When you wake up and see frost on your car, you know it's cold out. On these cold mornings, you might notice your Dash Cam Struggles to Turn On When Cold. You press the button but nothing happens. You count on your camera to record your drive, so it is annoying when it just stays off. Cold weather makes all electronic devices act differently.
You may feel stressed when you see your dash cam is off, but you can try a few quick fixes right away.
When your dash cam struggles to turn on when cold, the problem is often just about the temperature inside your car. All you need to do is raise the temperature a bit. Turn your car heater on and let it blow warm air until the inside feels less cold.
Sometimes your car battery isn't strong enough in the cold to start the dash cam. This happens a lot in winter. You can take a portable power bank like you use for your phone and plug your dash cam into it using the right cable.
Cold weather changes how tight the electrical parts in your car fit together. Fuses and wires might pull away from each other. You can check your car's fuse box and look for the fuse that connects to your dash cam or hardwire kit.
When electronics freeze, they might freeze their memory too. You can reset most dash cams by poking a small button, often hidden in a tiny hole. Use a paperclip or toothpick for this job. You can also take out the SD card and push it back in.
Some dash cams connect to your car's main power by a hardwire kit, but cold can stop those kits from working right away. You can unplug your dash cam from the hardwire kit and try plugging it into the cigarette lighter or a USB port.
Sometimes, quick steps do not solve the issue. When this happens, checking each part of your setup can help explain why is my dash cam not turning on.
The first thing to check is if power is getting to your dash cam at all. If your radio or phone charger is not working either, then cold might have lowered your battery's power. If your other car devices are fine, your dash cam could be the only one with a problem.
Wires and cables can crack and split in the cold which stops electricity from flowing. You can unplug your dash cam and try a different charging cable. If you usually use a cigarette lighter socket, test the camera in another socket if you have one.
If you have a simple voltage meter at home, you can see if your dash cam is getting enough power. Set the meter to check for the right number of volts. Your camera may need 5V or 12V, depending on the model.
SD cards, like batteries, don't work well in freezing weather. Sometimes a cold or broken SD card stops your dash cam from starting up. Take the SD card out and bring it inside to warm up. Put it into your computer to see if it reads properly.
If your dash cam shows anything at all on the screen, you may get to a menu where you can find a button to reset the settings to factory default. This wipes out any old settings that got mixed up when your car battery was too cold.
The wires and connections in your car may not touch tightly when it is really cold. Look at the ground wire and make sure it touches the metal of your car with no rust in between. Tighten any loose bolts nearby.
It can be helpful to know what can stop your dash cam from starting in the cold.
Your car's battery loses power when the temperature falls low. Old-style batteries can lose a lot of their strength below freezing temperatures. When you start your car, the starter takes most of the current, so there is not much left for your camera.
The gadgets that send power to your dash cam also suffer in cold weather. The very small parts inside can stop working right. If the power supply can't keep voltage steady, your dash cam might keep restarting or never turn on at all.
Cards used for memory in your dash cam do not always work well when it's too cold. If the SD card cannot "wake up," your dash cam will not start. The camera may get stuck on its first screen, or not move past the brand logo.
If your dash cam has an old-style battery inside, freezing weather makes it weaker and sometimes useless. When the camera tries to use the battery to turn on, it might not have the strength to do so.
If your camera starts to heat up quickly after being cold, water might form inside it. This is called condensation and can cause problems on the lens or the circuit board. If your dash cam gets too wet on the inside, it might turn off or never come on again until it dries.
Cold days do not only stop your dash cam from turning on.
Symptom |
Description |
Slow Startup |
Your dash cam turns on, but it takes much longer than normal to show the recording screen. |
Screen Freezing |
The picture on the display does not move, and none of the buttons work at all. |
Repeated Rebooting |
Your device keeps turning itself on and off many times, without recording anything. |
No Response |
The dash cam's screen stays completely black, with no lights or signs of life. |
Corrupt Files |
Your dash cam seems to record, but the files won't play back later on your computer. |
You do not have to wait for problems to happen.
When you know a very cold night is coming, unclip your dash cam and take it inside with you. In the morning, it will be warm and ready. If you keep it at room temperature, it will start up every time you plug it in.
Try not to blast your dash cam with hot air when it is ice cold. Warm up the rest of your car first, then the dash cam slowly. Sudden heat can break small parts or let water form inside your camera.
When you connect your dash cam with a special kit that goes straight to your car's electrical system, using a hardwire kit gives more steady power. Hardwire kits work well in cold weather and help stop voltage drops.
A strong car battery means all your electronics, including your dash cam, work better. Check how old your battery is, especially before winter. If it is older or does not hold power, get a new one.
You want a dash cam designed for cold weather. The best choice is a camera that uses a supercapacitor inside instead of a regular battery. Wolfbox dash cams use this technology, which lets your camera work during freezing weather.
You might wonder why supercapacitors get so much attention when you shop for a dash cam.
Feature |
Lithium Battery |
Supercapacitor |
Cold Tolerance |
Loses most of its power and charge in freezing temperatures. |
Always works, even if it is much colder than freezing outside. |
Lifespan |
Gets weaker fast when it heats and cools over and over. |
Built for an extremely long cycle life, delivering stable performance over time. |
Safety |
Can heat up, leak chemicals, or even pop under stress. |
In extreme weather, supercapacitors are much safer than lithium batteries and have a very low risk of explosion. |
Supercapacitors let your dash cam work in both hot and cold weather.
When your dash cam has a supercapacitor, it powers up as soon as your car sends power. You do not have to wait for the part to warm up.
A supercapacitor stores just enough power so your dash cam can finish saving files when the car switches off, allowing it to continue recording for a short time even after the engine is off. If your dash cam had a regular battery, freezing weather could make it shut down too fast, and you might lose your recordings.
A dash cam with a supercapacitor will last you a long time. You will not have to worry about the part dying after a couple of years like with a regular battery.
Driving in winter is already hard, and you do not want your electronics to make it tougher. If your dash cam struggles to turn on when cold, a Wolfbox, which comes with a supercapacitor, can help ensure you don't miss the footage you need most. When you know how the cold affects your camera, battery, and wires, you can fix problems fast.
Many dash cams can work in cold weather, but some have trouble when it gets too cold, especially if they use standard batteries. Dash cams with supercapacitors work better when it's freezing, so you will not have the same cold-related problems.
The best dash cam for cold weather is one with a supercapacitor inside instead of a battery. Wolfbox makes great models that keep working in low temperatures, down to −4 °F.
To solve this, warm up your car's inside first. Also check the cables, power sources, and try a reset on your dash cam. If those do not work, plug the dash cam into a power bank to see if you get power that way.
