[rkg]

I have bought a Car DVR from Ali express 2 years back. It has given me reasonably good service for 2 years. But it conked during the Leh trip in September-October 2014.

After returning from the trip, I had opened it and found that it has a 3.7 volt, 300 mAH Lithium polymer (LIPO) battery inside, which was gone. In addition, the wire connection between the suction cup holder to DVR was also disconnected. I got the connecting wire re-soldered and replaced with another LIPO battery whose capacity is not mentioned on battery, although the SP road guy assured me it is 280 mAh. Now, the Car DVR is working, but getting heated up.

I am thinking of attaching a 1000 mAH Lithium Ion battery to it by drawing the connecting wires outside and keeping the battery outside. Because the 1000 mAH battery is bigger and does not fit inside. By keeping it outside, heating up can be reduced to some extent. Backup also will be more.

Now the question is, can a 3.7 V, 1000 mAh (or even 3.7 V, 2000 mAh) battery be connected in case of 300 mAH. Will it be OK or cause a problem?

[svsantosh]

Some pics may help us to understand better. I got what you are trying to do, will be a great project and help many DVR users here.

Oh theory, as long as the output current doesnt change, the capacity/size of the battery backup should not cause a trouble.

[rkg]

Unfortunately i have not taken any photos when DVr was opened.
But here are the links to the model i bought.
http://in.dhgate.com/product/gs9000-pro-car-dvr-video-recorder-vehicle/212472642.html?utm_source=pla&utm_medium=GMC&utm_c ampaign=dxmall&utm_term=212472642&f=bm|212472642|1 12003-AutoElectronics|GMC|Adwords|pla|dxmall|IN|11200300 8-CarDVRs|c||0HRF|&gclid=CNWOuJjyncQCFRcXjgod5JQAbg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etD5iKF8X4g

The GPS chip is in the suction cup holder. Even the car 12V charger to mini USB port is on the suction cup holder. This is a flat cable( 5 wires) which connects the suction cup holder to main unit. This wire got snapped. Most probably due rotating the main unit for adjusting the filed of view. Apart from that the LIPO battery has also gone. From whatever i got from net it seems the life LIPO battery is less compared to LION battery.
I will post LIPO battery photo tomorrow. They are like Apple batteries with wires which are soldered to PCB.

Camera picture quality is very good. We can record in 1920 X 1280 also at either 30/60 fps. Minimum is 1280 X 720 @ 30 fps. Field of vision is 178 degrees. @ 1280 X 720 and 30 fps 32Gb card can record around 6-7 hours of video. I did use it extensively. I have around 1.3 TB of footage.

Idea was to keep any mobile LION battery 1000/2000 mAh, solder wires in to + and - terminals, connect to PCB through two holes in the body. Iam planning to keep plug and socket type attachment for these wires. so that i can easily replace battery without opening the camera every time. Battery can be stuck behind the rear view mirror

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by rkg

Unfortunately i have not taken any photos when DVr was opened.

Just buy a battery pack and connect the camera to the battery pack.
when you want to use connect the battery pack to the car charger.

I have the same thing ! Battery back up is less than 3 minutes.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by rkg

Iam thinking of attaching a 1000 mAH Lithium Ion battery to it by drawing the connecting wires outside and keep battery outside. Because the 1000 mAH battery is bigger and does not fit inside. By keeping it outside heating up can be reduced to some extent. Back up also will be more.

Now the question is, can a 3.7 V, 1000 mAh ( or even 3.7 V, 2000 mAh ) battery be connected in case of 300 mAH. Will it be OK or cause a problem?

LiPO batteries can be dangerous (they can burst into flames or explode) if their charging/discharging currents are not kept within the specifications. Chances are your replacement battery was not 280 mAH or it had a low current specs.
It won't hurt your DVR as long as you match the voltage of the external battery exactly. The problem is charging your external battery. Get the specific car charger designed for the battery and you are good to go.

Most miniature equipment can be given extra lease of life by fitting rightly sized external batteries. Just make sure that you find or make the right chargers.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by rkg

Now the question is, can a 3.7 V, 1000 mAh ( or even 3.7 V, 2000 mAh ) battery be connected in case of 300 mAH. Will it be OK or cause a problem?

As long as the battery voltage rating is the same, an increase in capacity wouldn't be dangerous. Only charge times will increase and the charger may heat up a bit.

[tsk1979]

If you are keeping battery outside the DVR, use a Nokia cell phone battery(The one used in 1100 and stuff).

Other option is to use a capacitor, if you intend to use the DVR only when plugged in.
Capacitor will hold charge for a few seconds(enough for DVR to complete the last file write)

[rkg]

The Car DVR and the LIPO battery.

The 12V car charger connects to suction cup holder via mini USB port. Camera battery gets charged through the connections shown at the top of the camera.

The Lithium Polymer battery shown is soldered to PCB inside.

Suppose , if we disconnect the battery altogether, will the camera work with car charger directly?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rkg

The Car DVR and the LIPO battery.

The 12V car charger connects to suction cup holder via mini USB port. Camera battery gets charged through the connections shown at the top of the camera.

The Lithium Polymer battery shown is soldered to PCB inside.

Suppose , if we disconnect the battery altogether, will the camera work with car charger directly?

It may. You can try, but you will lose the last file when power is turned off.
That is why I mentioned a capacitor
You can look at this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Capaci...item234cedebec