Dash cam melted - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2025, 09:08:46 pm
content: Forth dash cam to melt under the sun

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2025, 10:04:03 pm
content: I was surprised when I bought my first general-purpose digital camera that many are rated over only 0oto +40oC, since my travels often took me out of that range.My best digital camera (Pentax K1 II) is rated from -10oto +40oC, < 85% RH, non-condensing.It can get dangerously hot in a parked car with closed windows.Even with “cracked” windows, the NOAA warns that interior temperatures can reach +135oF = +57oC with outside temperature of +92oF.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2025, 10:47:08 pm
content: It's why lithium batteries in dash cams tend to fail often and why some dash cams ditch the battery for a large supercap for 30sec of recording after ignition off.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2025, 10:49:14 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on August 19, 2025, 10:04:03 pmwhen I lived in Arizona for while I made the mistake of leaving an unopened can of coke in the center console of a parked car, it exploded, good it was a company rental

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2025, 11:21:50 pm
content: Are you using a reflective sunshade?You can also get IR blocking window tint but usually more appropriate for side and back windows and not the front window.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 12:56:32 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on August 19, 2025, 11:21:50 pmYes.You thinking getting a matt black shade?

author: wilfred
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 01:36:03 am
content: Quote from: Psi on August 19, 2025, 10:47:08 pmThe hot Australian sun killed my dash camera. Talk about a lithium battery being in the worst possible position. But even if you shade the camera you might cure a problem I had of the camera going a little blurry in the sun. The battery is inside the camera and whilst under the windscreen is hotter than the rest of the interior it still get pretty hot in the cabin if you're a lithium battery.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 02:14:18 am
content: Notice that the black parts are the most melted, meaning they absorbed the most heat. It doesn't help that the majority of dashcams seem to be black.I wonder if wrapping the entire device with aluminium foil, shiny side out, may help.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 02:57:24 am
content: The only real cure is active ventilation. At least that will keep temperatures down to the ambient temperature which will be under 60 C (140 F). And that is for the worst days in the worst locations in the world. There are quite a few places where 50 C is not rare enough and 40 C is relatively common.Here are the steps that those who live in such climates take to help mitigate the problem.1. Park in the shade. It is hard to find, highly sought after and may be a fair walk from where you are going, but it is worth the effort. Covered parking is a valued perquisite at work and shopping venues and almost a must at home.2. Have solar tinted windows to the greatest extent legally allowed. Usually tinting is not allowed on the windshield and many jurisdictions limit tinting on front seat and rear facing windows for a variety of safety and enforcement reasons.3. Select parking by orientation relative to the sun, either during peak hours or during the time you will be parked. This varies by vehicle and is modified by step 4.4. Always have a reflective and insulated sunshade under the windshield. (Over is technically better, but much less convenient so most opt for inside. Some do opt for reflective car covers, but these climates are also known for wind and the associate windborne grit, which can result in significant damage to the car finish.)5. Crack the windows. Not as good as active ventilation but good for a quite significant drop in temperature. You are trading a near 100% chance of damage to the interior and contents of the car against some unknown increase in the chances of theft and vandalism. Each will come up with their own balance on this one.6. Solar powered fan to circulate air through the vehicle. There are a few models that actually come with this factory installed and many aftermarket possibilities. Few are attractive, durable and convenient.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 12:37:25 pm
content: I have wondered how still in $current_year cars do not come with indoor temperature sensor turning on the ventilation fan (which every car already has), plus a 20-30W or so PV panel to prevent the lead acid battery from being drained during this condition. This would seem like a pretty important feature in >90% of the climates cars are used in. Even in colder climates we have this thing called summer which can be pretty hot sometimes.Even the fan cannot bring the indoor temperature to match with outdoor temperature because the air flow isn't infinite, and more energy is being brought in through the windows all the time, but still a significant difference.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 10:05:39 pm
content: Quote from: u666sa on August 20, 2025, 12:56:32 amOK surprised it gets that hot even with a reflective shade, maybe some shading is needed on the side or back windows as well?Not sure if the black shade is a joke or not, here in canada in the winter it would make sense.Quote from: CatalinaWOW on August 20, 2025, 02:57:24 amSupposedly allowed in most states:https://geoshieldusa.com/pages/window-tinting-laws-by-stateBut I still would not dark tint anything up front, there is material like UltraCool IR8360 which blocks 90% of IR and still allows 77% of visible light to pass through. Though a reflective shade is probably still superior to that?Quote from: Siwastaja on August 20, 2025, 12:37:25 pmIts a good point, but I think too much risk of draining the battery and they don't want to spend money on a solar panel with a protective cover.Tesla has the fan cooling, but no solar panel. Only seen those on nissan leaf and some newer prius primes.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2025, 10:09:14 pm
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on August 20, 2025, 02:57:24 amAccording to the NOAA website on this kind of thing, "cracking" the windows in hot weather slows down the temperature rise substantially, but the asymptotic temperature was almost the same as for windows closed.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 05:09:02 am
content: Why in all that is good and proper, does a dash cam need a battery of it's own? Don't these idiots know that there is a battery that can power it for a year or more, sitting not 10 feet (3 meters) away (under the hood)? And every vehicle that I have ever owned had a fuse panel of distribution panel right there under the dashboard. So the wiring would be super easy.The supercap does sound like a good idea.Oh the tangled web we weave!Quote from: Psi on August 19, 2025, 10:47:08 pm

