Unit freezes up. Must unplug to reset

[BTRKY]

Hello. New to the A129 Duo, but not new to DashCams. Have used several over the years. I've installed the A129 Duo hard wired with ACC and Battery fuse terminals. Unit functions fine until it sits overnight. Record light and mic light will be on, but the unit does not respond or record. I have to unplug the unit and wait for a couple of minutes for the lights to finally turn off, then it will power back on and function fine until it sits overnight again. I have tried with Park mode on and off. I currently have it off.

I double check the wiring and it is correct. Battery terminal is hot all the time and ACC terminal is on with ignition. Ground is good.

The unit is plugged in to the GPS mount. Should it be?

I returned another unit due to this, and this is the replacement. So obviously there is some issue that I don't understand, or I received two defective units.

The firmware is latest version according to the iPhone App. I do not keep WiFi on as I noticed this too causes the unit to act up.

I'm using SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video card and have swapped these to make sure it wasn't a card issue.

I welcome input and ideas. I really want to like this unit for the features and cost, but reliability seems to be an issue.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Need to be plugged into the camera, not the GPS mount for parking mode to function properly.

 

[benkar]

Hello. New to the A129 Duo, but not new to DashCams. Have used several over the years. I've installed the A129 Duo hard wired with ACC and Battery fuse terminals. Unit functions fine until it sits overnight. Record light and mic light will be on, but the unit does not respond or record. I have to unplug the unit and wait for a couple of minutes for the lights to finally turn off, then it will power back on and function fine until it sits overnight again. I have tried with Park mode on and off. I currently have it off.

I double check the wiring and it is correct. Battery terminal is hot all the time and ACC terminal is on with ignition. Ground is good.

The unit is plugged in to the GPS mount. Should it be?

I returned another unit due to this, and this is the replacement. So obviously there is some issue that I don't understand, or I received two defective units.

The firmware is latest version according to the iPhone App. I do not keep WiFi on as I noticed this too causes the unit to act up.

I'm using SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video card and have swapped these to make sure it wasn't a card issue.

I welcome input and ideas. I really want to like this unit for the features and cost, but reliability seems to be an issue.

Try connecting the power directly to the camera, not to the GPS mount.

 

[benkar]

Need to be plugged into the camera, not the GPS mount for parking mode to function properly.

Faster

 

[BTRKY]

First, thank you for the input about where to power the device. I assume GPS still works correctly when the unit power is used?

Secondly, even though I'm not using the parking mode, do you suspect this is why the unit is freezing up?

 

[benkar]

First, thank you for the input about where to power the device. I assume GPS still works correctly when the unit power is used?

Secondly, even though I'm not using the parking mode, do you suspect this is why the unit is freezing up?

1. Yes, GPS works properly when power is supplied to the camera.
2. Parking mode does not freeze the camera (whether on or off). Freezing in most cases causes a defective SD card. Sometimes SW error - it helps reset the camera, reinstall FW and reset the camera.

 

[Capture Your Action]

If your not using parking mode then why is the camera still on? Do you not want it to shut down when the car is off?

 

[BTRKY]

I'd like to use the parking mode, but it seems to cause malfunctions. I'll change the power cord location, reset and re-load FW and see how it goes.

 

[Capture Your Action]

If you had parking mode turned off in the settings, then the camera should have shut down when you turned the car off. If the camera was still on, then there is an issue with the hardwire kit connections. Could just be that you had the power connected to GPS mount instead of the camera itself. If that does not fix things, then the wire connections into the fuse box are probably incorrect.

 

[BTRKY]

If you had parking mode turned off in the settings, then the camera should have shut down when you turned the car off. If the camera was still on, then there is an issue with the hardwire kit connections. Could just be that you had the power connected to GPS mount instead of the camera itself. If that does not fix things, then the wire connections into the fuse box are probably incorrect.

Thank you for your advice. It is appreciated. As mentioned previously, wiring has been double checked and is confirmed correct. Perhaps it has been because the power was connected to the GPS mount. Will test this theory tonight. It seems to happen only after the unit has sat for a period of time. I've also turned the Park Mode back on.

 

[Capture Your Action]

With parking mode now on, the parking mode icon of a car in the top left corner of the LCD screen should change to an icon of the selected parking mode within about 5 seconds of the car being shut off. You should hear a double beep as well as it changes. If this does not happen, there will be a connection issue. Let us know how you make out.

 

[BTRKY]

I did hear the beep shortly after I shut the vehicle off.

 

[BTRKY]

Update: Had to travel for a few days, so parked vehicle at the airport long-term parking. Prior to this, the unit had functioned well for a couple of days. Friday, drove to airport and parked. As I exited, I waited for the unit to beep, indicating parking mode. The LCD went to sleep, but the power indicator remained on. Returned 2 days later and the unit was frozen. I had to power cycle it (unplug) to get it working again.

This continues to happen and this is the SECOND unit doing the same thing in two different vehicles. Cards are new Extreme SanDisk 256, WIRING IS CONFIRMED CORRECT, I had a knowledgeable person review it. The unit is plugged in the side, not the GPS.

