This video has multiple chapters, click on the time link for the chapter you wish to view in this comment, the video description section or in the video player. ⏲ Video Chapters ⏲ 00:00 - Intro 00:39 - Connections / Info 04:22 - What's In The Box 06:56 - Current Draw Tests 10:55 - Timed Tests 12:24 - Hardwiring Options 15:45 - Cellink Neo Plus App 17:43 - Purchase Information 19:18 - Final Thoughts
Great video, very informative. To avoid using my cars fuse box, I added two additional mini fuse box. (1) for constant power (1) for accessory just to run dash cam, Keep Knight car alarm, and battery pack.
I know this is late in coming, but I've only just decided to venture down this rabbit hole, so please forgive me. Now, I appreciate this video and the real number outputs you showed when charging and using the battery. It actually informed my decision on how to install this equipment in a way I'm more comfortable with - safely. While it's arguable as to whether this is over-kill given the lack of news stories highlighting these batteries causing vehicular fires when they are installed without a relay, I'd rather be safer than sorry...and without a vehicle! 'Cuz, as we should all know by now, insurance reimbursements/replacements are not easily obtained on DIY projects and mods, if ever. For the benefit of your viewers, who don't already know and who are reading this post, this is why you always hear, "Have it done by a licensed installer." It's so the insurance companies can bill them for the claim, an avoid paying it themselves. If you DIY-it, you won't be seeing much (if anything at all) when you fill for a claim! Again, RetroCarGuy530, great video! Thanks!
Thanks so much for this so informative review. I am on the verge of getting this battery. The relay method of getting the dashcam hardwired seems too complex for my hardwiring DIY. But while surfing through some other reviews as regards your prescribed hardwiring recommendation, I came accross this below 👇 "What I did was use one of the open fuse positions (an accessory one of course) and set the charging rate to low. This avoided the complexity of the relays with the multiple points of failure, especially important given my installation skills. The current draw doesn't seem too high and I precharge the battery pack and it doesn't drop down too low that I need the faster charging" I personally also plan charging it off the car in my home with the BBMC provided cable and return back to the car when fully charged since I don't drive much too. I just want the charging in the car to be a top up of a kind. Please what's your opinion on this? Thank you as I anticipate your detailed response
If the fuse socket you want to use can truly supply the 5 to 6 amps required by the PowerCell 8 while charging in low amp charging mode, then that approach can work. The longer charge time when charging at the "Low" setting is something you'll need to see if that fits into your driving habits. If the battery pack does not get charged fully, you'll need to supplement the charging of the battery pack by using an external charger. If you're already planning on charging it at home with a charger, then the "Low" charge mode can work for you. You just need to be consistent in your process of charging it out of the vehicle to make sure your PowerCell 8 doesn't run low on power when you park your vehicle. The charger you would use at home needs to capable of providing 14V to make sure the battery maintenance system in the PowerCell 8 allows it to be charged. I've tested the 14.2V 8 amp charger that BBMC sells or a DC power supply that can be set to charge at 14.2V up to 10 amps could be used to charge the PowerCell 8 at home. An AC to DC power brick that outputs only 12V is not sufficient to charge the PowerCell 8.
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thanks soo much for your swift response. I really appreciate. When you tested the 14.2V 8amps been sold by BBMC. Was it okay for proper charging and functioning of the battery? Thank you
I misstated the voltage it produces. It outputs 14.6V at up to 8 amps. I've used that charger successfully several times to charge a PowerCell 8 battery pack. I discuss my testing of that charger in this DashCamTalk website post: dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/7500-mah-96-wh-blackboxmycar-powercell-8-blackvue-b-130x-thinkware-ivolt-xtra-bab-95.48162/post-592288
Hello @RetroCarGuy530 Please I need your professional guide. I just installed this battery pack today in my brand new 2024 Rav. Based on our previous conversation, my PC8 was fully recharged indoor with the external charger, which was really cool. Some of my concerns are 1) From different reviews have seen on hardwiring dashcam to fuse box using a fuse spot preoccupied, it was mentioned that the introduced fuse should be equal or less than the OEM (preexisting fuse in the spot). But surprisingly, watching the PC8 installation process on BLACKBOXMYCAR, it was said that the introduced fuse should be equal or higher than the OEM Please I need your professional clarification on that, as I don't want to mess anything up in my brand new car fuse box. 2) On my rav 4 fuse box diagram, I found two empty spots. The 2 spots fuse capacity was not stated (no info on either it is 5, 7.5, 10 etc). Furthermore it was stated that only designated spot should be used. Is it okay to make use of one of those 2 spots for my accessory point for the PC8?
Right on Robert, I just got done watching all 6 UA-cam Videos on the Power Cell 8, (BBMC, EastCoastJeepSRT, dial2fast, Everyday Reviews, USDashCamera). Your’s is the best. I agree running 13.8 Amps through the fuse box may not be the best idea. I have LED Light Bars on my cars that operate at 7.5 Amps, and those must be wired directly to the battery. Using the relay method you show is a much safer option. Why is nobody talking about this? Lol If I run the Power Cell 8 with a Viofo hardwire kit for parking mode, which voltage do I select for the low voltage cut off on the hardwire kit for the longest recording time? (the lowest voltage) -Chuck
I would set the LVC setting to the lowest voltage setting possible for that hardwire kit power adapter when powered by a dash camera battery pack. The battery pack usually outputs 13.7 to 14.2 depending when fully charged. The voltage output from the battery pack should be in the mid to upper 12 volt range when the internal batteries are near fully discharged. In many cases, the LVC of the hardwire kit won't even come into play when powered by a dash camera battery pack. Each battery pack make/model has its own voltage output levels based on internal battery charge level, but most of them follow this pattern.
I set the DC power supply voltage setting to 14.2V. I set the max amps to 10.2A. If you use a cigarette lighter adapter to charge the battery pack, it will be restricted to 5A (low) even if you set the power switch to high. If you directly connect the battery pack to the DC power supply with the included (or similar) hardwiring cable, you can set the switch to high.
