A129 Pro Duo - More help needed please!

[SWoMP]

Since receiving my replacement camera I've been wrestling with trying to get it to work reliably - and failing! At the moment it seems to work correctly for less than 50% of the time. The rest of the time nothing is captured...

It is wired with a HK3 supply with the Accessory supply set to cutoff below 12.4V (but that is irrelevant as I discovered today that Parking Mode was turned off - not by me unless Off is the default!).

The symptoms when it is not working properly are:

1. Camera doesnt always turn on when vehicle is started.
2. When it does turn on, it quite often power cycles again within a few seconds or sometimes minutes. It can do this up to 5 or more times...
3. It does this whether the power connector is into the GPS mount or into the side of the camera.
4. Sometimes it will turn on and display an image, but this doesnt change when vehicle starts moving. Image stays on screen until the next time the camera power is cycled off and on again. Nothing is recorded. Will sometimes do this repeatedly...

I've tried doing test with the rear camera plugged in or not. This doesnt make any difference. I've also tried with reformatted card but the problem still occurs.

One of the things I suspect is the HK3 power supply so I want to check this. The only way I can think of doing this is by measuring the supply at the pins of the GPS Mount (thats why I asked this: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/gps-mount-connector-pins.45851/).

To summarise the problems they are:
A) Camera keeps restarting (with resultant corrupted files)
B) Camera starts, shows image which then never changes (or disappears from screen), not does it record anything.

Any help regarding testing the HK3 supply or other testing parameters much appreciated.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

I also suspect it may be a power problem or caused by a defective HK3 hardwire kit.

Please check if the LED indicator (see the attached pic) is on when the ignition is on and is in parking mode.

To check the power supply, you can refer to this post to find a reliable fuse to connect.

How about your car battery? If the voltage is below 12V when the ignition is on, it means the battery is too old. I recommend you use multimeter to do a test on it as well.

 

[SWoMP]

Thank-you. I will check the adaptor (as shown), and get the fuse connections checked even though on some journeys the unit it does work correctly throughout.

The vehicle is just 6 months old and I have been checking the battery voltage. It has ranged from 12.26V (min) through to 12.9V (maximum reading) with most readings between 12.5V and 12.8V

 

[SWoMP]

Also, can you tell me...

In the HK3 kit, does the Voltage Limiter apply to both the Ignition and Accessory feeds or just the Accessory (for parking mode)?

 

[Zaki2009]

Zkuste odpojit napájení od držáku GPS a ponechat pouze napájení ze strany.
Měl jsem stejný problém a to mě zastavilo.

 

[SWoMP]

Thanks, but as I said I've already tried that. Anyway, it now seems my hardwire kit may not be connected correctly so I'm following up on that at the moment....

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Also, can you tell me...

In the HK3 kit, does the Voltage Limiter apply to both the Ignition and Accessory feeds or just the Accessory (for parking mode)?

It applies to Accessory for the normal driving recording.

 

[Capture Your Action]

It applies to Accessory for both parking mode and the normal driving recording.

The Accessory wire is the yellow wire connected to a fuse that is dead when car is off. Why would the low voltage cutoff apply only to that wire? Maybe there is some confusion here?

 

[SWoMP]

OK, we've double-checked all the wiring connections and their supplies. All is at it should be. And I've checked all the camera settings and they are as would be expected.

However, on a number of test journeys the camera still seems to switch on and off at random. Sometime it will restart several times within a couple of miles, other times it records fine.

On the last couple of test runs it has, in the middle of a journey started beeping with an on screen message "Insert MicroSD Card...". This beeps for a while and then disappears. Need less to say there are no recordings for the duration of the message, BUT there are recordings for the parts of the journey before and AFTER the message without me touching the camera at all!

On the last journey I had reformatted the SDcard using GUIformat2 but it still did the same: Recorded files before the Insert message, and recorded file for the journey after. And all of these interspersed with the camera beeping as though it is restarting.

The other symptom is that the camera will turn on with a start image, but when the journey starts the image on the camera screen doesnt change and file is not recorded. That image stays on the screen until I manually restart the camera.

