Dual Camera always on? safe to install?

[elon2024]

Can anyone advise the best way to permanently install a:

"TOGUARD 12" 2.5K Mirror Dash Cam for Cars GPS Voice Control Rear View Camera Touch Screen Front and Rear Dual Lens Dash Cameras Waterproof Backup Camera with Parking Assistance Night Vision"

in a Chevrolet Equinox 2011?

It says it can be "Triggered by parking monitor, the dash cam will automatically turn on and take 20s footage when detecting collision."

Should I buy an extra backup battery and can i connect it in such a way that it will recharge upon ignition and if so, does it need to be a deep cycle battery?

I also don't understand why it specifically says this under important safety information:

"Please DO NOT leave the camera in direct sunlight for long periods of time or where the temperature exceeds 140°F (60°C). "

I would assume that it would be parked 8 hours in the sun or shade wherever in the world it is ... I live in Texas and it doesn't take long for a car with windows up to become 120 degrees Anyone have a concern?

 

[deadlyapp]

I don't think you'd want to permanently install - however if you mean "hardwire" then it should be trivial to do so. I'm trying to understand your comments about leaving it always on - I would suspect that 95% of collisions to a parked vehicle are going to be side-swipes, not full on front or rear collisions, in which case a dash cam is going to accomplish nothing for you. Before getting hung up on determining a way to keep it always on without killing your battery, I would look at installing it and checking field of view, and perhaps even having another vehicle "pretend" to hit you, to see if you can even identify anything from a vehicle. More than likely you'd never be able to see a plate, so you'd have to already know who the offending vehicle is.

Regarding the temperature, most LCD screens in cars operate perfectly fine when turned on after sitting in the sun for long periods, so I wouldn't worry too much, as long as you do not directly have it on top of the dash or somewhere where exposed to the sunlight directly.

 

[fralexandr]

The device likely uses lithium polymer batteries that are not designed to withstand high heat, which could result in premature battery wear and some fire risk/bulging cells. Most dashcams intended for hot weather use super capacitors.

The camera shouldn't exhaust the car battery if properly set up. When your vehicle is off, the camera will only turn on when the dashcam moves due to something shaking your car.

Toguard sells a hardwire kit for permanent installs.

Installing the cameras requires removing some parts of the interior to get the wires through. As well as drilling a hole where you want the backup camera mounted. You may want to hire someone to install it.
The power lines should be attached to be unpowered when the vehicle is off.

 

[deadlyapp]

The device likely uses lithium polymer batteries that are not designed to withstand high heat, which could result in premature battery wear and some fire risk/bulging cells. Most dashcams intended for hot weather use super capacitors.

The camera shouldn't exhaust the car battery if properly set up. When your vehicle is off, the camera will only turn on when the dashcam moves due to something shaking your car.

Toguard sells a hardwire kit for permanent installs.

Installing the cameras requires removing some parts of the interior to get the wires through. As well as drilling a hole where you want the backup camera mounted. You may want to hire someone to install it.
The power lines should be attached to be unpowered when the vehicle is off.

Ah, I misunderstood the type of device. Yes, if it has an on-board battery, then it should have charging circuitry, and likely the battery design is what precludes the use in hot temperatures (same way your phone won't charge if you leave it on your dash, or it will turn itself off if it gets too hot).

As long as your cigarette or 12v power plug is only switched on when ignition is on, you don't have to worry about your battery at all. If you want to hardwire it directly to the battery, then just make sure you use a relay and separate fuse, and make sure that you again use an ignition switched power source, like the cigarette lighter, radio, etc which only is active when car is on or in accessory.

 

[elon2024]

I don't think you'd want to permanently install - however if you mean "hardwire" then it should be trivial to do so. I'm trying to understand your comments about leaving it always on - I would suspect that 95% of collisions to a parked vehicle are going to be side-swipes, not full on front or rear collisions, in which case a dash cam is going to accomplish nothing for you. Before getting hung up on determining a way to keep it always on without killing your battery, I would look at installing it and checking field of view, and perhaps even having another vehicle "pretend" to hit you, to see if you can even identify anything from a vehicle. More than likely you'd never be able to see a plate, so you'd have to already know who the offending vehicle is.