I've been using a 15 amp fuse for the relay that is powering the battery pack. The fuse for the fuse tap that gets the relay's control circuit power is a 2.5 amp (it could even be a 1 amp). I'm testing another PowerCell 8 battery pack as part of a three battery pack comparison (PowerCell 8, BlackVue B-130X and Thinkware BAB-95). The amp draw of that PowerCell 8 (and other PoweCell 8 battery packs that others have recently tested) seem to be drawing less amp than the first unit I have in this video. Although, the amp spike when switching on power to the PowerCell 8 is right on the edge of 10 amps. You may be able to get away with a 10 amp fuse, but most likely you'll need a 15 amp fuse.
No, I don't have a video showing the installation of a relay to control the power to a dash camera battery pack. In my later video, I compare this battery pack and two others (all 7500 mAh battery packs). I include similar wiring diagrams for powering the BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8 and the BlackVue B-130X. The Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95 has a different approach to powering the battery pack (it has an internal relay - so no need to wire an external relay). Using an external relay to power the PowerCell 8 / BlackVue B-130X generally goes like this: 1) I would recommend using 12 AWG wire for the charging cable (thicker wire gauge than included in the box). 2) I soldered on an XT60 connector to the end that plugs into the battery pack - to use the 12 AWG wire 3) Use a relay with 12 AWG power wires 4) Obtain a 12 AWG inline fuse - if the relay has a fuse in the case then that's sufficient to protect that circuit 5) 4-Terminal relay terminal numbers 30 - Constant (fused) battery power is supplied to the relay to this terminal connector 87 - Power going to the dash camera battery pack's positive input power terminal (via the XT60 connector) 86 - Switched accessory power - usually obtained using a fuse tap - relay control side uses in the range of 100 mA (very small amount of power) 85 - Ground - This is the ground side of the control circuit in the relay. Some relay's have terminal's 85/86 documented in reverse of what I just stated, follow the documentation received with the relay. The other wire involved in this setup is the ground wire from the battery pack and that does not get connected to the relay. It should also be a 12 AWG wire. I would not recommend connecting the ground directly to the car's battery negative post. Some car's need to see the amount of power being consumed and they do that by monitoring the current flow through the large negative battery cable. I would locate and use a good clean (free of paint) contact point on the body or a pre-existing ground lug (where other grounds are connected to the body). The theory here is that you're trying to provide controlled way to support the amp draw necessary to power the dash camera battery pack. The relay give's the control necessary, but to get that control you have two sides of the relay to wire up. The power/load side and the control side. Constant battery power coming into terminal 30 will only be provided to terminal 87 (and thus the load - battery pack input) when the control side of the relay is "energized" to pull the contacts between terminals 30 and 87 together. The switched accessory power obtained from the fuse tap (or any valid switched power source) will energize the electromagnet in the relay causing the contacts between 30/87 to close thus providing power. When the switched accessory power is turned off to terminal 86, the electromagnet is de-energized and contacts open between terminal 30/87 and the power is turned off to the load (battery pack). Terminal 85 is the ground side control circuit.
At 12:24 in the video, I show the 4 terminal relay wiring. In the amazon listing for the relays that I use, they also have diagrams for the relay terminal wiring. www.amazon.com/ONLINE-LED-STORE-Switch-Harness/dp/B01NBAO1SA
Excellent video, I really appreciate it! I have a question regarding the included hardwiring power cable and the fuse tap. Do you know what gauge these wires are? Does it say what amps these are rated for? I'm assuming both are rated for at least 30 amps/10-guage, given that BlackboxMyCar support suggested using a prior 20 or 30 amp socket. Thanks!
The wire gauge of the cabling provided by BlackboxMyCar (info provided by BlackboxMyCar support): Hardwiring cable uses "UL1015" 16AWG Unspliced output cable "UL2464" 24AWG 12V cigarette lighter charging cable uses "UL2468" 16AWG 12V socket output cable uses "UL2468" 22AWG Fuse taps generally come with one of two wire gauges 16 awg or 14 awg and often the wire coming out of the fuse tap will have the wire gauge rating. I have not found a blade style fuse tap with a wire gauge of 10 awg. The most amps those 16 awg wires can handle is (based on a conservative wiring amp chart): 20 amps for no more than 2 feet 15 amps for no more than 4 feet 10 amps for no more than 6 feet The PowerCell 8 will draw around 14 amps if configured for a charging current setting of 9.0 amps in the admin page of the app (as I mentioned in the video). While BlackboxMyCar recommends using a fuse socket with a pre-existing 20 or 30 amp fuse in it to provide the charging power for the PowerCell 8, I cannot agree with that because the PowerCell 8 if configured at its default 7.5 charging amps (actual draw around 10 amps) or 9.0 charging amps (actual draw around 14 amps) will potentially overload the circuit providing power to that fuse box fuse socket (in my opinion). That's why I recommend using the relay method of powering the PowerCell 8 instead of the fuse tap approach for the charging power.
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thanks for the reply! I’m still new to this so thanks for helping me gain a better understanding. I really like your ideal for the relay switch. If I run the switch, then wire coming out of 87 on the relay is the 16 gauge hardwire that BlackboxMyCar included. Wouldn’t that still put around 14 amps though that 16 gauge hardwire (not sure how long the hardwire is but assuming more than 3/4ft)? It’s my understanding that this is still potentially too many amps for a 16 gauge, and would run the risk of overheating/melting the wire insulation (it should really be 14 gauge wire for that many amps). Is this correct? If so, would you suggest scrapping the included hardwire and replace it with a 14 gauge wire at a minimum? If so, then I assume I would have to remove the connector on the hardwire that connects that connects to the PowerCell 8, and affix that to the 14 gauge wire? Or could the wire be affixed the 8cell without a connector? Thanks
I would agree that having the PowerCell 8 hardwiring cable use 14 awg wires would be a good thing. As long as the distance between the relay terminal 87 and the PowerCell 8 is within 2 to 4 feet and the wire awg used between relay terminal 30 and the battery is 14 awg, it should be fine. My installation has the PowerCell 8 about 3 feet away from the location of the relay and about 1.5 feet between the relay and the battery positive terminal. I've checked the wiring after having the PowerCell 8 charge at the 13 to 14 amp (9.0 charging amp setting) and the wiring was nice and cool. You could also reduce the PowerCell 8's charging amps from 9.0 to the default of 7.5 amps which results in a total draw around 10 amps, but of course that will extend the charge time a bit. The PowerCell 8 uses a specific connector for the input charging power port, so you cannot attach wires directly to that port. In the end, you should do what makes you feels the most confident about the PowerCell 8 installation. There are many factors that viewers of my channel don't tell me when they post questions about specific installation situations that I cannot be held accountable for in my suggestion response. I do my best to answer those questions, but it can be a challenge at times. I hope you understand.