Needless to say I am very unhappy with all this....

 

[Capture Your Action]

Have you tried using the supplied 12V car adapter and long USB power cable to rule out the hardwire kit?

 

[SWoMP]

I have tried that but it still plays up, plus Parking mode doesnt work with that of course..

 

[Capture Your Action]

The only other suggestions I can make is 1) Try another memory card. Be sure to format it in the camera before using. A faulty card can cause all sorts of strange issues. 2) Open up the camera and inspect the capacitors. If there is a blown capacitor, that could cause your issue. Simply opening up the back is easy, but If your uncomfortable in doing this and your camera is still under warranty, then talk with your seller. FYI, there are videos online on how to open up the camera. I would try another card before opening up the camera though.

 

[SWoMP]

Have tried two different sdcards (both came from the Viofo UK supplier). I have formatted them on a PC using Gioformat2 (elapsed time 2 hours on each occasion) and also used the camera unit to format them.
It is within the warranty period but UK agent wont act on anything unless there is a support ticket from here.
I have wasted hours of my life, plus wasteful miles on my new car to keep doing this. Everytime I get a succesful run I think we've cracked it... then the next run turns to sh*t.
The "Insert SDcard " msg in the midst of a run but with precedind and following recordings without changing is really the last straw. I've now given up...

 

[SWoMP]

P.s. I cant help feeling that if this is a quality product there should be a logging function which can be turned on to record changes in events to help diagnose the problems so many users seem to encounter.

 

[Capture Your Action]

P.s. I cant help feeling that if this is a quality product there should be a logging function which can be turned on to record changes in events to help diagnose the problems so many users seem to encounter.

I don't think any consumer dash camera has a logging feature to help the user diagnose an issue. At least I have not seen one.

As far as I know Viofo.UK is not directly affiliated with Viofo, other than the fact that they are a reseller. They should not need any kind of support ticket from Viofo to honor the warranty on the camera. Having said that, have you created a support ticket with Viofo? I'm sure they will help you get it replaced if that's what's needed.

https://support.viofo.com/support/tickets/new

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Sorry for the wrong information! I also recommend you change an SD card. If it still doesn't work, please submit a ticket to us.

 

[SWoMP]

I have tried two different SD cards, and have tried them part used, formatted by the camera, and full format by GUIformat2. Still cant get a clean record run.
I am going to get the HK3 plus Fuse Taps tested again for intermittent failures, and comparing results on the USB direct cable.
Once I've done those, if I cant pin down what is happening I will submit a ticket. Thankyou.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Since the issue occurs even with the rear camera unplugged, try powering the camera in your house using the supplied short USB cable and a USB wall charger. Be sure the wall charger supplies at least 1A, preferably more. See how reliably the camera starts and records. Power cycle it a few times at random by pulling the power cable, then plug it back in and see if it starts back up normally. If it still acts up during these tests, then I would confidently point to the camera itself as the issue.
Have you ever updated the firmware or reinstalled it?

 

[SWoMP]

I've tried with and without the rear camera but there are varied, but non-conclusive results. It does work fine on the desk using the USB cable and a Samsung Fast Charging plug.
This is the second cam I've had and both came with V2.4 firmware. No updates have been done.
I'm beginning to think there are two problems, one with the HK3 kit or installation, and one with the camera unit's support of the rear cam.
Will try and test with and without the rear camera one again tomorrow, powered by the USB cable
The investigation of the HK3 connection will be looked at by my car's specialist technician on Wednesday.

 

[SWoMP]

Sorry for the wrong information! I also recommend you change an SD card. If it still doesn't work, please submit a ticket to us.

I've run several more tests since the above. I've had confirmed the HK3 kit is doing exactly what it is supposed to. Then I discovered that if I did not plug the rear camera into the front camera unit everything worked, without any interruptions. No "insert SD car", no system restarting, and parking mode working fine.
So I'd like to submit a ticket - can you remind me how to do that please?

(Camera was supplied by UK supplier trading as ViofoUK).