Puzzling Backup Camera Issue..

[Col.Ted]

Ok, so I went to install my Furrion backup camera, checked the output voltage for the lights above the housing and it read 12.8vdc. Installed the camera...blue light came on, so figured all was right in Tinseltown. Went to the front of my truck and trailer (hooked up and running lights on) turned on the monitor and all it said was "No signal received"...Hum? Thought maybe it needed pairing, so tried that option...said "pairing failed"...again hum? Remembering this system was 3-4 years old, I decided to buy and upgrade to a Furrion 7" system. Received new unit...this time I tried it out first! Plugged monitor into 12vdc Furrion wall converter (in kitchen), then hooked up monitor to 12vdc battery pack. Tried it in basement, worked fine, both monitor and camera, moved to the outside of the garage, tried again, all worked fine. Moved to the back of the pickup, some 100 feet from the monitor in the kitchen...all worked fine. Decided to go and install it in the TT. Installed the camera in the back of the trailer, turned on backup lights, little blue indicator came on...again figured all was fine in Tinseltown. Went to truck, plugged in monitor to cigarette lighter...and turned on monitor. "No signal received"!!! Eee!!!, brand new out of package, pretested unit and ...well that was end of day two.
Day three had idea, test the distance outside the 2022 GMC Sierra. Took my portable rig described earlier and tested the reception right under the camera (mounted 5 feet upon the back of the TT). Yep, you guessed it "No signal received". Could it be that when they pre-wired the pigtail the Heartland people cross connected the positive and minus (red wire and black wire) inside the trailer, causing a malfunction in the camera...signal? Light shows working(blue) but no signal being transmitted... You all's thoughts and suggestions appreciated!!!

I would hate to open the wiring box at the camera and start over...those tiny screws can only be replaced by mice with very small screwdrivers...

 

[Bogie]

Step one....buy that mouse.

Unfortunately, it may still be easier to remove the camera to check the voltage and polarity of the plug at the camera with a volt meter.
Otherwise, you will have to locate where the other end of the pre-wired cable is connected to insure it is connected properly. Also, testing the cable where it originates, won't tell you if there is a problem with the cable itself (damaged cable).

Unless you intend to be on the road, you don't necessarily have to reassemble everything until you get it working. Just protect from water if it's raining.

Alternately, you could try temporarily connecting the camera to the marker light where you tested the voltage before. My 5th wheel wasn't pre-wired for a camera, so that's where I took the power from for my backup camera.

 

[Col.Ted]

Are there any road rules that stipulate 3 marker lights on the back top of the trailer? I could use the two outside lights, and mount the camera where the center light was...and seal off the old camera box.

 

[Dahillbilly]

Col.Ted; having problem with my camera also. Unit worked fine until I purchased a new 2023 Duramax 3500, now the camera works fine UNTIL I'm hitched up to the 5th wheel & then no signal. Thinking it must be antenna signal issue with the new truck system worked flawlessly with the 2015 Duramax. Will work with the truck parked few feet away from being hitched but once I'm hitched loses signal. Funny thing is the camera in the garage always works even swapped the two & same thing. I'm stumped on this one.

 

[Col.Ted]

Col.Ted; having problem with my camera also. Unit worked fine until I purchased a new 2023 Duramax 3500, now the camera works fine UNTIL I'm hitched up to the 5th wheel & then no signal. Thinking it must be antenna signal issue with the new truck system worked flawlessly with the 2015 Duramax. Will work with the truck parked few feet away from being hitched but once I'm hitched loses signal. Funny thing is the camera in the garage always works even swapped the two & same thing. I'm stumped on this one.

I did not hook my truck up to the TT, rather just "touched" the hitch ball to the receiver. Truck and TT were connected with the electrical hookup. Still not working... Going over the TT and recheck the polarity of the wiring, and will cannibalize my center light if the camera needs higher voltage and install it there... Will let you know the outcome.

 

[fluffywhitedogs]

I did not hook my truck up to the TT, rather just "touched" the hitch ball to the receiver. Truck and TT were connected with the electrical hookup. Still not working... Going over the TT and recheck the polarity of the wiring, and will cannibalize my center light if the camera needs higher voltage and install it there... Will let you know the outcome.

This seems like a silly question, but have you checked that the lights are currently working? I had an electrical issue where when I connected my vehicle, the vehicle fuse that operates the running lights would blow. When that happened, my cameras would go out, too.