I would like to add several of these battery packs to my project truck to power several different components. Mainly a dashcam, but also a dedicated wifi hotspot for remote live viewing said dashcam, as well as the several sensors added to my car alarm (possibly the alarm itself). This would be to prevent the mentioned devices from draining my vehicles battery, as well as to charge them when driving. I have also thought about taking this a step further by adding a solar panel to charge the battery packs when I am not driving the truck. I can seamlessly add one to the lid of my bed mounted toolbox, approximately 100w given the dimensions of a 100w panel. Obviously I would need to diode isolate the solar panel from back-feeding into the ignition via the acc wire of the battery packs. Have you ever considered adding a solar panel to supplement a dashcam battery pack? Do you possibly have any opinions to share on an idea like this? Just trying to think of ways to improve the system in a vehicle only driven a few times per week. Thank you. Loving your content!
The PowerCell 8 can output up to 2 amps max. You could potentially provide power to your WiFi hotspot using the USB port if the hotspot device is powered via a USB power connector. I've not tested using a solar panel to maintain the charge level in the PowerCell 8. It sounds like it might work as long as the output of the solar panel is capable of providing a minimum of 5 amps of charging power. You would have to experiment to see if that would work. BlackboxMyCar does offer a 120V AC to 12V DC power inverter / charging that you could use to charge the PowerCell 8 when parked. It outputs 14.6V at 5 amps and has a cigarette lighter power port connector on it. I'm currently retesting the PowerCell 8 as well as one or two other dash camera battery packs that were just released. I have the BlackVue B-130X 7500 mAh / 96 Wh battery pack which is similar is capacity and size to the PowerCell 8. The B-130X does not support adding an additional battery pack to increase capacity like the PowerCell 8 does. I'm trying to get a Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95 which also has a capacity of 7500 mAh / 96 Wh. All three of those battery packs are manufactured by the same company (EGEN). The two new units match the capacity of the PowerCell 8. The PowerCell 8 I have for this new set of tests seems not have the same issue of requiring the much higher amp draws that the one I had at the time I created this first review video.
Using a relay, what size fuse should I use between the "30" relay post and car battery? Would you recommend a 15 Amp fuse based on the amp draw of 13.81 and 13.40 at 10:45?
Yes, 15 amp fuse seems appropriate if you set the charging level to 9.0 amps which in my testing resulted in the 13.81 amps of current draw on the circuit. FYI, my test results are now being investigated by BlackboxMyCar and the battery pack manufacturer EGEN to see why two different PowerCell 8 dash camera battery packs (from late 2021) had the current draw levels you see in this video. A friend of mine is testing/reviewing this same battery pack and he's now finding the current draw levels are within the specified charging amp limits set for the battery.
All time estimates are for parking mode operations. It will vary from dash camera model to dash camera model based on how much power each parking mode consumes. I just posted on the DashCamTalk website some parking mode time estimates for the new BlackVue DR970X Plus series of dash cameras. A PowerCell 8 battery pack with a 96 Wh capacity will provide parking mode power for around 10 hours in "Motion & Impact" parking mode and 12 to 13 hours for time-lapse parking mode.
The dimensions are listed on the BlackboxMyCar page for this product in the "Specifications" section towards the bottom of the page. 151mm X 204.8mm x 32.6mm
If I wire number 30 with in 8" of my battery, is it acceptable for me to wire number 85 to an accessory/switched power fuse via tap inside my cab? If so, what guage wire and distance would you suggest? Reason is that all of the ideal fuses to tap into are inside my cab and not in the engine fuse box.
The control side of the relay consumes 100-to-200 mA, so you can have a long run of wire for that circuit to the remote fuse box location. Most of the time, the relay pigtails I've purchased with the relays have a 16 awg wire for the control side. I would recommend using the same awg wire gauge as the relay pigtail uses.
How many amp relay should i buy ,also my supplied cable is 16awg 600v all wires in my hardware shop are sold in how many amps they take like 27amp wire is that ok ? ,
I have an Amazon affiliate link in the video description section to the relays that I've been using to power my dash camera battery packs. They have 14 awg power wires (terminals 30 & 87) and the relay is rated at 30 amps. The PowerCell 8's hardwire power cable only has 16 awg wire. In my recent review of the PowerCell 8, BlackVue B-130X and Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95, the PowerCell 8 is the only one to battery pack to come with a 16 awg wire charging cable. The other two supply a 14 awg charging cable which helps to reduce the wire temps while it's charging. I'm using the PowerCell 8 16 awg cable for the one installed in my car and my PowerCell 8 is only two feet away from the relay in the trunk of my car (battery is located in the trunk). The max charging amps for the PowerCell 8 is in the 10 amp range (in recent testing). Make sure any relay you get has 14 awg or at a minimum 16 awg wire for the power side of the relay (terminals 30 & 87). The larger the wire (smaller awg number) is better! The link to my recent video comparing the PowerCell 8, BlackVue B-130X and Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95 is this: ua-cam.com/video/Gn3IoBjO_Vg/v-deo.html
@@RetroCarGuy530 thank you for the reply and help thats great help to me ,going to install mine in the trunk to as its the only place it will fit nice and also easy to get to , relay looks a safer install to, thanks 🙂
I used the 3-wire hardwiring harness to power the DR900X and DR900X Plus dash cameras I've tested over the past couple of years. You can power the DR900X with the car socket power adapter, but parking mode will be the motion based parking mode (wait 5 minutes of no car motion to enter parking mode and exit parking mode when the car begins moving again).
