This troubleshooting guide is designed to help you resolve common issues with the Motive AI Dashcam. It provides easy-to-follow steps for addressing power, recording, and setup problems, ensuring seamless integration with the Motive Vehicle Gateway.
Below are the common issues that you may encounter with your AI Dashcam.
1. AI Dashcam not powering up/ not recording properly
If the AI Dashcam is not powering up or not recording properly, there may be several potential causes as listed below.
Potential Causes
Here is a list of causes resulting in AI Dashcam not powering up or not recording properly:
- The Vehicle Gateway connected to the AI Dashcam is powered off
- Damage to the Dashcam’s cables
- The Vehicle Gateway's USB port is damaged
- The Dashcam and Vehicle Gateway are not connected properly
- The Dashcam requires an update
- Compatibility issue between the Dashcam and Vehicle Gateway
- The Dashcam needs troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Steps
There are multiple potential solutions to this issue. We recommend working through the following until you find the one that solves your particular issue.
1. Turn on Vehicle Gateway
- Ensure the Vehicle Gateway connected to the Dashcam is powered on.
- Check the LED activity on the Vehicle Gateway. Both LEDs should initially turn red. The left LED turns green once the Vehicle Gateway acquires a GPS signal.
2. Dashcam's cable damage
- Inspect the Dashcam and its cable for damage, rust, or corrosion.
- Examine the USB end of the cable for any signs of wear.
- If you find any damage, please contact support.
3. Vehicle Gateway's USB port Damage
- Disconnect the AI Dashcam from the Vehicle Gateway.
- Connect the AI Dashcam to a different power source (cigarette lighter or radio).
- If the AI Dashcam powers ON, it means the Vehicle Gateway requires replacement.
4. Dashcam and Vehicle Gateway Connection issues
- Make sure that no other device (like a USB hub) is plugged between the Vehicle Gateway and the Dashcam.
- Remove any USB hub plugged in and ensure the Dashcam is directly connected to the Vehicle Gateway.
5. Dashcam swap test
If the Dashcam is still not powering up, please follow the steps below to perform a device swap test
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- Turn off the vehicle's engine and unplug the Dashcam.
- Unplug the Vehicle Gateway from the vehicle's diagnostic port and wait for at least 5 minutes.
- Ensure that the cable connectors and the vehicle’s diagnostic port are clean, and check that the connector pins are not damaged.
- After 5 minutes, reconnect the Vehicle Gateway to the vehicle’s diagnostic port, ensuring the connections are secure.
- Start the vehicle’s engine and wait for the GPS light (on the left-hand side) to turn solid green.
- Plug the Dashcam cable back into the Vehicle Gateway and check the status of the LED light on the Dashcam.
6. Perform a Factory Reset
- Locate the pinhole on the left side of the dashcam.
- Press the pinhole for 10-15 seconds using a paperclip or similar tool.
- The center white LED will illuminate once the button is pressed for around 10 seconds indicating that recovery mode has been initiated.
- After recovery mode is attempted, the LED will briefly turn off for one second, then light up solid blue for 2-3 seconds. Following this, the white LED will pulse from left to right, indicating the startup process.
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The light will start flashing white, indicating that the dashcam is updating its firmware.
7. Dashcam Power cycle troubleshooting
- Ensure the vehicle's engine is running.
- Unplug the Dashcam from the Vehicle Gateway's USB port.
- Keep the Dashcam unplugged until all the LEDs in the camera are turned off.
- While the vehicle's engine is still running, plug the Dashcam back into the Vehicle Gateway's USB port. and check for the LED status on the dashcam
2. AI Dashcam showing disconnected or frequent disconnects
If your Motive Dashcam is disconnected or has frequent disconnects, follow the steps listed below:
- Ensure that both the Vehicle Gateway and Dashcam are securely connected, with the USB connection between the Dashcam and Vehicle Gateway properly seated.
- Turn off the engine and disconnect both the Vehicle Gateway and Dashcam.
- Check both ends of the cables and the vehicle's diagnostic port for any visible damage or wear.
- Examine the camera cable and the USB port on the Vehicle Gateway to ensure they are clean and undamaged.
- Reconnect the Vehicle Gateway to the vehicle's diagnostic port.
- Start the engine and wait for the red/green LED light to turn on, indicating the Vehicle Gateway is powered.
- Reconnect the Dashcam to the Vehicle Gateway.
