I installed a v3 pan in my car and plugged it into an always on OBD connection. My question is, how much of my battery will this camera consume when it’s in privacy mode. I live in a cold climate in the winter so I have to be careful about draining battery. The only time the camera is really on is either when I’m driving or when I park at work so that really when I’m at work is the only time that I’m worried about which is about 4 hours per day. Please only answer if you know. I could surmise on my own 
thanks!
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From my test it does not appear as if there is any difference in power consumption from normal operation to privacy mode.
Not in Privacy Mode
In Privacy mode
Both modes hovered between .24 and .33 A
Where it looks to really spike is when the camera is panning or tilting.
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Thanks man! I guess I better be careful and switch the OBD off when I get out of the car when I get home and only use it when I’m at work. Cheers mate 
Just as a follow-up question seeing that you are really good at this, how long would it take for it to drain my battery?
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Wouldn’t say I am really good at it… I just have a tool. 
But It would most likely depend on the size of your battery.
There are a few more round these parts that may know a little more something about something than me when it comes to car batteries and power consumption. @Newshound @SlabSlayer
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Haha, always good to have a tool . Well I’m going to leave it in privacy mode and see it the OBD charger cuts it off. The charger has a 11.6 cut off (which I find too low, especially when it’s cold like here in the winter like -45).
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I had the post flagged to test, just hadn’t got around to plugging it in yet.
Depends on the battery you bought. Car batteries can be rated anywhere from 40 to 65 Amp Hours. 40 Amp Hours @ .25 amps = 160 hours.
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Thanks bud. I’m not sure what the rating is. It’s in the trunk somewhere 
. Last winter my car wouldn’t start a bunch of times and it had to be jumped. Turns out it was a bad starter. They changed the starter and I haven’t had a problem since but now I’m like traumatized of getting in the car and it doesn’t start and it’s like -40 outside in the winter!
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Yeah, best to do the testing in the summer in case things go sideways. Note that the age and health of your battery has a significant affect on its Amp Hour capacity. The ratings are for new batteries. To get a better prediction of how your battery will hold up under optimum conditions, you would need to look at the Life Cycle graphs for the particular battery you have.
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It was new in December 2022. They changed it before realizing that it was a bad starter. Yes, definitely test when I can walk to the store to buy a jump starter lol.
Looks like everything has been answered correctly. A Pan V3 consumes about a quarter-amp @5V in the normal quiescent (no motor) state. It consumes only a tad less in privacy mode, if that.
The main thing about privacy mode is it mainly tilts the camera down, and blocks your access from the app. So it is still fully operational and listening for commands. So not a battery-saving feature.
How long it lasts is dependent on your battery Ah, and the efficiency of your 12V to 5V converter. So not easy to predict. I’d just focus on privacy mode does not save you anything, the camera is still running.
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Hey everyone. Just a little update. I’ve left it running in the car when I’m at work and running but in privacy mode when I’m home. So far my battery has kept up, but it’s summer so that’s not when I thought I’d have trouble. I bought a GOOLOO GT4000s as a backup if ever I need to jump start the car!
I have to say I have captured some very funny things with that camera panning around and following people the expressions that they make! Some are pissed some are intrigued some find it hilarious. One guy came into our parking garage at work went right straight up to my car to pull the door handle and then realized the camera was following him and he took off so it’s already paid for itself in my mind. I just wish it was at least 2K because it’s nice to see the movement going on around but you’re never really good to see anything detailed with a 1080p, especially when it’s panning.
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We’d love to see clips of the reactions, lol.
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I’m sure you would lol. I’m not sure they’d be too pleased with me, and if I try to hide their identities I’ll also be hiding their expressions! But I will say that the one on Friday spotted the camera and started to do a chicken dance and seem to have twisted her ankle!
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