I really like this unit, but it appears to be unreliable. I'm within the return window, but really would like it to work!

Ideas?

 

[Capture Your Action]

Update: Had to travel for a few days, so parked vehicle at the airport long-term parking. Prior to this, the unit had functioned well for a couple of days. Friday, drove to airport and parked. As I exited, I waited for the unit to beep, indicating parking mode. The LCD went to sleep, but the power indicator remained on. Returned 2 days later and the unit was frozen. I had to power cycle it (unplug) to get it working again.

This continues to happen and this is the SECOND unit doing the same thing in two different vehicles. Cards are new Extreme SanDisk 256, WIRING IS CONFIRMED CORRECT, I had a knowledgeable person review it. The unit is plugged in the side, not the GPS.

I really like this unit, but it appears to be unreliable. I'm within the return window, but really would like it to work!

Ideas?

Thought you said you were using the SanDisk High Endurance?

 

[BTRKY]

Thought you said you were using the SanDisk High Endurance?

Forgive me. High Endurance. Sorry for the wording mistake.

 

[Capture Your Action]

I use a A119S in my front window as a sort of security camera and it runs 24/7. There was a time, when I first started using it this way, that the camera would freeze up every 3, 4 or 5 days. I would format the card in the camera and it would run another 3, 4, 5, 6 days, then freeze up. This was with either a SanDisk Ultra A1 or Samsung EVO Select memory card. This occurred on at least 2 firmware versions, maybe 3. It has occurred on the most recent firmware as well. Then, at some point it stopped doing it. It can run for weeks now. Not sure why things improved, but they did. Purhaps it was all the formats in the camera that finally straightened things out? I know this doesn't really help you, but maybe format the card in the camera 3 or 4 times in a row as see how it does.

Did you update the camera since you've had it? V1.9 is the latest. If you did, did you manually default the cameras settings after the update? It is also recommended to press the reset button on the side of the camera. I believe pressing reset will clear the memory buffer. Some users say this has helped them with some issues they were experiencing after updating.

 

[BTRKY]

I use a A119S in my front window as a sort of security camera and it runs 24/7. There was a time, when I first started using it this way, that the camera would freeze up every 3, 4 or 5 days. I would format the card in the camera and it would run another 3, 4, 5, 6 days, then freeze up. This was with either a SanDisk Ultra A1 or Samsung EVO Select memory card. This occurred on at least 2 firmware versions, maybe 3. It has occurred on the most recent firmware as well. Then, at some point it stopped doing it. It can run for weeks now. Not sure why things improved, but they did. Purhaps it was all the formats in the camera that finally straightened things out? I know this doesn't really help you, but maybe format the card in the camera 3 or 4 times in a row as see how it does.

Did you update the camera since you've had it? V1.9 is the latest. If you did, did you manually default the cameras settings after the update? It is also recommended to press the reset button on the side of the camera. I believe pressing reset will clear the memory buffer. Some users say this has helped them with some issues they were experiencing after updating.

Good morning. Yes, the unit is on V1.9. I updated it and reset it before installing. Perhaps I'll reset the unit to default again and format the card again and see what happens.

On a side note, I've discovered what I think is the problem. Using Park Mode in Auto Detect, if the card fills up it does not start looping and deleting old files until you power-cycle the unit. I pulled and reviewed the video files from my airport parking. A tree was behind the truck and it was windy, so by the end of the 2nd day, the card was full with about 4200 files.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Good morning. Yes, the unit is on V1.9. I updated it and reset it before installing. Perhaps I'll reset the unit to default again and format the card again and see what happens.

On a side note, I've discovered what I think is the problem. Using Park Mode in Auto Detect, if the card fills up it does not start looping and deleting old files until you power-cycle the unit. I pulled and reviewed the video files from my airport parking. A tree was behind the truck and it was windy, so by the end of the 2nd day, the card was full with about 4200 files.

I would also press the reset button on the side of the camera (use a paper clip).

Your theory is easy enough to test. I'm currently testing it with a 16GB card, test should be quick.

 

[Capture Your Action]

Good morning. Yes, the unit is on V1.9. I updated it and reset it before installing. Perhaps I'll reset the unit to default again and format the card again and see what happens.

On a side note, I've discovered what I think is the problem. Using Park Mode in Auto Detect, if the card fills up it does not start looping and deleting old files until you power-cycle the unit. I pulled and reviewed the video files from my airport parking. A tree was behind the truck and it was windy, so by the end of the 2nd day, the card was full with about 4200 files.

After testing your theory with a 16GB card, my test unit seems to overwrite the old files fine. I'm not using the 3-wire kit though, just letting the camera enter Auto Event Detection mode after no motion is detected for 5 minutes. I let it run for a few days in my office and all seems fine. Running V1.9.

Technically, unless you are formatting the card every few days, the card is always going to be full, so I don't see this as the issue. I would be sure to press the reset button on the side of the camera and test again. Pressing the reset button apparently clears the memory buffer, which is useful (possibly needed) when updating the firmware.

 

[Edward]

I believe pressing reset will clear the memory buffer. Some users say this has helped them with some issues they were experiencing after updating.

I think the side button is no longer active after installing recent updates.