nigel]

so sit still in the car even if it was running, and they would change to parking mode after a few minutes.

Yes, having it go into parking mode while sitting at lights is not good, and having it switch back a second after you set off from the lights, so that it fails to record a couple of seconds as you get hit by the red light runner is even worse!

 

[kamkar]

I have only tried this old way on my Lukas back in the day, and it would need longer inactivity ( 2 - 3 minutes ) than a red light will give you, so i dont see that as a problem

 

[Nigel]

I have only tried this old way on my Lukas back in the day, and it would need longer inactivity ( 2 - 3 minutes ) than a red light will give you, so i dont see that as a problem

I know several railway crossings that take more than 3 minutes, although then you don't really need to worry about the red light runner!

 

[kamkar]

Yeah that might be a issue, even in little old Denmark, though i cant recall being stuk such a place very often i think i cross a railway track in my car maybe 1-2 times a year.

 

[Cyker]

Strictly speaking they don't *require* them - Mine also has the 3 wires but I left the ACC disconnected as I didn't want it to drain my 12v battery, which is something this model of car is notorious for!

 

[Nigel]

Strictly speaking they don't *require* them - I left mine disconnected as I didn't want it to drain my 12v battery, which is something this model of car is notorious for!

If you don't use parking mode then there is definitely no need for the ACC signal, although it would allow a faster startup on turning the key, since there is no need to boot the operating system before starting recording. Not sure it makes much difference on current dashcams, but there is potential.

 

[Ukraine Visitor]

It wasn't like this in the past. In the past hardwire kits only needed a ground wire and a power wire for voltage cutoff at say, 11.5v (example)
Now these new cameras require both ground and power wire but also ACC, why is this?

Some newer dashcams can connect to an external dashcam-only battery which then feeds off the car's battery only when the car is running. Since such consumer external batteries came to the market much after consumer dashcams were being widely sold, I suspect the 3rd wire is used for handshaking that makes additional features available only to the external battery's management apps, should a user set up his HW kit in that optional configuration. In this case, if a consumer won't be using external batteries at all or if he will be using external batteries but doesn't care to manage, monitor or troubleshoot them via the optional external battery's own app, then the 3rd wire wouldn't be needed. I am no car electronics expert but if anyone in this forum is, then consider this my 2 cents and "food for thought".

 

[Vortex Radar]

Some newer dashcams can connect to an external dashcam-only battery which then feeds off the car's battery only when the car is running. Since such consumer external batteries came to the market much after consumer dashcams were being widely sold, I suspect the 3rd wire is used for handshaking that makes additional features available only to the external battery's management apps, should a user set up his HW kit in that optional configuration. In this case, if a consumer won't be using external batteries at all or if he will be using external batteries but doesn't care to manage, monitor or troubleshoot them via the optional external battery's own app, then the 3rd wire wouldn't be needed. I am no car electronics expert but if anyone in this forum is, then consider this my 2 cents and "food for thought".

The different battery apps I’ve seen for battery management all handle that through the battery. There is no data communication through the ACC wire.

The one exception I know of is the Thinkware U3000 with the iVolt Xtra battery so the dashcam can give you battery status info, but to do that it needs some additional data communication wires, independent from the three power wires.

 

[kamkar]

I would prefer a battery state readout on a power pack, but a row of LEDs and a button you could press to get ? of then to light up and indicate the charge.
The BT enabled ones, that would work too, but i would prefer to not have to install a APP on my phone for such a " minor" thing.

Even if this mean where i would put such a power pack, i would have to flex my old body to get a readout, CUZ it would still be rare i would like to see the charge state on the thing.

 

[Vortex Radar]

I would prefer a battery state readout on a power pack, but a row of LEDs and a button you could press to get ? of then to light up and indicate the charge.
The BT enabled ones, that would work too, but i would prefer to not have to install a APP on my phone for such a " minor" thing.

Even if this mean where i would put such a power pack, i would have to flex my old body to get a readout, CUZ it would still be rare i would like to see the charge state on the thing.

IIRC, the Cellink B used to offer that, similar to portable USB battery packs. It was convenient to not need an app, but people would often bury their batteries out of sight under a seat, in the trunk, etc. and so BT is a good workaround for that, plus it gives you more granularity over 4 LEDs or whatever. Pros and cons of course.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah.
I was thinking 10 LEDs myself, but that's probably not it on any power bank, more like 4 like you say.

I would just need to look for the first week or so until i have established a good setup of parking VS charging, of course me being me i would probably have to do that again and again as new systems get a run for the money on that power source.

 

[Ukraine Visitor]

The different battery apps I’ve seen for battery management all handle that through the battery. There is no data communication through the ACC wire.

The one exception I know of is the Thinkware U3000 with the iVolt Xtra battery so the dashcam can give you battery status info, but to do that it needs some additional data communication wires, independent from the three power wires.

BlackVue handles battery-pack information thru its app, but it also has a second, separate, "battery-only app" that provides further battery information (such as SNs, so you know which battery pack you are looking at, invaluable if you have more than 1 set of batteries in your vehicle). The battery packs they offer have several LED indicators but (as its most often the case) since the battery pack is tucked away and out of visual range, management via their dashcam app and their battery-only app is the most viable, sensible and practical way to do battery mgmt. IAE, per my disclaimer above, however, I cannot speak to whether or not there is any data communication through the ACC wire.

 

[Vortex Radar]

That’s true. They don’t indicate capacity of charge, but they are status LEDs to let you know when it’s charging, full, connected via BT to either app, etc. They’re definitely helpful for the initial installation.

The ACC wire for the Blackvue batteries, like everything else I can think of, is strictly for power. It is not a data wire, unless you wanna count “data” as a binary 1 or 0 depending on if the wire has power, lol.