Hi, I want to do the relay option you had mentioned in the video for a blackvue dashcam with the power cell 8. The power cell 8 “input wire” has a ground wire and a “ ACC “ wire. Just curious, should that “acc” wire be connecting to the 87 terminal on the relay ?
Yes, the "ACC" wire (red wire) in the hardwiring cable is connected to terminal 87 of the 4-terminal relay. The relay is only providing power from terminal 30 (power from battery) to terminal 87 (power to PowerCell 8) when the fuse tap supplied accessory/switched power is on. I hope that answers you question.
@@RetroCarGuy530 okay thanks. Wasn’t sure if I should be connecting the red cable from the battery hardwiring kit to terminal 87 because it was labeled “ACC” and shows in the Manuel to plug that into the fuse box. But I will connect it to terminal 87 thanks for clarifying.
The "ACC" simply means "Accessory" power which really means switched (on / off) power. The default hardwiring approach from BlackboxMyCar is to source the charging power for the PowerCell 8 from a fuse tap which would be plugged into a fuse socket which has "ACC" (accessory) or switched power in the fuse box. Trying to obtain an additional 6 to 14 amps to charge the PowerCell 8 (depending on what the "Charging current" admin page setting is set to in the 4.0 to 9.0 amp range) is a fairly large amount of amps to be pulling from a fuse socket with a 20 or 30 amp load already on that circuit. That's why I prefer the relay approach to move the high amp draw to the new circuit put in place by the relay and the fuse tap only needs 150mA to 200mA of current to control the relay on/off. My personal preference is to call "Accessory" power circuits "Switched" power circuits. It just so happens that accessories in the vehicle will use switched power circuits to control the accessory/device on/off when the ignition switch is in the "Accessory" or "Run" positions (powered) or no power in the "off" ignition switch position.
I downloaded the 2021 BMW X3 owner's manual to see if it had the fuse type info in it. It did not. I found a post on a x3 BMW site and there was a picture of the rear fuse box in one of the threads. It appears that fuse box has ATC and ATM "Mini" fuses. The fuse socket the being suggested for a Cellink B dash camera battery pack installation was fuse 207 (I can't confirm that is a good choice since I don't have a X3), but the fuse type for that fuse was ATM "Mini". I have a fuse tap related video on my channel. At the 2 minute 1 second point in the video, I show the four common fuse types. Here's a link to that video and to that time mark in the video: ua-cam.com/video/NW0QaQaU41Y/v-deo.html I would suggest looking at your X3's fuses after seeing the four common fuse types in my video to see what you need for your vehicle.
@@RetroCarGuy530 thank you for such detailed information! i ordered the add-a-fuse according to what blackboxmycar sales rep said I should get. I will refer to your video once i receive the battery pack and attempt to install the fuse..
I already have an extra VIOFO 3 wire USB-C hardwiring kit,not tech savvy here but is there any chance I can purchase an adapter for the power cell 8’s dashcam output?if so what is the adapter called?
During the purchase of the PowerCell 8, you can select "Output Cable" of your choice. If you select "Power Output Cable (Unspliced)" you will be able to connect the wires from the output cable to the input wires on the VIOFO 3-wire hardwiring kit. If you have already purchased the PowerCell 8 without getting that option, you may be able to contact BlackboxMyCar and see if they would sell that by itself. I don't see it listed on their website as a separate product offering.
@@RetroCarGuy530 after watching couple videos online,your video was the only one that convinced me to buy,ordered yesterday and pick cigarette lighter adapter as my output.also just emailed black box and see if they can sell me the proper output with separate invoice,or just send me one for free haha,cause that battery pack ain’t cheap man.
@@RetroCarGuy530 question, before I purchased battery, my dash cam is hardwired, now when I turn off my car it goes into parking mode, now with powercell installed with cigarette lighter adapter, it doesn't go to parking mode, it just records like its on normal mode, if that makes sense. Is it because I don't have the output spliced cable?
To get the VIOFO dashcam to go into parking mode when powering it with the PowerCell 8, you will need to get the PowerCell 8 3-wire output power cable. You then splice the output 3-wire cable from the PowerCell 8 with the VIOFO 3-wire USB-C hardwiring kit. Then you should have parking mode again. That’s exactly how I’m powering a VIOFO T130 3-channel dashcam right now and it goes into/out of parking mode as it should.
I looked at the Vantrue website to check out the hardwiring kit for the N4. It's a 2-wire device with low voltage cutoff. Yes, you can use that with this battery pack, by wiring the red wire it to the "BATT+" output terminal (left most terminal connector) and the black wire to the GND (3rd from the left terminal connector). Since the N4 documentation states it has a parking monitor, it must mean there's some sort of motion detection for the N4 to know when to enter and exit parking mode. To have instant entry into and exit from parking mode would require a 3-wire hardwiring kit to access the ACC+, but I don't see that as an available accessory from Vantrue.
Starting at 17:44 in the video, I discuss the pricing info for this battery pack. BlackboxMyCar was running Black Friday sale at that time the video was released and it was available for $341.99 USD. The current base price is $394.99 USD. If you use my affiliate link or use coupon code RCG530 at checkout time, you'll save five percent on your purchase.
This video has multiple chapters, click on the time link for the chapter you wish to view in this comment, the video description section or in the video player.
⏲ Video Chapters ⏲
00:00 - Intro
00:39 - Connections / Info
04:22 - What's In The Box
06:56 - Current Draw Tests
10:55 - Timed Tests
12:24 - Hardwiring Options
15:45 - Cellink Neo Plus App
17:43 - Purchase Information
19:18 - Final Thoughts
Great video, very informative. To avoid using my cars fuse box, I added two additional mini fuse box. (1) for constant power (1) for accessory just to run dash cam, Keep Knight car alarm, and battery pack.
Thanks for a informative video. Hot tip a voltage sensitive relay or vsr can buy used instead of standard relay which simplifies wiring.
I know this is late in coming, but I've only just decided to venture down this rabbit hole, so please forgive me.