 

[Col.Ted]

Yep, everything was lit up on the trailer, all running lights. Today, I took the camera out of its cradle, then checked the wiring voltage for the snap connection of the camera...12.8 vds (ok on this one), then checked the voltage of the running lights above the camera, same 12.8 vdc. (phew!). Rewired the camera housing for a permanent install.

I must digress here, before doing all this I connected up the monitor and camera in the cab of the truck, just for S.and G. all worked fine. Used the cigarette lighter for the camera, and the 110 plug (with 12v converter) for the monitor.

Back to the final walk around. Started the truck, turned on the lights (not Auto setting), started the walk, all running lights were lit, went to the camera, its little blue light was shining brightly! Got around the setup and looked into the cab at the monitor...(well bless my buttons) all that work for road apples... NO SIGNAL!

Then it gob smacked me...I had read an article about GMC trucks starting with 2022 models that use a Pulse Voltage Manager...PVM system. Instead of a 12vdc perfect sign wave, PVM sends out a saw tooth pattern. The Furrion system does not recognize this saw tooth pattern, hence the camera does not work (putting out a signal). If I can find this article again I will post the link here in the forum for all our RV folks to read and a possible work around for this conundrum...

 

[Col.Ted]

OK, here is the article and the fix...(Link) https://www.etrailer.com/question-617970.html
Here is the tiny little piece they talk about in the article above...
(Link) https://www.etrailer.com/p-VGR64VR.html
Also, watch the video on this site to see how to install it...(always looks easy when an installer does it)...

Here's to happy (er) trails to all....

Col. Ted out!

 

[cookie]

Awesome, thanks for the update and link to the fix.

Peace
Dave

 

[Dahillbilly]

glad you got your problem resolved, now if I can figure out why my rear camera drops the signal when hitching up yet the inside garage camera stays connected.

 

[Col.Ted]

Dahillybilly, is your 5th on shore power inside garage before you hitch up?

 

[Dahillbilly]

Dahillybilly, is your 5th on shore power inside garage before you hitch up?

doesn't matter, camera has power, monitor looses the signal from rear camera

 

[LBR]

The Furrion system worked OK for me when I installed it 6 years ago, but because of our overall length from camera to monitor, it would drop signal way too much for me.

With a few parts from Amazon, I relocated both camera and monitor antennas so they have Line-Of-Sight communication with each other. Both of these antennas were changed out to 12" long ones at the same time....no more dropped signals.

 

[Col.Ted]

@LBR
I thought the Furrion S system monitor was not able to be changed out. How did you do it?

 

[LBR]

@LBR
I thought the Furrion S system monitor was not able to be changed out. How did you do it?

No, I didn't change my monitor out. What I did was relocated both my camera and monitor antennas to where they have a direct line-of-sight with each other.

I bought 2 ~12" long antennas, fittings, and lead-in wires to place my camera antenna on the side of our trailer....it is attached to the side ladder. The monitor antenna is now attached to my truck side mirror. Our combo hooked together is ~62-63' long, so antennas are ~ 57' apart.

It was obvious to me the problem was 100% antenna communication. The omni-directional camera antenna does not emit forward thru our 45' trailer to the monitor....it emits to both sides and rear and monitor depends solely on said signals to "bounce forward to the receiver". Quit the task, and no wonder longer trailers have drop-out signals.

Before my project, when travelling from low humidity, flat, barren, no guardrail type terrains into a much higher humidity, rolling forested hills with guardrails (NorCal to Oregon), I had drop-outs south, then virtually no drop-outs as travelling north. That told the story.

My awakening moment was ...."Why not relocate both antennas to "see" each other all the time, with a much better antenna?" Amazon has what you need for your application.

 

[Col.Ted]

I was asking about how you changed out the antenna for the monitor... Mine appears solid in the case and only will swivel and bend.
It is a Furrion Vision S system.

 

[LBR]

@LBR
I thought the Furrion S system monitor was not able to be changed out.

I didn't see where you were speaking of the monitor antenna, only the monitor.

My Furrion system is 6 years old and has a disconnect-able antenna connection....never have seen an "S" system. Can you even disconnect the camera's antenna? If so, that may help to relocate it with a better antenna, if you're able to?

 

[Col.Ted]

It appears that it is not removable, that's what threw me off... Wish it was, but alas, stuck with a 4" antenna.