The dash cam battery is for backing up the user settings on the camera not for running the camera in standalone mode: they're meant to be plugged into something all of the time (car/ mains etc).

When not plugged in the on board battery will allow the camera menus to be used and pictures/videos reviewed but only for a very limited time: it doesnt have capacity for extended autonomous use.

Most cameras turn themselves on when they sense power being applied (what happens when you turn the ignition on) so the battery isnt being used when the ignition is off: it is of course being charged when the ignition is on.

The exception to this on some cameras is "parking mode" when the camera is in a standby mode to detect any vibrations if the car is bumped whilst it is parked. In that case the camera will use onboard battery power (since the ignition is turned off) and will eventually flatten the battery if the car isnt driven for a while.

Parking mode is an option that may be user set in some cases so if your car isnt being used for long periods I'd probably turn that option off.

Regarding formatting, at the end of the day the camera is a computer that has a "disk" which doesnt always "write" correctly and for this reason the SD card needs to be reformatted periodically to clear these errors which otherwise will fill theSD card.

If you do need to use the camera in autonomous mode for extended periods of time without mains/car-ignition power source you can always buy a battery power pack (similar to those used for providing extended mobile phone use) and connect the camera to the powerbank via the USB cable provided with camera - I do this with the rear camera I have in my car which I transfer to the rear window of the caravan when hitched up :)

Quote: Randa france wrote in post #17

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are you saying that the Dash Cam is dormant save for a very low trickle of built in battery power to keep the time and date accurate?

Randa

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