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I have been having some issues with battery drainage.
My Vantrue dashcam is hard-wired to my battery (I do NOT use the cigarette lighter to power it). Therefore, when the car is parked, the battery continues to discharge. The only time this was an issue in the past was when I left the car parked and undriven for several days (a week or longer) and I received a notice on my MBz app that the battery was low and that I was in danger of being unable to start the car. This all made sense since the battery was always being tapped to keep the dashcam operational even while the car was parked for lengthy periods. Since I drive often this hasn't been an issue.
However, yesterday after a 3-hour drive I received a notification on my car's app warning that the battery was "partially discharged". I have had the camera installed for about 9 months and this hasn't happened before and I don't understand why the battery would not be fully charged after a 3-hour drive. As a short-term solution I have disconnected the camera from the power and also changed the setting on the hardwire kit connector to 12.V from 11.6V; changing the connector setting did not help matters.
What could be the problem?
Thank you,
David Weiss
NY NY When I started having the "partially discharged" issue, I switched to 12.V. It didn't help.
You drove 3Hrs then got a message about "partially discharged battery".
This is unlikely related to your dashcam sentry while parked.
You have been familiar with "drained by parking".... now this new curve-ball is about "drained by driving".
Such that on extended drives during daytime, the power management dysfunctions to deeply-drain voltage level (11.xV) while driving.
Beware that chassis can enter limp-mode without warning while driving. Get this repaired.
New batteries and new ALT do not fix this low chassis voltage yoyo.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Dec 22, 2025 at 02:57 PM.
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Electrical issue w Vantrue dashcam
