Hey guys!

My reverse camera has had flickery lines for a bit then totally cut out a few days ago. Occasionally it'd come back, but then go again. It's an AliExpress boot handle special.

Removed the rear trim from the tailgate and reconnected the signal ground wire which had broken - connected it all up and started the car again... the camera image is perfect BUT vertically inverted (park pilot buttons and guide lines are all the correct way up). Had a quick look in OBDEleven but the coding is all how i've left it. 

Did notice the slimline inline 4pin connector was getting warm (probably 30 degrees C or so) when powered, so am probably going to cut that connector out and splice the wires together. There is a red wire coming from the camera which I had left disconnected originally, but it feasibly could have touched bodywork - maybe an option wire?).

 

Not sure if anyone had seen this before and had the solution or not! Cheers

Edited 26 February, 20215 yr by micro

And our survey says - dodgy camera. The red wire in the signal cable that comes out of the inline connector measures at 12V, and is definitely a power wire. Not sure whether it could have touched bodywork where it was mounted and heatshrunk, but was exploring all options.

 

Tested with a TV and 12V DC power adapter The camera popped up, indeed lines on the bottom, and camera image flipped, with the inline connector getting extremely hot in the process. Joined the wires directly (removed the inline connector), and the camera popped up again then went *poof* permanently.

 

Opened the camera module up to find, seemingly, good build quality with the entire unit potted in a soft rubbery compound, except for where the wires had been soldered. There is a visible char mark on the 12v+ wire, and not beyond the realms of possibility that the positive wire  has been intermittently touching nearby components. My theory is that the inline connector has been high enough resistance to keep the current low enough that it hasn't just gone immediately poof before.

 

Luckily it appears that my park pilot system is intact in the car - have had to de-code the reversing camera as otherwise the OPS screen gets confused as there is no camera signal then goes "Park pilot unavailable". Have ordered another camera from a different supplier on AliExpress, supposedly marked as a "Pro" version. The pictures show them using standard phono plugs for the video line and DC barrel jack for power, but then so did the original camera then came with the inline connector!

Edited 27 February, 20215 yr by micro

I had this with a cheap camera. Luckily the kenwood head unit it was plugged into had an option to flip the image. 

2 hours ago, StevesTruck said:

I had this with a cheap camera. Luckily the kenwood head unit it was plugged into had an option to flip the image. 

 

I looked for any options to flip the video - but when I found out that the lines were from the camera not the MIBII head unit then definitely camera at fault.

 

I had those options on my previous Android based head unit.