Now, I appreciate this video and the real number outputs you showed when charging and using the battery. It actually informed my decision on how to install this equipment in a way I'm more comfortable with - safely. While it's arguable as to whether this is over-kill given the lack of news stories highlighting these batteries causing vehicular fires when they are installed without a relay, I'd rather be safer than sorry...and without a vehicle! 'Cuz, as we should all know by now, insurance reimbursements/replacements are not easily obtained on DIY projects and mods, if ever.
For the benefit of your viewers, who don't already know and who are reading this post, this is why you always hear, "Have it done by a licensed installer." It's so the insurance companies can bill them for the claim, an avoid paying it themselves. If you DIY-it, you won't be seeing much (if anything at all) when you fill for a claim!
Again, RetroCarGuy530, great video! Thanks!
Power mode switch should be a rocker switch, when parked at home and parking recording not required you have to more robust option to turn off.
Thanks so much for this so informative review.
I am on the verge of getting this battery. The relay method of getting the dashcam hardwired seems too complex for my hardwiring DIY.
But while surfing through some other reviews as regards your prescribed hardwiring recommendation, I came accross this below 👇
"What I did was use one of the open fuse positions (an accessory one of course) and set the charging rate to low. This avoided the complexity of the relays with the multiple points of failure, especially important given my installation skills. The current draw doesn't seem too high and I precharge the battery pack and it doesn't drop down too low that I need the faster charging"
I personally also plan charging it off the car in my home with the BBMC provided cable and return back to the car when fully charged since I don't drive much too. I just want the charging in the car to be a top up of a kind.
Please what's your opinion on this?
Thank you as I anticipate your detailed response
If the fuse socket you want to use can truly supply the 5 to 6 amps required by the PowerCell 8 while charging in low amp charging mode, then that approach can work. The longer charge time when charging at the "Low" setting is something you'll need to see if that fits into your driving habits. If the battery pack does not get charged fully, you'll need to supplement the charging of the battery pack by using an external charger. If you're already planning on charging it at home with a charger, then the "Low" charge mode can work for you. You just need to be consistent in your process of charging it out of the vehicle to make sure your PowerCell 8 doesn't run low on power when you park your vehicle. The charger you would use at home needs to capable of providing 14V to make sure the battery maintenance system in the PowerCell 8 allows it to be charged. I've tested the 14.2V 8 amp charger that BBMC sells or a DC power supply that can be set to charge at 14.2V up to 10 amps could be used to charge the PowerCell 8 at home. An AC to DC power brick that outputs only 12V is not sufficient to charge the PowerCell 8.
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thanks soo much for your swift response. I really appreciate.
When you tested the 14.2V 8amps been sold by BBMC. Was it okay for proper charging and functioning of the battery?
Thank you
I misstated the voltage it produces. It outputs 14.6V at up to 8 amps. I've used that charger successfully several times to charge a PowerCell 8 battery pack. I discuss my testing of that charger in this DashCamTalk website post: dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/7500-mah-96-wh-blackboxmycar-powercell-8-blackvue-b-130x-thinkware-ivolt-xtra-bab-95.48162/post-592288
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thanks so much 💯 👍
Hello @RetroCarGuy530
Please I need your professional guide. I just installed this battery pack today in my brand new 2024 Rav.
Based on our previous conversation, my PC8 was fully recharged indoor with the external charger, which was really cool. Some of my concerns are
1) From different reviews have seen on hardwiring dashcam to fuse box using a fuse spot preoccupied, it was mentioned that the introduced fuse should be equal or less than the OEM (preexisting fuse in the spot). But surprisingly, watching the PC8 installation process on BLACKBOXMYCAR, it was said that the introduced fuse should be equal or higher than the OEM
Please I need your professional clarification on that, as I don't want to mess anything up in my brand new car fuse box.
2) On my rav 4 fuse box diagram, I found two empty spots. The 2 spots fuse capacity was not stated (no info on either it is 5, 7.5, 10 etc).
Furthermore it was stated that only designated spot should be used.
Is it okay to make use of one of those 2 spots for my accessory point for the PC8?
These are excellent insights 😮 thank you very much!
You're so welcome!
Excellent video, very informative
Right on Robert,
I just got done watching all 6 UA-cam Videos on the Power Cell 8, (BBMC, EastCoastJeepSRT, dial2fast, Everyday Reviews, USDashCamera). Your’s is the best.
I agree running 13.8 Amps through the fuse box may not be the best idea. I have LED Light Bars on my cars that operate at 7.5 Amps, and those must be wired directly to the battery. Using the relay method you show is a much safer option. Why is nobody talking about this? Lol
If I run the Power Cell 8 with a Viofo hardwire kit for parking mode, which voltage do I select for the low voltage cut off on the hardwire kit for the longest recording time? (the lowest voltage)
-Chuck
I would set the LVC setting to the lowest voltage setting possible for that hardwire kit power adapter when powered by a dash camera battery pack. The battery pack usually outputs 13.7 to 14.2 depending when fully charged. The voltage output from the battery pack should be in the mid to upper 12 volt range when the internal batteries are near fully discharged. In many cases, the LVC of the hardwire kit won't even come into play when powered by a dash camera battery pack. Each battery pack make/model has its own voltage output levels based on internal battery charge level, but most of them follow this pattern.
@@RetroCarGuy530
Thank you for the speedy reply.
When charging at home using DC power supply what are the setting for power switch (low-off-high), voltage and Amp.? Thanks
I set the DC power supply voltage setting to 14.2V. I set the max amps to 10.2A. If you use a cigarette lighter adapter to charge the battery pack, it will be restricted to 5A (low) even if you set the power switch to high. If you directly connect the battery pack to the DC power supply with the included (or similar) hardwiring cable, you can set the switch to high.
Thank you very much! God bless! ❤
What amp fuse do you recommend for the relay ? Thanks for the exceptional video.
