Thinkware user Simon asked us: “Just got my F800PRO. I’m Thinking about ordering a hardwiring cable but I have a constant cigarette lighter socket in my car. Any reasons why I shouldn’t leave my dash cam running overnight?”
Hey Simon!
A couple months ago, we wrote about to install hardwiring kit and what is required for Parking Surveillance Mode and its benefits. Without hardwiring installation, the dash cam will only be able to record in Continuous Recording Mode, Incident Recording Mode, and Manual Recording Mode.
While car battery drainage is a serious concern when the dash cam is left running in Continuous Recording Mode overnight, it unfortunately is not the only concern. Since Continuous Recording Mode was not designed to be used overnight with your ignition off, there are significant drawbacks to doing so:
No protection against car battery drainage – As mentioned earlier, Parking Surveillance Mode has various features in place against car battery drainage that are enabled with hardwiring installation. On the other hand, Continuous Recording Mode was designed for users to record their commute as they are driving. Taking that in account and the fact that your car battery is being recharged as you drive, Continuous Recording Mode does not have any preventative measures against car battery drainage.
Higher battery consumption – Although the dash cam is always actively recording in Parking Surveillance Mode, it only saves footage on the memory card when its motion and / or impact detection is triggered. This method of selective saving on the memory card minimizes vehicle battery consumption to safely monitor your vehicle for potentially harmful activity without risking a flat car battery. While recording and saving every second of footage in Continuous Recording Mode is not a problem for running vehicles, the same can’t be said for parked vehicles. The combination of high battery consumption and a lack of vehicle battery protection in Continuous Recording Mode poses a high risk of a drained car battery when used overnight.
Higher possibility of important footage of being overwritten – Since the dash cam is recording every second in Continuous Recording Mode, it will also be overwriting previous footage stored in the Continuous Recording Mode folder more frequently. Unfortunately, this scenario could potentially result in important footage being overwritten and replaced with countless clips of your parked vehicle.
No motion detection – Keeping the fact that Continuous Recording Mode was designed to be used while driving, motion detection in this mode would be result in many incident recordings! Without motion detection, acts of vandalism and hit-and-run incidents will not be recorded if the impact sensor is not triggered. Having motion detection also allows users to locate incident footage easier because there is a dedicated folder on the MicroSD reserved for motion footage while lowering the possibility of important footage of being overwritten at the same time.
Needless to say, we do not recommend that you leave your dash cam running in Continuous Recording Mode overnight.
Interested in a Hardwiring Cable? They’re available from our website.