When you purchase a dash cam battery pack to power your dash cam for parking mode, you have one fundamental question to answer, and that’s how are you going to connect the battery pack to your dash cam.
What are the options? Does it matter which one you get? Let’s find out.
A dash cam battery pack power output cable is a cable that connects a dash cam to a battery pack and provides the power needed to operate the dash cam. The output cable is responsible for delivering the correct voltage and current to the dash cam, ensuring that it functions properly and does not experience any power-related issues.
It is important to know which power output cable you need for your dash cam and battery pack setup because the camera may not work properly if the incorrect cable is used.
Battery pack input cables are used to charge the battery pack, while output cables provide power to the dash cam to which the battery pack is connected.
The Power Output Cable with Socket is the most standard output cable as it works with all dash cams as long as you have a 12V power cable for your dash cam. Simply connect your dash cam’s 12V power cable to the socket end of the output cable.
Select this output power cable if:
This output cable option is typically used for BlackVue dash cams or other brands of dash cams that switch into parking mode after the vehicle has been stationary for a while (ie. G-sensor-based parking mode).
But if your dash cam uses a 3-wire hardwiring kit for constant power or if you do not have a 12V power cable for your dash cam, you will need a power output cable that comes with a hardwiring kit.
With the Unspliced Power Output Cable, you will be sent the bare wires you can use to connect to the dash cam’s hardwiring kit. You are responsible for connecting the power output cable to the appropriate wires on the dash cam’s hardwiring kit.
Select this output power cable if:
If there’s a specific way you need to splice the cable or prefer a more hands-on do-it-yourself approach, this option will work best for you. The unspliced power output cable will work with your dash cam’s hardwiring kit as long as you’ve connected the wires properly.
Some dash cam hardwiring cables will use the yellow wire for constant power, and the red wire for accessory (ignition) power. Other hardwiring kits are the exact opposite. Make sure you’re not just matching colors when connecting the wires. Check the labels to ensure you match Constant to Constant and ACC to ACC.
If you’re not comfortable with stripping wires or crimping on terminal pins, you might want to consider purchasing the output cable for your particular dash cam.
With the Spliced Thinkware/FineVu Hardwiring Kit, the battery pack’s output power cable is already pre-spliced with a Thinkware or FineVu hardwiring kit, so all you need to do is plug the connector end of the cable into your battery pack and the power adaptor end into the power port on your Thinkware or FineVu dash cam.
Select this output power cable if:
The power output cable with spliced Thinkware/FineVu hardwiring kit is compatible with Thinkware and FineVu dash cams, including Thinkware U1000, Q1000, F200 PRO, FineVu GX33, GX1000, etc.
With the Spliced VIOFO Hardwiring Kit option, the battery pack’s output power cable is already pre-spliced with a 3-wire VIOFO hardwiring kit, so all you need to do is plug the connector end of the cable into your battery pack and the power adaptor end into the power port on your VIOFO dash cam.
Select this output power cable if:
The power output cable with spliced VIOFO hardwiring kit is compatible with the VIOFO A119 and A129 series dash cams, including the VIOFO A119 V3, A129 Pro, A129 Plus, and A129.
With the Spliced VIOFO USB-C Hardwiring Kit, the battery pack’s output power cable is already pre-spliced with the VIOFO USB-C hardwiring kit, so all you need to do is plug the connector end of the cable into your battery pack and the power adaptor end into the power port on your VIOFO dash cam.
Select this output power cable if:
The power output cable with spliced VIOFO hardwiring kit is compatible with the VIOFO A139.
With the Spliced VIOFO HK4-C Hardwiring Kit, the battery pack’s output power cable is already pre-spliced with the VIOFO HK-4 hardwiring kit, so all you need to do is plug the connector end of the cable into your battery pack and the power adaptor end into the power port on your VIOFO dash cam.
Select this output power cable if:
The power output cable with spliced VIOFO hardwiring kit is compatible with the VIOFO T130 and A229.
U1000, Q1000, X1000, F200 PRO, X700, X800, F790, F70
Power output cable with spliced Thinkware/FineVu hardwiring kit
DR900X, DR900X Plus, DR750X, DR750X Plus, DR590X
Power output cable with socket or Unspliced output cable*
*Requires BlackVue hardwiring kit
BlackVue S and W series, DR750 LTE series
Power output cable with socket
A119 V3, A129, A129 Plus, A129 Pro
Power output cable with spliced VIOFO hardwiring kit
Power output cable with spliced VIOFO USB-C hardwiring kit
Power output cable with spliced VIOFO HK-4 hardwiring kit
GX300, GX33, GX1000
Power output cable with spliced Thinkware/FineVu hardwiring kit
Garmin
Unspliced output cable*
*Requires Garmin parking mode cable
Unspliced output cable*
Requires Vantrue hardwiring kit
622GW, 522GW, 422GW, 322GW
Power output cable with socket
Nexar One
Unspliced output cable*
Requires 3-wire Nexar One hardwiring kit
The battery pack’s power output cable is not compatible with OBD-II power cables. If you are using an OBD power cable for your dash cam, you will need to get a 12V power cable for your dash cam and select the Power output cable with socket option with your battery pack.
If your dash cam uses a 2-wire hardwiring kit, you will connect the output to the constant and ground wires of your hardwiring kit and tape the end of the ACC wire.
For the BlackVue X and X-Plus series, which uses a 3-wire hardwiring cable, it is possible to use a spliced output cable instead of the 12V socket cable, especially if you prefer to have your BlackVue dash cam immediately goes into parking mode when the car’s powered down, rather than after a 5-minute delay of the vehicle being idle.
Unfortunately, we currently do not offer any Power Output Cables with the Spliced BlackVue hardwire kit. But, if you are comfortable with tackling the task yourself, you can splice the Unspliced 3-wire output cable to a BlackVue hardwire kit. This should only be done for the BlackVue X or X-Plus dash cams.
You can, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Remember that parking mode in Thinkware, VIOFO, and FineVu dash cams is ignition-triggered, which means these dash cam can sense the drop in voltage upon the car powering down, and thus switches to parking mode recording.
For ignition-triggered parking mode dash cams, the 12V socket output cable will power the dash cam and allow it to record continuously, but it will not be able to send the signal to the dash cam to switch to parking mode. It’s better to hardwire it instead.
Many dash cam users chose to use a hardwire option, pulling power from the car's battery through the fuse box. Recording time, in this case, depends on the dash cam and the size and condition of the vehicle's battery. This setup is budget-friendly and appeals to those looking for a basic parking mode function. However, not everyone is familiar with hardwiring a dash cam to the fuse box. It can be a daunting task for many users.
To maximize your parking mode time, we recommend the dash cam battery pack option as this will give you the maximum recording time and will not impact your vehicle battery. The dash cam battery pack will only charge when your vehicle is running.
New to dash cams? Try out our dash cam buyer's guide to start your journey.
Get more out of your dash cam! Find an accessory to get more out of it.
Let us show you how to install your own dash cam & accessories.
Not to fret, our in-house product experts are here to help. We have spent years curating helpful content and video guides, helping customers with their dash cams, but we understand that we can always do better. Contact us using the form below and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. We love what we do, because we're here to help you make the most informed purchasing decision.
