Moisture in side camera (cameras dead)

RoamingEngineer · 01-25-2011, 12:53 PM

My right turn signal camera stopped working and has visible moisture behind the lens.

I called my dealer (Lazydays) and they said the warranty claim was denied because they couldn't prove why it failed.

They also couldn't tell me who "they" were. I'm not sure if Lazydays went through Forest River warranty or the camera manufacturers warranty.

Anyone had any problems with their camera and was it handled through warranty?

scubieman · 01-25-2011, 01:10 PM

Don't stop till you find out who they went through.

I heard a similar story once but they never called for warranty check.

tmmar · 01-25-2011, 01:31 PM

I have the same problem with my side view cameras. They are ASA cameras and were replaced a couple of times by ASA and I still have the same problem. They say they are waterproof but I don't see how they could be because I will still get condensation behind the lens.

RoamingEngineer · 01-25-2011, 01:49 PM

Did you go through the dealer to get them replaced?

tmmar · 01-25-2011, 05:12 PM

No- I dealt directly to ASA. I'm not sure if your cameras are the same manufacturer as the ones on my rig, but as I said in my earlier post, they were replaced more than once and I still have the problem. It doesn't even have to be raining. If it is cool over night and then warm during the day, I will get condensation. Not sure how to eliminate the problem.

RoamingEngineer · 01-25-2011, 05:26 PM

Interesting. The first thing I tried was contacting ASA (Voyager) and they said I had to go through my dealer. They claimed they didn't work directly with end users on warranty issues.

tmmar · 01-25-2011, 06:33 PM

I told them that it was an 8 hour trip to my dealer (which is true) and that if they sent the cameras to me, I would install them and they would save the labor charges on the installation.

Smithgirl3 · 01-26-2011, 07:17 AM

My cameras are the same way, 2009 Berkshire.

tmmar · 01-26-2011, 11:33 AM

Well, I guess from all the postings here ASA has a bigger problem with their cameras than they are admitting to. Don't know what can be done about it though.

RoamingEngineer · 01-26-2011, 11:38 AM

I would think a company like Forest River would have some pull with them. A bunch of end users like us complaining are easy to brush under the rug individually. I would think that if we all complained to FR and made a big stink, FR would go after ASA on our behalf.

I wonder if this is a design flaw or just a bad batch that made it out the door. What's interesting is that I've only had this problem on 1 camera. The camera on the other side has zero moisture and works fine.

RoamingEngineer · 01-26-2011, 10:49 PM

BTW, are there any Forest River reps on these forums?

tmmar · 01-27-2011, 11:05 AM

Don't know if Forest River is monitoring this site but it seems that the camera problems affect a number of different model year motor homes so I don't think it was just a bad batch of cameras. I think that there is a design flaw that is causing the problems.

RoamingEngineer · 01-27-2011, 01:48 PM

Good point on the year. I find it odd that I have one camera that is affected and one that isn't. This happened when we went from Florida to the Shenandoah valley. As soon as we dropped into the freezing temps, my camera developed a haze on it. When I stopped at a campground, I could see water on the lens. We hadn't been in any driving rain or anything. It seems like the moisture is already in the camera and the trip to cold weather just caused it to condense.

tmmar · 01-27-2011, 02:06 PM

Your description of how the moisture develops is right on. Also, on mine, it will happen when driving in the warm weather after sitting overnight. Very frustrating- not to mention dangerous when you really can't use the camera to see what's coming up the side.

rockwood06 · 01-27-2011, 08:15 PM

Question to all, is there a removable protective lens on the camera that you notice? I don't know what they look like. I have a hand held camera with multible lens and i have a clear protective lens that screws on the front of it and you can't see it, just wondering if yours has that.

tmmar · 01-28-2011, 08:08 AM

There is a clear 'lens' in the front of the camera. Don't know if it is removable or not. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to remove it since it could lead to damaging the cameras internals. I found that after travelling for a while, the camera will get a coat of dirt over it that I clean off every time I fuel up so that could intrude into the camera.

rockwood06 · 01-28-2011, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

There is a clear 'lens' in the front of the camera. Don't know if it is removable or not. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to remove it since it could lead to damaging the cameras internals. I found that after travelling for a while, the camera will get a coat of dirt over it that I clean off every time I fuel up so that could intrude into the camera.

Thanks for the info. The reason i was asking is because with high end lenes the clear protective lens is there so it can be removed and clean rather then cleaning the actual camera lens, if the protective lens gets damage it is cheaper to replace, if the actual len to the camera is damaged then there is nothing that can be done about it because it is a fix lens.

I thought that if your cameras had this protective lens and it became loose then moisture and dirt could get between the two.

tmmar · 01-28-2011, 09:45 AM

The clear cover is not easily removed and the housing holding the cover is tight so I don't know why moisture would get in there since the cameras are supposed to be waterproof.

rockwood06 · 01-28-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmmar

The clear cover is not easily removed and the housing holding the cover is tight so I don't know why moisture would get in there since the cameras are supposed to be waterproof.

If they claim to be waterproof then one would think it would have a lifetime warrenty as long as you own it....Sorry you guys are having problems with them, just thought i could try to help.

I installed a back up camera on the back of my pick-up two years ago and so far no problems and by looking at it the lens it looks like it is fix as well. I guess time will tell.

cfsoistman · 01-28-2011, 10:52 AM

I bought a set of replacement headlights for my daughter's Mustang. After the first rain I noticed one had fogged up while the other did not. I contacted the vendor I bought them from and he said it was most likely trapped humidity. His recommendation was to remove the bulb and take a blow dryer to help dry up the humidity. I waited until a nice sunny day, removed the headlight and left it in the sun with the bulb openings facing up. After reassembly the headlight has been perfect. Now I know a headlight has openings to vacate the humidity, but I wonder if during the assembly of those side camera assemblies if there could be humidity trapped in there and depending on the change in temperature outside if this is causing the fog up? Just a possibility!!!

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