Hi, don't really know what to search for with this issue so i am asking here.

 

so I have an android radio in the car and a reverse camera attached. Worked perfect in my last car, suzuki baleno 2000, but in this one it does not. (the reverse camera) 

 

Sometimes it does not show up, and sometimes it shows bad footage, like an old TV with the stripes over the screen. Have tried radio noise cancelling. 

 

I tested the volts with a multimeter, and found that it gets 12 volts with the ignition in first step. The camera works perfectly in this state. However it gets 14 volts when the car is fully started and that is when the problems occur. 

 

Also when i connected the camera to my reverse light the light bulb light started showing in my dashboard. So Maybe it has something to do with it? I do not know. 

 

Advice is much appriciated, thank you 🙏

Hi,

 

where are you getting the power from? What you are seeing is normal when connected to the reverse lamp as the signal is PCM 

Most people get the power from the rear wiper as this does not suffer this problem.

 

John

I am getting the power from the reverse lamp. So the camera initiates as i put the gear in reverse. However it only does that when the car is in the first ignition step (can't recall what the Word for it is), but then the connection gets bad when the car is fully turned on. 

 

The reverse lamp is always working. 

As above, the reverse lamp is not a clean signal for reverse cameras...

 

You probably need something like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253676746898 to provide a clean power source.

Would you recommend connecting it to the windshield wipers in the back instead? Or somewhere else entirely? 

 

Edited 20 January, 20215 yr by TorH

It shouldn't really be necessary to use a relay to clean up the supply, but that doesn't mean that it isn't. 

 

The voltage that you have is quite normal for a car, so that shouldn't be a problem...except, perhaps if the camera isn't well designed.

 

If the issue is that there is noise on the voltage supply (and usually there is, although the camera ought to survive it) it would normally be possible to reduce that to an acceptable level with a combination of a series inductance (a clamp-on ferrite core) and a capacitor to ground.

 

The trouble is, it could be either the absolute voltage value, or noise on the supply. Really, it should be that the camera should work with the values of noise and voltage found in typical applications, but apparently it doesn't.

 

Where are you getting your earth?

Tried to put on ferrite clips on, but no change, i haven't put a capacitor to ground. Can't fully remember where the ground is but i think i put in the car chassis. 

OK, what you have tried is good, and, if that made no difference, it sounds as much like 'too many volts' rather than 'noise', although:

 

Quote

sometimes it shows bad footage, like an old TV with the stripes over the screen

 

is still really quite suggestive of noise.

 

I'd still try a capacitor (or two) to ground - ensure the leads are short, and try to wire it with a short earth connection as possible, and with the other wire coming in, and over the cap, as close as possible - like half a four wire configuration, if you can imagine that. 

 

If you go 'two capacitors', a relatively big one and a relatively small one would be ideal. (Don't think that 12 volts is the max voltage and should be used as the voltage rating - it is only under odd conditions, but automotive testing is done with a source that can be 100 Volts for a reason; this far back in the car, and with a length of wire, you can probably get away with 50 volt caps, as the caps themselves will tend to suppress the worst voltage peaks, but in an ideal world, you'd go 64 volts or  higher, if you can't do testing with an appropriate source.

 

I've just though of one other possibility - if the signal wire back from the camera has a high capacitance, that may be involved in the poor signal. It is less likely that this causes total failure to operate, but it may degrade the signal enough to cause corruption.

Edited 21 January, 20215 yr by Camlobe
bad punctuation

Hi,

 

Do not use caps as this can damage the control module, there is no "noise" as such on the supply to the reverse light over and above what is normally present on the 12V supply which the camera can cope with. On "smart" cars like the Skoda there is monitoring if the bulb has died, it does this with a clever module and pulses the supply to the bulb so the voltage is pulsed. You will not notice this on the bulb but the camera does not like this pulsed voltage hence the module that langers2k posted above which uses a relay to provide a steady 12v from another source but triggered by the reverse light cct. You can connect the camera feed to the rear wiper feed (think it my be purple) the camera will be powered whenever the ignition is on but it only shows on infotainment when in reverse.

 

John

I have a reversing camera it is connected to my 12v socket I had it fitted when having a towbar fitted this was for our fridge/cool box and anything else which requires powering, as camera. Never had any problems at all

On 21/01/2021 at 20:00, jjc said:

Hi,

 

Do not use caps as this can damage the control module...

 

it really shouldn't. The 'Industry standard' is to test all modules with shorts to both supply and ground (except for the obvious exception of testing ground to ground, which would be useless, ground to battery, which will just blow a fuse, and things like the Coil Drivers, which are difficult to protect, without worsening the function.)

 

This testing will result in a higher current, and for a much longer period than adding a capacitor, so the output should be undamaged by the capacitor.

 

There are ways of damaging outputs (ESD, inductive spike), so you may be better placed worrying about those.

Edited 26 January, 20215 yr by Camlobe
resting -> testing