- Ensure all connections are clean and tight.
- Check the LED status: The Dashcam’s LED should change to a solid blue once the connection is successful.
3. Test Image Not Captured Properly
Solution
- Switch your engine ON.
- Check whether the Blue LED light on the camera is lit. If the Blue LED does not turn on within 3 minutes of the engine on, disconnect and reconnect the camera from the Vehicle Gateway while the engine remains ON. The LED will turn on in another 3 minutes.
- Wait for 2 minutes after the LED light on the camera turns ON.
- Open the Driver App and attempt to take a test image again.
- If the system still fails to take an image, unplug the Dashcam first while the engine is still ON.
- Connect to the Driver App and wait until the status of the Dashcam changes to Disconnected.
- Turn off the engine after 1 minute and disconnect the Vehicle Gateway. Wait for 5 mins.
- Plug back the Vehicle Gateway and wait for it to power up. Make sure the GPS(left) light is solid GREEN. Turn the engine ON, wait 1-2 mins, and connect the DC.
- Connect to the Driver App and wait until the status of the Dashcam changes to Connected. Now, try to retake the test image.
- If the install image check fails with the LED ON, the camera is busy transferring a video. Try again in a few minutes.
- If the next try fails, reach out to Support.
4. Perform Pinhole/Hard Reset or Reboot on AI Dashcam (DC53 and DC54)
Solution
- Locate the pinhole situated on the left-hand side of the Dashcam.
- Press the pinhole for 10-12 seconds using a paperclip or a similar tool.
- The white LED blinks once while the button remains pressed.
- Observe the LEDs blinking in white.
- Release the pinhole, and it should continue blinking. If it stops, repeat the previous step.
- The AI Dashcam undergoes a reset.
- The light flashes white, showing the dashcam is updating its firmware.
| Note: If not done correctly, you may need to try the pinhole reset multiple times. Repeating the process is recommended if the dashcam doesn’t respond on the first try. |
5. Common LED states of AI Dashcam
The LED indicators on the AI Dashcam display various statuses and provide visual alerts for unsafe driving behaviors. Detailed information about these LED states can be found. More details on the LED states are here.
| AI Dashcam Light Indicators | Meaning |
| Solid Green | It indicates Driver Privacy Mode is active. |
| Blinking Purple | The device must be facing some issues i.e. disconnected, heated up etc. |
| Blinking Yellow | Driver is not connected to Vehicle Gateway (Unidentified Driver) |
| Blinking Blue | Live Stream is started |
| Exhaling Blue | (exhaling from middle to left and right): Quick/Driver Capture button is pressed |
|
Solid Blue |
The camera is activated and recording |
| Blinking White | Camera firmware is being updated |
| Single White Blink | Camera Reset button is long pressed for 10-15 secs |
| Progress White (Left to Right) | The camera is booting up |
The following light indicators represent common AI Dashcam issues. Below are solutions to resolve them:
- AI Dashcam light flashes yellow
- AI Dashcam light flashes red
- AI Dashcam light blinking purple/violet
6. Additional Best Practices
Best Practices
- Clean the windshield with the provided alcohol wipes and allow the windshield to dry before adhering to the camera.
- When adhering the camera to the windshield, press and hold it firmly for 10-20 seconds.
- Do not mount the camera in tinted areas of the windshield.
- Lower sun visors to ensure they do not obstruct the inward-facing camera view of the Driver.
| Note: If installing a road-facing-only camera, this does not apply. |
- Ensure the rearview mirror is fully operational and does not obstruct the Driver's inward-facing camera view.
- Do not install a camera on a severely cracked windshield without the customer’s consent.
Camera placement differs slightly from vehicle to vehicle. Installers should align each camera as close to the same view as possible. The following are images showing the correct and incorrect camera views of our road and driver-facing cameras:
Correct View (Road-facing)
Clear view of the road as well as the vehicle’s hood and hood-mounted mirrors
Incorrect View (Road-facing)
Unable to view the vehicle’s hood
Correct View (Driver-facing)
Clear view of the Driver from the waist up to the head
Incorrect view (Driver-facing)
Unable to view the Driver's head/face
Correct Placement
Unobstructed
Incorrect Placement
Obstructed
Congratulations! You’ve successfully troubleshot the AI Dashcam. For more information, visit the Related Content section or explore our Help Center.