I've been using a 15 amp fuse for the relay that is powering the battery pack. The fuse for the fuse tap that gets the relay's control circuit power is a 2.5 amp (it could even be a 1 amp). I'm testing another PowerCell 8 battery pack as part of a three battery pack comparison (PowerCell 8, BlackVue B-130X and Thinkware BAB-95). The amp draw of that PowerCell 8 (and other PoweCell 8 battery packs that others have recently tested) seem to be drawing less amp than the first unit I have in this video. Although, the amp spike when switching on power to the PowerCell 8 is right on the edge of 10 amps. You may be able to get away with a 10 amp fuse, but most likely you'll need a 15 amp fuse.
Do you have a video of installing a relay with a battery pack? I'd like to give it a try and install it myself but am a bit lost lol
No, I don't have a video showing the installation of a relay to control the power to a dash camera battery pack. In my later video, I compare this battery pack and two others (all 7500 mAh battery packs). I include similar wiring diagrams for powering the BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8 and the BlackVue B-130X. The Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95 has a different approach to powering the battery pack (it has an internal relay - so no need to wire an external relay).
Using an external relay to power the PowerCell 8 / BlackVue B-130X generally goes like this:
1) I would recommend using 12 AWG wire for the charging cable (thicker wire gauge than included in the box).
2) I soldered on an XT60 connector to the end that plugs into the battery pack - to use the 12 AWG wire
3) Use a relay with 12 AWG power wires
4) Obtain a 12 AWG inline fuse - if the relay has a fuse in the case then that's sufficient to protect that circuit
5) 4-Terminal relay terminal numbers
30 - Constant (fused) battery power is supplied to the relay to this terminal connector
87 - Power going to the dash camera battery pack's positive input power terminal (via the XT60 connector)
86 - Switched accessory power - usually obtained using a fuse tap - relay control side uses in the range of 100 mA (very small amount of power)
85 - Ground - This is the ground side of the control circuit in the relay.
Some relay's have terminal's 85/86 documented in reverse of what I just stated, follow the documentation received with the relay.
The other wire involved in this setup is the ground wire from the battery pack and that does not get connected to the relay. It should also be a 12 AWG wire. I would not recommend connecting the ground directly to the car's battery negative post. Some car's need to see the amount of power being consumed and they do that by monitoring the current flow through the large negative battery cable. I would locate and use a good clean (free of paint) contact point on the body or a pre-existing ground lug (where other grounds are connected to the body).
The theory here is that you're trying to provide controlled way to support the amp draw necessary to power the dash camera battery pack. The relay give's the control necessary, but to get that control you have two sides of the relay to wire up. The power/load side and the control side. Constant battery power coming into terminal 30 will only be provided to terminal 87 (and thus the load - battery pack input) when the control side of the relay is "energized" to pull the contacts between terminals 30 and 87 together. The switched accessory power obtained from the fuse tap (or any valid switched power source) will energize the electromagnet in the relay causing the contacts between 30/87 to close thus providing power. When the switched accessory power is turned off to terminal 86, the electromagnet is de-energized and contacts open between terminal 30/87 and the power is turned off to the load (battery pack). Terminal 85 is the ground side control circuit.
Great info: can you prove a copy of the relay switch diagram so I can show my installer?
At 12:24 in the video, I show the 4 terminal relay wiring. In the amazon listing for the relays that I use, they also have diagrams for the relay terminal wiring. www.amazon.com/ONLINE-LED-STORE-Switch-Harness/dp/B01NBAO1SA
Excellent video, I really appreciate it! I have a question regarding the included hardwiring power cable and the fuse tap. Do you know what gauge these wires are? Does it say what amps these are rated for? I'm assuming both are rated for at least 30 amps/10-guage, given that BlackboxMyCar support suggested using a prior 20 or 30 amp socket. Thanks!
The wire gauge of the cabling provided by BlackboxMyCar (info provided by BlackboxMyCar support):
Hardwiring cable uses "UL1015" 16AWG
Unspliced output cable "UL2464" 24AWG
12V cigarette lighter charging cable uses "UL2468" 16AWG
12V socket output cable uses "UL2468" 22AWG
Fuse taps generally come with one of two wire gauges 16 awg or 14 awg and often the wire coming out of the fuse tap will have the wire gauge rating. I have not found a blade style fuse tap with a wire gauge of 10 awg.
The most amps those 16 awg wires can handle is (based on a conservative wiring amp chart):
20 amps for no more than 2 feet
15 amps for no more than 4 feet
10 amps for no more than 6 feet
The PowerCell 8 will draw around 14 amps if configured for a charging current setting of 9.0 amps in the admin page of the app (as I mentioned in the video).
While BlackboxMyCar recommends using a fuse socket with a pre-existing 20 or 30 amp fuse in it to provide the charging power for the PowerCell 8, I cannot agree with that because the PowerCell 8 if configured at its default 7.5 charging amps (actual draw around 10 amps) or 9.0 charging amps (actual draw around 14 amps) will potentially overload the circuit providing power to that fuse box fuse socket (in my opinion). That's why I recommend using the relay method of powering the PowerCell 8 instead of the fuse tap approach for the charging power.
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thanks for the reply! I’m still new to this so thanks for helping me gain a better understanding.
I really like your ideal for the relay switch. If I run the switch, then wire coming out of 87 on the relay is the 16 gauge hardwire that BlackboxMyCar included. Wouldn’t that still put around 14 amps though that 16 gauge hardwire (not sure how long the hardwire is but assuming more than 3/4ft)? It’s my understanding that this is still potentially too many amps for a 16 gauge, and would run the risk of overheating/melting the wire insulation (it should really be 14 gauge wire for that many amps). Is this correct?
If so, would you suggest scrapping the included hardwire and replace it with a 14 gauge wire at a minimum? If so, then I assume I would have to remove the connector on the hardwire that connects that connects to the PowerCell 8, and affix that to the 14 gauge wire? Or could the wire be affixed the 8cell without a connector? Thanks
I would agree that having the PowerCell 8 hardwiring cable use 14 awg wires would be a good thing. As long as the distance between the relay terminal 87 and the PowerCell 8 is within 2 to 4 feet and the wire awg used between relay terminal 30 and the battery is 14 awg, it should be fine. My installation has the PowerCell 8 about 3 feet away from the location of the relay and about 1.5 feet between the relay and the battery positive terminal. I've checked the wiring after having the PowerCell 8 charge at the 13 to 14 amp (9.0 charging amp setting) and the wiring was nice and cool.
