My dash cam does not turn on at all

This article helps you troubleshoot a THINKWARE dash cam that does not turn on and shows no LED indicators or startup sounds.

Power issues can involve an ignition-controlled power socket, loose harness connections, a corrupted or incompatible microSD card, an attached accessory short circuit, outdated firmware, OBD-II voltage drops, or thermal protection in hot weather.

If the front main unit displays no LED indicators and produces no startup sound, follow the steps below.

Already tried some steps? Jump to:

1.   Test the Main Unit with a 12V Car Charger Cable

2.   Check Power Harness and Fuse Connections by Cable Type

3.   Remove microSD Card and Re-power Unit

4.   Disconnect External Accessories

5.   Perform a Factory Reset

Test the Main Unit with a 12V Car Charger Cable

Required tools: THINKWARE 12V Car Charger Cable.

Don't have a 12V Car Charger Cable available? Skip directly to Check Power Harness and Fuse Connections by Cable Type below.

1. Connect your dash cam main unit to a known-working THINKWARE 12V Car Charger Cable and plug it into an auxiliary 12V power socket in your vehicle.

2. If the dash cam powers on with the 12V Car Charger Cable, inspect the installed Hardwiring Cable, OBD-II harness, and ground connection. Continue to Check Power Harness and Fuse Connections by Cable Type below.

3. If the dash cam remains unpowered, test the charger in a different 12V socket. Some sockets cut power when the ignition is off. If it remains unpowered across multiple sockets, continue to Remove microSD Card and Re-power Unit or Perform a Factory Reset below.

Check Power Harness and Fuse Connections by Cable Type

Depending on how your dash cam is powered in your vehicle, inspect the corresponding power harness

Select your power cable or battery pack:

• Hardwiring Cable
• THINKWARE / Echomaster OBD-II Power Cable
• iVolt External Battery Pack (BAB-95 / BAB-50)

Hardwiring Cable

Required tools: Multimeter or circuit tester.

1. Use a circuit tester at the fuse box to verify that current flows on the Red (ACC) wire only when the ignition is ON, and on the Yellow (BATTERY) wire at all times.

2. Check both the wire color and the printed label at the cable sheath: Red = ACC, Yellow = BATTERY, and Black = GND.

3. Inspect the Black (GND) ground wire eyelet and ensure it is securely bolted to bare, unpainted chassis metal. A painted or loose bolt can interrupt power.

THINKWARE / Echomaster OBD-II Power Cable

1. With the ignition OFF, connect the OBD-II Power Cable and check the LED indicator on the OBD-II connector plug. On the old OBD-II Power Cable, if the LED is unlit, the vehicle's OBD-II port is not providing 12V power.

2. For Echomaster OBD-II Power Cables, verify that the IGN-3F module LED emits a slow flash with the ignition OFF and turns solid green with the ignition ON.

3. For the old OBD-II Power Cable without selector switches only, disconnect and reconnect the connector three consecutive times to reset the connection. This procedure does not apply to the new OBD-II Power Cable with selector switches.

iVolt External Battery Pack (BAB-95 / BAB-50)

1. Verify that the iVolt power switch is set to LOW or HIGH and not set to OFF.

2. Check the charge status LEDs on the battery pack body (Solid Red = Charging, Solid Green = Full Charge).

[Charging]

[Full Charge]

3. Inspect the 20A ACC input fuse tap and output cable connections (Yellow B+, Red ACC, Black GND) linked to the dash cam Hardwiring Cable.

Remove microSD Card and Re-power Unit

1. Unplug the main power cable from the DC-IN port on the dash cam.

2. Eject the microSD card from the memory card slot.

3. Reconnect the power cable with the microSD card removed.

4. If the dash cam powers on and announces "Please insert a SD card", format or replace the microSD card. A card short circuit or file corruption can interrupt startup.

Disconnect External Accessories

1. Turn off the ignition and unplug all attached accessories from the main unit ports:

• V-IN port: Rear camera cable or Multiplexer Box
• GPS port: External GPS antenna
• RADAR port: RADAR module

2. Power on the front camera with no accessories attached.

3. If the front camera operates normally without accessories, reconnect each accessory one by one to identify which connection causes the issue.

Perform a Factory Reset

Follow the reset method for your model:

• U3000 PRO, U3000: Press and hold the REC and MIC buttons together until the dash cam beeps.
• Q200: Press and hold the Wi-Fi and REC buttons together until the dash cam beeps.
• LCD models: Use the reset option in the on-screen settings menu.

For reset buttons and menus by model, or if the reset does not work, see How to Reset your Dash Cam.

None of the above worked

If you have checked the power cables, tested without the microSD card, disconnected accessories, updated firmware, reset the dash cam, and allowed it to cool, but the issue continues, please contact THINKWARE support.

For warranty or technical evaluation information, see About THINKWARE's warranty policy.

Need more help?

Contact the support team for your region by email or phone. We’ll respond to your email as quickly as we can.

North America (US/CA)
Email: support@thinkware.com
Phone: 1-844-865-9273

United Kingdom (UK)
Email: support.eu@thinkware.com
Phone: +44 (0) 333-121-0008

Europe (EU)
Email: support@thinkwarestore.com
Phone: +49 69 943 22200