I am a new owner of a 2019 A220. In my previous vehicle (Lincoln MKZ), I was using an OwlCam with the power supplied through the OBD2 port without an issues. However, when I installed the camera in my A220, I started to receive a variety of error messages. Ranging from:

-Starter Battery Critical (via Mercedes me; preventing me from remote starting)
-Traffic Sign Assist Inoperative (upon vehicle start)
-Malfunction Drive Below 50 MPG (upon vehicle start)
-Check Engine Light
-Automatic wipers engaging at random times, even with the wipers turned off

When I unplugged the camera, the CEL light went off and in one drive post-removal, the other issues didn't pop up. Doing some research, I found that an unknown power draw can cause a CEL - so that makes sense. However, it doesn't make sense to me that the cam would interact with the other digital functions.

Does anyone else have experience with dash cams, or OwlCam in particular, regarding power sourced from the OBD2 port? Is there a way to bypass or adjust the sensitivity of the power-draw CEL?

Cheers,
Chris

 

I think the better solution is to spend time running the camera's power cable to one of the fuse blocks (SAM units) where you can access switched power. The OBDII power is always on, and drawing power from here while the ignition is off might be what's triggering the CEL et. al.