Dash cam not charging

KITTYKOMP

Hi All,

I got a dash cam with my lease car but never used it for a year. Now using it and after a week the cigarette charger for it has stopped powering it when it's plugged into the cam (red light comes on when you take the micro usb out). I tried a different charger as I got sent 2 and it's the same thing.

I tried the usb cable but it only lets you view and not record, I googled and apparently it knows its not a full charger so won't record.

Any idea how to solve problem, I heard you can get a higher volt cigarette charger but it seems all are 12v.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Browntoa

Built-in lithium battery probably failed.

They need regular charging , you didn't use it for a year

KITTYKOMP

Browntoa wrote: »

Built-in lithium battery probably failed.

They need regular charging , you didn't use it for a year

Thanks. Does that mean I need a whole new replacement? It was never switched on before use and was brand new in the box?

shaun_from_Africa

The voltage supplied by the cigarette lighter/power socket lead will be 5 volts which should be the same as you will be getting from the USB lead.

The first thing you need to do is to check the socket for the charger to make sure that it looks clean with nothing in there that shouldn't be there as on some of them it's quite easy for dirt and other rubbish to get in.
If it looks clean, then check that the inner contact (what the sprung centre pin on the plug on the lead touches) looks okay but when you do this, don't poke about with anything metal as you can easily short out the inner contact to ground.

If nothing untoward is found then either check for voltage at the socket with a meter or if you can get something else that you know for definite works, try plugging this into the socket.
If that doesn't work or the meter shows no voltage then check the fuse for the socket.

shaun_from_Africa

Browntoa wrote: »

Built-in lithium battery probably failed.

They need regular charging , you didn't use it for a year

Some dashcam will still work with a totally discharged or dead battery as long as they are getting a power feed from the car.

As the OP was using it for a week before the problem manifested itself, the battery might still be okay as if it was dead because of sitting for a year, I would have expected it not to have worked as soon as it was plugged in a week ago.

KITTYKOMP

Browntoa wrote: »

Built-in lithium battery probably failed.

They need regular charging , you didn't use it for a year

Thanks, sorry not electrical minded at all.

Would the fact that the light comes on the charger when it's not plugged into the dash cam but turns off when it's plugged in suggest anything?

Sorry for my niavity.

shaun_from_Africa

KITTYKOMP wrote: »

Would the fact that the light comes on the charger when it's not plugged into the dash cam but turns off when it's plugged in suggest anything?

From that description, I would say that you could well have a bad electrical connection on the power socket.
The indicator light (actually an LED) only needs a tiny bit of current to work which can easily be available even when the socket has a poor connection.
As soon as the power lead is plugged into the camera and more current is pulled, the resistance of the poor connection rises and the LED goes off.

One thing I would suggest is to have a look in the socket at the centre terminal. This is normally fairly shiny and if discoloured because of a build up of oxidation, can prevent a good electrical contact.
If it looks bad, try giving it a clean. A light rub with a bit of very fine sandpaper on the end of a pencil will do this.

KITTYKOMP

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

From that description, I would say that you could well have a bad electrical connection on the power socket.
The indicator light (actually an LED) only needs a tiny bit of current to work which can easily be available even when the socket has a poor connection.
As soon as the power lead is plugged into the camera and more current is pulled, the resistance of the poor connection rises and the LED goes off.

One thing I would suggest is to have a look in the socket at the centre terminal. This is normally fairly shiny and if discoloured because of a build up of oxidation, can prevent a good electrical contact.
If it looks bad, try giving it a clean. A light rub with a bit of very fine sandpaper on the end of a pencil will do this.

Thank you, the reason I question the socket is that the car is also only a year old but again I have very limited car knowledge so will have a look at the socket.

AdrianC

KITTYKOMP wrote: »

I heard you can get a higher volt cigarette charger but it seems all are 12v.

Higher current (amps), not voltage. The car's electrics put out 12v (nominal, it's actually nearer 14.5v when the engine's running). An item can take more or less current from that - all cig-USB adaptors have a cap on how much they can provide.

shaun_from_Africa

KITTYKOMP wrote: »

Thank you, the reason I question the socket is that the car is also only a year old but again I have very limited car knowledge so will have a look at the socket.

As the car is only a year old, it will probably be under warranty and it might be unwise to do too much to the socket.
Why not pop into a dealership and see if someone will have a quick look at it.

oldagetraveller

The O.P. hasn't indicated the make/model of the camera. Does it actually have a built in battery? It might have a capacitor instead.
"It was never switched on before use and was brand new in the box?" Installed in the vehicle properly?