We have been able to establish from all our various posts on back up camera its importance, functions, benefits and operations. There are some DIY ideas offered and people have jumped on them with positive result. But why isn’t back up camera working in spite of putting in your best to make sure it does.
The backup camera is not working because there could be an issue with the electrical wiring of the car, there is a fuse blown, a switch is bad, or just a faulty general connection. Even an issue with the operating system can cause a glitch to the monitor.
Remember that your camera and monitor are electronic devices and are man-made. No matter how perfect they look, these things can develop fault at any time without warning. No matter how much we try to avoid these things they still occur.
The idea behind this post is to point out the cause and effect of a backup camera not working. We will also try to present to you some of the ways to remedy these faults by yourself without necessarily contacting the manufacturer or a technician.
Table of Contents
CAUSE AND EFFECTS OF FAULTY BACK UP CAMERA
As already stated, there are lots of reasons why your back up camera might stop working. Some of these causes are minor and some could be more severe. Knowing what they are could go a long way resolving the issue. Find below some of the causes and effects of your back up camera not working properly.
No image when reverse gear in engaged
Normally, once you turn on the engine of your vehicle, your back up camera should come on. And then when you engage the reverse gear, the rear view comes on the monitor instantly.
If this fails to happen, then there is an issue with the wiring system of the entire back up camera. This issue occurs, but not common though. In fact, it is more common to aftermarket products rather than custom (installed by the manufacturer) products. Let that be the first thing you consider if this occurs.
So the solution to this problem is to confirm that the wiring of your back up system is intact. You will need to locate the position of wiring in your car, and then you can refer to the operational manual of the camera. The wiring system differs between models of vehicles. You need to consider that so you won’t spend much time looking for the camera wiring in the wrong place.
No LCD display
Some back up cameras, their monitors have switches which you can use to turn on or off the display of the rear view. Therefore, make sure you often check that the monitor is turned on if you have this type. It is only when it is on, that the camera can display.
So also, if the LCD monitor has battery saver option turned on, the LCD screen might go off if there is a pre-selected time when it was not in use. You might want to remove the camera from battery saving mode so you can have uninterrupted display at any given time so far as the engine is running.
No image comes up at all
The first thing we pointed out was for if the monitor was coming on but does not display rear view once the reverse gear is engaged. That’s even better. For this one, the camera does not even come on at all – reverse gear or no reverse gear.
For this issue, the most likely cause is a blown fuse. This fuse is connected to the backup camera. Another big issue that will arise from his challenge is kneeing where the fuse box is in the first place. The position of your fuse box largely depends on the vehicle you have. For some cars, the fuse box can be found right under the steering wheel. But for some others, it can be found under the dash board.
Now when you manage to locate the position of the fuse box, next thing is to look for the actual fuse that works with the backup camera because you will find various fuses that perform different functions. Now you don’t want to spoil something else trying to repair an already existing problem. When you find the one that actually works with a backup camera, remove it and then replace it with a better one.
Just a quick reminder to always test the fuse to determine if that’s the cause of the problem in the first place. Even by looking at a blown fuse, you should be able to figure out if it is bad or not. Test with a new one to determine if it is okay before replacing it in the fuse box.
Bad Image on monitor
One of the most common problems with a backup camera (even if it comes on) is having dull image on screen. What you see is blurry you can’t even make out guide lines let alone rear view. Alas! It is also one of the easiest to fix. This is because it is most likely caused by dirt. And what do you do to something that is dirty? You clean it. simple and short.
A camera could get dirty if it is mounted on the body of the car close to the ground. It could also get dirty if you drive in the rain, the road is muddy or there’s too much dust. A very windy or dry weather can also cause your camera lens to be dirty.
To rectify this issue, clean the lens of the camera with a clean, dry cloth. However, you need to be careful how you clean the lens so you don’t end up scratching it. Avoid abrasive cloth and use lint-free cloth instead.
It is important to note that the position of the lens is different in various cameras. That is why we would always recommend referring to the operational manual of your back up camera to note the exact position of the lens on your camera.
Images not recorded by camera
Well, in case you don’t know, your back up camera has the ability to record images it processes. If this does not happen, it’s probably just a settings problem. Make sure that your camera is on photography mode. Now for some products, this feature is turned on automatically. But for others, you will need to turn it on manually from the settings of the camera. Some of the modes to set it to make the camera record images are: photography mode, play back mode or video mode.
Also, if your camera is no longer recording image, it could be that the memory is full. You can clear up some old recordings that are not useful to make up space for new ones.
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR BACK UP CAMERA
- As earlier stated, always refer to the operational manual of the back-up camera for more clarity. If you do so, you might be able to fix problems you encounter without involving a technician.
- Make sure you clean the lens of your camera often to prevent blurry images on the screen, and to conserve the life span of your camera.
- Try to make sure that the wiring system of your back up camera is always intact. Also do well to cross-check all the ports the wires have to fit into and make sure they are okay.
- Replace any damaged part or component before it causes more harm to the camera and the integrity of the whole wiring system.
- When replacing parts, make sure you get OEM after-market products.
Conclusion
Most back up cameras come with warranty. If yours has not expired, you can involve the services of your manufacturer, if not, you can just follow or instructions and that should be okay.