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 05:26:26 am
content: Of course a reflective outer coating would help. A mirror like finish would be best. White would be better than black. And there are paints that are highly reflective to the sun's rays: they are used to coat roofs and work a treat. But why would you expect a design engineer who puts a lithium battery in it to be knowledgeable about heat absorption.And on top of all that the interior of a vehicle will still rise well over 100F/40C when sitting in the summer sun. And no change in the color or coating of the dash cam will do any good whatsoever for that. It would need to be applied to the exterior of the vehicle, primarily to the roof.Quote from: amyk on August 20, 2025, 02:14:18 am

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 09:26:55 am
content: Quote from: EPAIII on August 21, 2025, 05:09:02 amThey are not idiots. The feature is that it continues recording for some time during an accident, when the 12V supply has high chances of getting disabled. It appears marketing and/or customers want this feature, so you need a battery.

author: kite31
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 10:10:48 am
content: Quote from: Siwastaja on August 21, 2025, 09:26:55 amIn our cars over the last few decades batteries are found strapped down next to the firewall rather than up the front; behind the main crumple zone next to the safety cell. From there is only a short wire run through the firewall. It seems that any crash which might break the battery free or break that run would have to total the vehicle leaving nothing much to record except a camera flying about the place.My front and rear cameras have no battery but a separate run for ignition-off (parked) recording. They have shown no sign of melting during quite a few years, despite being in Australia.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 12:48:32 pm
content: Quote from: EPAIII on August 21, 2025, 05:09:02 amI tried plugging this dashcam into 2500 mAh power bank and have it record parking lot. It does not last long. Consumption is 0.680 mAh. It would drain the battery over the weekend.The battery it has inside is 402035 500 mAh. It's upgraded, because original battery was toast when I opened the box, so I ordered new battery that would fit. Original battery was even smaller.It's uses for motion detection and parking lot recording during shake events, not ideal. Ideal would be flat out full time recording.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2025, 01:53:39 pm
content: Quote from: Siwastaja on August 20, 2025, 12:37:25 pmThis is a feature on Tesla vehicles and some other EVs. Also, "dog mode" on Tesla vehicles which allows you to leave your furry friend alone in an air conditioned vehicle. My ID.3 has something comparable though it only runs for 30 minutes at a time via the app or touchscreen setting.I imagine the problem for an ICE is guaranteeing 30W continuous power production via a solar panel, and needing to support that with the lead acid battery given lead acid batteries don't charge that efficiently. It's probably difficult to do it on an ICE-only car (without a hybrid battery or similar) because cabin fan actually pulls quite a bit of power and even a solar panel would need to be moderately large to guarantee 30W in all conditions when the fan is active (such as sun on the windscreen but not as much on the roof, or partial shading).On full blast I read the PID values for the cabin fan in the ID.3 and it was showing about 10 amps at 13.5V and 3 amps at 8V (some kind of PWM regulator?) at the lowest speed. So that's 25-130W range, and at 25W there is barely any airflow... I guess the large ducts require a lot of static pressure. That's quite a bit of load to put on a small lead acid battery for several hours even with intermittent solar backup. I know my previous cars have had odd things like not turning on the "welcome home"/"hello there" lights (lighting headlamps up after unlocking car) after short drives, presumably because the BCM thinks the state of charge of the battery is too low to support features like that when the critical factor is being able to crank the engine over. See also stop/start function on cars becoming unavailable if the battery seems to be weak.