You could also reduce the PowerCell 8's charging amps from 9.0 to the default of 7.5 amps which results in a total draw around 10 amps, but of course that will extend the charge time a bit.
The PowerCell 8 uses a specific connector for the input charging power port, so you cannot attach wires directly to that port.
In the end, you should do what makes you feels the most confident about the PowerCell 8 installation. There are many factors that viewers of my channel don't tell me when they post questions about specific installation situations that I cannot be held accountable for in my suggestion response. I do my best to answer those questions, but it can be a challenge at times. I hope you understand.
I would like to add several of these battery packs to my project truck to power several different components.
Mainly a dashcam, but also a dedicated wifi hotspot for remote live viewing said dashcam, as well as the several sensors added to my car alarm (possibly the alarm itself).
This would be to prevent the mentioned devices from draining my vehicles battery, as well as to charge them when driving.
I have also thought about taking this a step further by adding a solar panel to charge the battery packs when I am not driving the truck. I can seamlessly add one to the lid of my bed mounted toolbox, approximately 100w given the dimensions of a 100w panel.
Obviously I would need to diode isolate the solar panel from back-feeding into the ignition via the acc wire of the battery packs.
Have you ever considered adding a solar panel to supplement a dashcam battery pack? Do you possibly have any opinions to share on an idea like this? Just trying to think of ways to improve the system in a vehicle only driven a few times per week.
Thank you. Loving your content!
The PowerCell 8 can output up to 2 amps max. You could potentially provide power to your WiFi hotspot using the USB port if the hotspot device is powered via a USB power connector. I've not tested using a solar panel to maintain the charge level in the PowerCell 8. It sounds like it might work as long as the output of the solar panel is capable of providing a minimum of 5 amps of charging power. You would have to experiment to see if that would work. BlackboxMyCar does offer a 120V AC to 12V DC power inverter / charging that you could use to charge the PowerCell 8 when parked. It outputs 14.6V at 5 amps and has a cigarette lighter power port connector on it.
I'm currently retesting the PowerCell 8 as well as one or two other dash camera battery packs that were just released. I have the BlackVue B-130X 7500 mAh / 96 Wh battery pack which is similar is capacity and size to the PowerCell 8. The B-130X does not support adding an additional battery pack to increase capacity like the PowerCell 8 does. I'm trying to get a Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95 which also has a capacity of 7500 mAh / 96 Wh. All three of those battery packs are manufactured by the same company (EGEN). The two new units match the capacity of the PowerCell 8. The PowerCell 8 I have for this new set of tests seems not have the same issue of requiring the much higher amp draws that the one I had at the time I created this first review video.
Using a relay, what size fuse should I use between the "30" relay post and car battery? Would you recommend a 15 Amp fuse based on the amp draw of 13.81 and 13.40 at 10:45?
Yes, 15 amp fuse seems appropriate if you set the charging level to 9.0 amps which in my testing resulted in the 13.81 amps of current draw on the circuit. FYI, my test results are now being investigated by BlackboxMyCar and the battery pack manufacturer EGEN to see why two different PowerCell 8 dash camera battery packs (from late 2021) had the current draw levels you see in this video. A friend of mine is testing/reviewing this same battery pack and he's now finding the current draw levels are within the specified charging amp limits set for the battery.
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thank you so much! Very helpful to confirm what I was thinking. As for the current draw levels, that is an interesting situation.
Also, it's interesting the supplied fuse with the product is 20 amps.
24hr for battery blackvue is it in parking mode
All time estimates are for parking mode operations. It will vary from dash camera model to dash camera model based on how much power each parking mode consumes.
I just posted on the DashCamTalk website some parking mode time estimates for the new BlackVue DR970X Plus series of dash cameras. A PowerCell 8 battery pack with a 96 Wh capacity will provide parking mode power for around 10 hours in "Motion & Impact" parking mode and 12 to 13 hours for time-lapse parking mode.
What are the dimensions of these. Can’t find that info anywhere
The dimensions are listed on the BlackboxMyCar page for this product in the "Specifications" section towards the bottom of the page. 151mm X 204.8mm x 32.6mm
If I wire number 30 with in 8" of my battery, is it acceptable for me to wire number 85 to an accessory/switched power fuse via tap inside my cab? If so, what guage wire and distance would you suggest? Reason is that all of the ideal fuses to tap into are inside my cab and not in the engine fuse box.
The control side of the relay consumes 100-to-200 mA, so you can have a long run of wire for that circuit to the remote fuse box location. Most of the time, the relay pigtails I've purchased with the relays have a 16 awg wire for the control side. I would recommend using the same awg wire gauge as the relay pigtail uses.
@@RetroCarGuy530 Thank you for answering my question. I have been studying this video for a few weeks now and I appreciate your technical insights.
How many amp relay should i buy ,also my supplied cable is 16awg 600v all wires in my hardware shop are sold in how many amps they take like 27amp wire is that ok ? ,
I have an Amazon affiliate link in the video description section to the relays that I've been using to power my dash camera battery packs. They have 14 awg power wires (terminals 30 & 87) and the relay is rated at 30 amps. The PowerCell 8's hardwire power cable only has 16 awg wire. In my recent review of the PowerCell 8, BlackVue B-130X and Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95, the PowerCell 8 is the only one to battery pack to come with a 16 awg wire charging cable. The other two supply a 14 awg charging cable which helps to reduce the wire temps while it's charging. I'm using the PowerCell 8 16 awg cable for the one installed in my car and my PowerCell 8 is only two feet away from the relay in the trunk of my car (battery is located in the trunk). The max charging amps for the PowerCell 8 is in the 10 amp range (in recent testing). Make sure any relay you get has 14 awg or at a minimum 16 awg wire for the power side of the relay (terminals 30 & 87). The larger the wire (smaller awg number) is better! The link to my recent video comparing the PowerCell 8, BlackVue B-130X and Thinkware iVolt Xtra BAB-95 is this: ua-cam.com/video/Gn3IoBjO_Vg/v-deo.html
@@RetroCarGuy530 thank you for the reply and help thats great help to me ,going to install mine in the trunk to as its the only place it will fit nice and also easy to get to , relay looks a safer install to, thanks 🙂
Did you use the car socket to power your dr900x ?