Regarding the temperature, most LCD screens in cars operate perfectly fine when turned on after sitting in the sun for long periods, so I wouldn't worry too much, as long as you do not directly have it on top of the dash or somewhere where exposed to the sunlight directly.

Yes, sorry, I did mean hardwire. The local car shop wants to charge $275 and I only paid $89 for it. I watched a video on unplugging the factory installed rear-view camera on the equinox and it looks like the only issue I will have is attempting to place the camera in the same spot as the old one ... without drilling holes .... i'm going to connect it to a non-constant and neglect the feature of security recording while the battery is off for now hopefully.

 

[deadlyapp]

Yes, sorry, I did mean hardwire. The local car shop wants to charge $275 and I only paid $89 for it. I watched a video on unplugging the factory installed rear-view camera on the equinox and it looks like the only issue I will have is attempting to place the camera in the same spot as the old one ... without drilling holes .... i'm going to connect it to a non-constant and neglect the feature of security recording while the battery is off for now hopefully.

If it is a simple plug and play like that, then yes, it should be fairly easy. If it is a full hardwire in a separate location (eg mounted to rear window), then that price is probably fairly reasonable for the amount of time it takes to run wiring correctly.

 

[manly]

Yes, sorry, I did mean hardwire. The local car shop wants to charge $275 and I only paid $89 for it. I watched a video on unplugging the factory installed rear-view camera on the equinox and it looks like the only issue I will have is attempting to place the camera in the same spot as the old one ... without drilling holes .... i'm going to connect it to a non-constant and neglect the feature of security recording while the battery is off for now hopefully.

As deadlyapp said, the parking sensor is probably a useless feature. So self-install is the way to go.
And as fralexandr said, lithium-based batteries don't hold up well in the summertime. You're better off returning the product, and finding something capacitor-based that will have better longevity.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I had looked at the ToGuard model and other possibilities for my 21st-century 95-Trooper upgrade. I had other priorities than saving the video files from such a device -- handy when you have an unexpected accident. I just use a dash-mounted Android tablet with a Wi-Fi backup camera and the tablet's own rear-camera for front-of-car viewing. i THINK I can get the Android to save the recordings from the Wi-Fi and its own built-in camera, but I need to figure out how the Android would automatically manage the files . . . .

The ToGuard is nice, but I'd rather not add extra weight to my conventional rear-view mirror. As for installation, these kits seem to mostly come with a cigar-lighter "penis" insert. Connections can be interrupted going over bumps. It's nice to have a car-lighter handy to fire up a Doobie during those long trips. I've got an MP3 player integrated to my dashboard which was designed for the cigar-lighter socket, but I hardwired it with a 6' cable and plug for a cigar-lighter splitter, with its own fuse, connected to the accessory circuit.

if you use a brass fuse tap or auxiliary fusebox connected with such a tap, hardwiring is the way to go. I wouldn't simply splice in the wiring to the car's wiring harness, though. I'd wire it with the fusetap to the car's interior fuse-box. No complications that way. Just don't overload the accessory circuit. For a device like the ToGuard, there should be plenty of surplus amps available @ 12V for it. And you can still fire up that Doobie when you want to.

If you want to wire it for the "security monitoring" feature when the car is turned off, you'll need to wire and fuse it to the battery just as you would with addition of fog-lights. But it should be fused. Whether it sits behind the car's own fusible links between the battery and myriad car devices, probably not a major concern. But you MUST fuse the device. Not doing so is . . . sort of stupid or thoughtless, I would think.

And you could still run it to the Accessory circuit, provided you could leave that circuit active -- perhaps with a spare car-key. I know . . . "don't ever leave a car-key in the ignition." I do it for short periods of time on shopping errands, locking the car with spare key. But you'd want the security features for having the car parked for much longer periods of time, I would think.