hardwired dash cam power consumption
 

Hi,

I need an advice. I have 2017 F-150 Lariat with 3.5L EB. For one year I had no issues with the battery. I drive about an hour a day total, two trips of ~30 minutes each + some longer occasional trips. I do recharge the battery with CTEK smart charger about once every 1-2 months, whenever I feel I did not do it for long enough, just as preventive care. Auto Start/Stop works fine...well, "as expected" at least ;)

I have just installed BlackVue DR590W-2CH dash cam and hardwired it with Power Magic Pro module. Used passenger side fuse 5 (always-on) and 36 (switched). Everything seems to be working fine. Shortly after installing it, I have noticed that sometimes, just after starting to drive, Auto Start/Stop no longer works, displaying that it is disabled "due to the vehicle charging". This condition disappears after just a few minutes of driving.

I understand that the dash cam draws power from the battery while in the parked mode and my "offline" power consumption has increased. According to BlackVue, it is supposed to draw about 300 mAmps. I did configure PMP to turn the thing off at 12.5V or after 12 hours. In reality these 12 hours means nearly "infinity" for me because I drive approximately every 12 hours anyway :)

What I am trying to understand now - if this scenario is sustainable. E.g. can I continue using this dash cam in the parked mode or because of the amount of driving and the power draw, the things will go down hill and the battery will discharge in a matter of days. What I do not know is how much does these 300 mAmps represent comparing to the normal "offline" power consumption of F-150 (all this electronics, motion sensors, cellular radio....). The message from ASS about "vehicle charging" clearly indicated a situation different than before - but I am wondering if it is because of the actual battery not being charged enough or because the computer has detected a change in the power consumption "profile" and needs an adjustment.

I am not religious about the parking mode, the healthy battery and the reliable start is more important, of course. If I find that this mode of operations is not sustainable, I will most likely disable the parking mode and will turn it on selectively, e.g. when parked in unusual places.

I remember when I was trying to investigate a problem with BMW X3 long time ago, I have found a nice chart that allowed to find the approximate battery capacity if you measure the battery voltage and know the outdoor temperature. I am wondering if there is a similar chart for the battery used in F-150. I'd love to do some measurements.

Thanks!