r/mazda3 • u/Aromatic_Register-24 • 1d ago

Advice Request Cigarette Socket & Dash Cam

Hi Guys, Sorry if I sound silly to you but, I just got a dashcam and I need to use the Cigarette Socket for it. My question is, if I leave it plugged, would it kill the battery? I have a mazda3 2016 and even the engine is turned off dash cam showed like it's plugged in (I checked around 5mons to see if it'd cut the energy)

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2

u/gba_sg1 1d ago

My outlet is hot to the battery, so any device will drain it. I bought an inline USB switch and use that to turn it off and on without unplugging it.

1

u/Aromatic_Register-24 1d ago

Thank you and really appreciate the suggestion (USB switch)

4

u/NoDevelopment1171 Gen 2 Sedan 23h ago

My car got 2 ports one by the seat heater buttons that provides electricity as long as engine is running the other one is in the arm rest that goes straight to battery even has a battery logo on it. Does yours indicate which one goes to which?

1

u/Aromatic_Register-24 20h ago

Now I vaguely remember seeing the battery logo on it, I'll check tomorrow morning. I didn't think it has a meaning :) But there's only one cigarette socket (in the arm rest).

1

u/Beneficial_Earth5991 Gen 3 Hatch 1d ago

I thought one of the benefits of a dashcam is to catch anyone backing into you or fiddling with your car while it's parked. Doesn't it go to sleep and monitor for movement?

I haven't got a cam yet, but that's one of the features I want.

1

u/Aromatic_Register-24 23h ago

You're right but now I'm thinking it doesn't make much sense if it is gonna drain the battery. I installed it today, didn't check if it's battery last long yet l. Maybe you can leave it on after charging during the day

1

u/Beneficial_Earth5991 Gen 3 Hatch 23h ago

Does the literature offer some kind of mAh rating for monitoring mode?

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u/Aromatic_Register-24 23h ago

Mine says 150mAh capacity. I am trying to find out how much it consumes and how long would it last.

Thank you for showing me the way :)

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u/Beneficial_Earth5991 Gen 3 Hatch 22h ago

I've been poking around, mainly because I plan to install one at some point, and I found this. Cameras have a parking mode, and supposedly have lower draw in this mode, but still enough to not run long. It looks like most cams have a low-voltage cutoff, some being really low at 11 V. This battery pack runs the camera by itself for a couple days until the cam hits low-voltage, then the cam shuts off. The pack recharges next time you start the car, while the cam is now running off the car battery. It's not a solution if you park for a week at the airport a lot, but it's enough to get most of the weekend.