A129 Duo turns off and on

[gleniu]

Hello,

I've got VIOFO A129 Duo camera I bought back in 2019. Recently I started to have issues with it. After powering on, the camera starts normally, but the screen flickers. In the nex few second the screen flickers and becomes dimmer and dimmer until finally it turns off. After that, the camera boots and again the same thing happen. Since buying it has been always being used with VIOFO Hardware Kit HK3. The same happens when plugging the camera to wall output on a different cable, so the problem seems to be with camera itself, and not HK3.

I'm powering the camera directly, not through GPS module.

My guess is that capacitors might need replacement. I just wanted to make sure that this might help and ask you for a place where I can get capacitors. I tried to look for the exact same model (VINATech Hy-Cap 3.0V-7F), but couldn't find it. While I'm pretty good at soldering and won't have problems replacing capacitors, I suck on electronics, so I don't want to buy wrong capacitors.

Any help would be much appreciated Thanks!

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Have you tried with the car charger in the package and plugged it into your car cigarette lighter to test? Please detach the rear camera and reset the camera by pressing and holding the R hole for seconds to confirm if it will help. If the above makes no difference, update the firmware as the last effort: https://viofo.com/content/40-viofo-a129-duo-dash-cam-support/
If it still does not help, you can return it to us for a replacement: https://support.viofo.com/support/tickets/new

 

[gleniu]

Thank you very much for your reply.

Unfortunately, on the original car charger and cable the same issue happens, please check this video:

Resetting the camera didn't help.

And for updating the firmware, I believe I can only do the worse to the camera, as the updating will almost surely fail. The camera seems to have problems with power.

I also noticed that sometimes camera will stay on for a little longer, one minute maybe, before rebooting. Also, the camera can stay powered on when there is no recording in the background (without SD card inserted) - it probably draws less power than. However, I can see the screen getting darker everytime when the camera beeps to notify that there is no SD card in the camera.

It is not because of faulty SD card, the issue also happens on another SD card.

You say that I can return it for replacement, which is super awesome - but please note I bought the camera back in 2019 - is it not an issue for you?

Thank you!

 

[gleniu]

Sorry for double post, but I can't edit. I just wanted to show you how the camera behaves when there is no recording - please notice the screen flicker everytime the camera beeps. An ss soon as I start to record, the camera start to shut down:

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Open it up and inspect the capacitors.

 

[gleniu]

Open it up and inspect the capacitors.

That's what I did, they look fine, but despite it probably they are the culprit. The camera obviously have issues with power. I checked it onto different cables and chargers, including the original one - the USB power meter shows only about 0,13A being charged by the camera, hence the issues.

 

[LateralNW]

That's what I did, they look fine, but despite it probably they are the culprit. The camera obviously have issues with power. I checked it onto different cables and chargers, including the original one - the USB power meter shows only about 0,13A being charged by the camera, hence the issues

I noticed in your first video that after you pulled the power connector out the Viofo logo remained on screen for a few seconds.

A couple of things I take from that
1. Screen works
2. Capacitors work
3. The circuit to display images works
4. The camera or the circuit that specifically run the camera fail when it (a component) gets hot.

Why, in your first example the screen starts to work and then quickly goes to grey.
The unit reboots most likely because a component is shorting to ground which takes away the burst current required to charge the capacitors.

Look for a component that is getting hot or better yet take up Viofo s offer for a replacement.

Cheers.