I also have the dr900x
I used the 3-wire hardwiring harness to power the DR900X and DR900X Plus dash cameras I've tested over the past couple of years. You can power the DR900X with the car socket power adapter, but parking mode will be the motion based parking mode (wait 5 minutes of no car motion to enter parking mode and exit parking mode when the car begins moving again).
Hi, I want to do the relay option you had mentioned in the video for a blackvue dashcam with the power cell 8. The power cell 8 “input wire” has a ground wire and a
“ ACC “ wire. Just curious, should that “acc” wire be connecting to the 87 terminal on the relay ?
Yes, the "ACC" wire (red wire) in the hardwiring cable is connected to terminal 87 of the 4-terminal relay. The relay is only providing power from terminal 30 (power from battery) to terminal 87 (power to PowerCell 8) when the fuse tap supplied accessory/switched power is on.
I hope that answers you question.
@@RetroCarGuy530 okay thanks. Wasn’t sure if I should be connecting the red cable from the battery hardwiring kit to terminal 87 because it was labeled “ACC” and shows in the Manuel to plug that into the fuse box. But I will connect it to terminal 87 thanks for clarifying.
The "ACC" simply means "Accessory" power which really means switched (on / off) power. The default hardwiring approach from BlackboxMyCar is to source the charging power for the PowerCell 8 from a fuse tap which would be plugged into a fuse socket which has "ACC" (accessory) or switched power in the fuse box.
Trying to obtain an additional 6 to 14 amps to charge the PowerCell 8 (depending on what the "Charging current" admin page setting is set to in the 4.0 to 9.0 amp range) is a fairly large amount of amps to be pulling from a fuse socket with a 20 or 30 amp load already on that circuit. That's why I prefer the relay approach to move the high amp draw to the new circuit put in place by the relay and the fuse tap only needs 150mA to 200mA of current to control the relay on/off.
My personal preference is to call "Accessory" power circuits "Switched" power circuits. It just so happens that accessories in the vehicle will use switched power circuits to control the accessory/device on/off when the ignition switch is in the "Accessory" or "Run" positions (powered) or no power in the "off" ignition switch position.
how do I know which add a fuse I need for my vehicle? i have the 2021 bmw x3 for reference
I downloaded the 2021 BMW X3 owner's manual to see if it had the fuse type info in it. It did not.
I found a post on a x3 BMW site and there was a picture of the rear fuse box in one of the threads. It appears that fuse box has ATC and ATM "Mini" fuses. The fuse socket the being suggested for a Cellink B dash camera battery pack installation was fuse 207 (I can't confirm that is a good choice since I don't have a X3), but the fuse type for that fuse was ATM "Mini".
I have a fuse tap related video on my channel. At the 2 minute 1 second point in the video, I show the four common fuse types.
Here's a link to that video and to that time mark in the video: ua-cam.com/video/NW0QaQaU41Y/v-deo.html
I would suggest looking at your X3's fuses after seeing the four common fuse types in my video to see what you need for your vehicle.
@@RetroCarGuy530 thank you for such detailed information! i ordered the add-a-fuse according to what blackboxmycar sales rep said I should get. I will refer to your video once i receive the battery pack and attempt to install the fuse..
I already have an extra VIOFO 3 wire USB-C hardwiring kit,not tech savvy here but is there any chance I can purchase an adapter for the power cell 8’s dashcam output?if so what is the adapter called?
During the purchase of the PowerCell 8, you can select "Output Cable" of your choice. If you select "Power Output Cable (Unspliced)" you will be able to connect the wires from the output cable to the input wires on the VIOFO 3-wire hardwiring kit. If you have already purchased the PowerCell 8 without getting that option, you may be able to contact BlackboxMyCar and see if they would sell that by itself. I don't see it listed on their website as a separate product offering.
@@RetroCarGuy530 after watching couple videos online,your video was the only one that convinced me to buy,ordered yesterday and pick cigarette lighter adapter as my output.also just emailed black box and see if they can sell me the proper output with separate invoice,or just send me one for free haha,cause that battery pack ain’t cheap man.
@@RetroCarGuy530 question, before I purchased battery, my dash cam is hardwired, now when I turn off my car it goes into parking mode, now with powercell installed with cigarette lighter adapter, it doesn't go to parking mode, it just records like its on normal mode, if that makes sense. Is it because I don't have the output spliced cable?
To get the VIOFO dashcam to go into parking mode when powering it with the PowerCell 8, you will need to get the PowerCell 8 3-wire output power cable. You then splice the output 3-wire cable from the PowerCell 8 with the VIOFO 3-wire USB-C hardwiring kit. Then you should have parking mode again. That’s exactly how I’m powering a VIOFO T130 3-channel dashcam right now and it goes into/out of parking mode as it should.
@@RetroCarGuy530 ah ok, dang I should've pick spliced output cable then. Thank you for your quick response, I really appreciate it.
Will this batter pack work with the vantrue N4 dash cam?
I looked at the Vantrue website to check out the hardwiring kit for the N4. It's a 2-wire device with low voltage cutoff. Yes, you can use that with this battery pack, by wiring the red wire it to the "BATT+" output terminal (left most terminal connector) and the black wire to the GND (3rd from the left terminal connector). Since the N4 documentation states it has a parking monitor, it must mean there's some sort of motion detection for the N4 to know when to enter and exit parking mode. To have instant entry into and exit from parking mode would require a 3-wire hardwiring kit to access the ACC+, but I don't see that as an available accessory from Vantrue.
@@RetroCarGuy530 thanks so much for the response!
Price?
Starting at 17:44 in the video, I discuss the pricing info for this battery pack. BlackboxMyCar was running Black Friday sale at that time the video was released and it was available for $341.99 USD. The current base price is $394.99 USD. If you use my affiliate link or use coupon code RCG530 at checkout time, you'll save five percent on your purchase.