Hardwiring and parking mode, explained
Parking mode is one of the most useful dash cam features and one of the most misunderstood. Here's what it actually does, and what it needs to work.
What parking mode records
Parking mode keeps a dash cam recording, at a reduced rate, after you've parked and switched the ignition off. Most models, including the whole current FixNow Mechanics range, use a mix of motion detection (something moves in frame), impact detection (the car is knocked or bumped), and time-lapse recording (low-frame-rate footage the whole time it's parked), so a scrape in a car park or a knock from a passing vehicle has a chance of being captured even with nobody in the car.
It is not the same as always-on recording at full frame rate: to conserve power, parking mode typically records in short bursts around a detected event rather than continuously at the same quality as normal driving footage.
Why it needs a hardwiring cable
On most vehicles, the 12V cigarette-lighter socket only supplies power while the ignition is on, so a dash cam plugged into it stops running as soon as you switch off and leave the car. A small number of vehicles have an "always-on" 12V socket that stays powered with the ignition off. Even then, Thinkware's standard 12V power cable is a driving-only lead and does not enable parking mode. A hardwiring cable is the separate accessory that actually does: it taps into the vehicle's fuse box to give the camera a constant power source, independent of the ignition or which type of socket the car has.
Thinkware's Battery Protection feature (the setting that can stop parking mode drawing power once the car battery reaches a chosen voltage) is configured on the dash cam itself. It is not an automatic property of the hardwiring cable, and needs to be set up, and can be adjusted, rather than assumed active by default. Like any voltage cut-off, it reduces the risk of a flat battery rather than eliminating it.
What's already included, and what isn't
This is where it's easy to get caught out: not every dash cam ships with a hardwiring cable in the box. On FixNow Mechanics' current range, the Q200 Front & Rear and ARC700 Front & Rear both include one, so parking mode works once either is fitted. The F70 Pro does not include one. Its parking mode only works once the separate Hardwiring Cable accessory is added.
None of this changes what a dash cam can legally or technically do beyond recording video: parking mode is a recording feature, not an alarm, immobiliser, or anti-theft device, and it doesn't notify you in real time if something happens to the car.
At a glance
Whether you need to add anything to get parking mode working depends on which camera you're starting from.
Buying the Q200 Front & Rear or ARC700 Front & Rear
No extra accessory needed
Both already include a hardwiring cable in the box, so parking mode is ready to use once fitted.
Buying the F70 Pro and want parking mode
Add the Hardwiring Cable accessory
The F70 Pro's parking mode is inactive on the standard 12V power cable alone; it needs the separate hardwiring cable to run once parked.
Not confident wiring into a fuse box yourself
Choose Supplied & Fitted
FixNow Mechanics' mobile fitting wires the hardwiring cable in as part of the installation, rather than leaving it as a DIY electrical job.
Worth knowing before you decide
- Battery Protection reduces the risk of a flat battery, but it has to be configured on the dash cam itself, and very cold weather, an older battery, or an unusually long time parked can still reduce how long parking mode realistically runs for.
- Parking mode footage loops and overwrites the oldest recordings once the memory card fills up, unless an event is flagged and locked. It is not permanent storage.
- Fitting a hardwiring cable involves working near a vehicle's fuse box; FixNow Mechanics confirms vehicle details before booking to check compatibility, and this is one of the reasons professional fitting is offered alongside the DIY option.