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Old 03-19-2016, 04:20 PM   #1
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Intermittent camera? Or monitor?

We left for a week in the 3051S today. After taking off I turned on the "rear view mirror" monitor. There was no picture but an occasional flash of light. As i tapped the on/off or other buttons sometimes it would beep like normal, sometimes not. The turn signal cameras worked a little. Not all the time. Some times after :30 or so delay.

We were only going 65 miles today so I kept going. But blind to the rear. Hated that.

Suddenly at 45 miles into the drive the rear camera just came on. From that point on the turn signals worked and the whole system worked normally. After we arrived at the CG I turned off the RV and when I started it again everything worked normally again as well.

I'm totally at a loss about what this could be. Anyone got any ideas?
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Old 03-19-2016, 07:51 PM   #2
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Well start with all connections. The box for inputs is on left side under dash. I always start with what would be the simplest thing
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Old 03-20-2016, 04:31 PM   #3
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Here's today's Camera antics - We started out this AM with the rearview camera showing a blue screen and "No Signal" typed in large letters. Left and right camera's worked perfectly.

This lasted for one hour as we drove 65 miles. Suddenly it all went dark and nothing worked - a few flashes of light but no side view camera's at all. No blue screen and no "No Signal" message. Nothing.

30 miles (mins) later as we were driving suddenly the rear view image came on and everything worked normally for the next hour. Turned off the RV at the State Park check in and when I restarted the RV the rearview camera worked normally.

Let's see what happens tomorrow. I'm taking bets on Blue Screen/No Signal being the way the day starts. Any takers?
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Old 03-24-2016, 12:13 AM   #4
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[QUOTE=Creativepart;1136549]Here's today's Camera antics - We started out this AM with the rearview camera showing a blue screen and "No Signal" typed in large letters. Left and right camera's worked perfectly.

This lasted for one hour as we drove 65 miles. Suddenly it all went dark and nothing worked - a few flashes of light but no side view camera's at all. No blue screen and no "No Signal" message. Nothing.

30 miles (mins) later as we were driving suddenly the rear view image came on and everything worked normally for the next hour. Turned off the RV at the State Park check in and when I restarted the RV the rearview camera worked normally.

Let's see what happens tomorrow. I'm taking bets on Blue Screen/No Signal being the way the day starts. Any takers?[/QUOTE

You may want to try a hard reset; Pull out the panel under the steering wheel and on the left side of the wheel shaft is the multiplexer. Pull off the wires for 30 seconds and reattached.
The multiplexer is the grey box in the photo.
I read somewhere that the connections tend to work loose. Hope this solves the problem.
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Old 03-24-2016, 12:37 AM   #5
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Creativepart, here's the manual.
http://www.rearviewsafety.com/media/...r_view__jk.pdf

Note they have propriety cables and because FR used a different side view camera the cable from the multiplexer to the camera has a special splice where they switches the wires. But that shouldn't be an issue. If the cable connections aren't the cause, then it may be multiplexer.
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Old 04-19-2016, 08:37 AM   #6
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i thought I'd update this saga. This problem continues. And in the exact same scenario too. NO SIGNAL blue screen for 1 to 2 hours of use. Then a Black screen for about 30 mins and suddenly the rear view camera appears and everything works normally.

I incorrectly assumed it must be the Multiplexer - that silver box all the cameras and the monitor plug in to. Rearview Systems was kind enough to send me a new multiplexer to test this assumption. But that proved to not be the problem.

When I plugged the rear camera into any port of the multiplexer that port shows NO SIGNAL. When I plug one of the side cameras into the rear camera's port (#3) and put the RV in reverse the monitor shows the side camera just like is should show the rear view camera.

So, yesterday I decided it must be the rear camera itself. RVS says that there is a "short" (up to 6') hard wired connector in the rear bulk head behind the camera and this is plugged into a 66' extension cable that carries the signal forward. So, I removed the camera and carefully pulled on the hard wired cable.

My thinking was I would immediately find the connection from the camera to that long extension so I could remove the camera and try a replacement camera from RVS. But unfortunately that hard wired cable from the camera ran up into a hole in the rear cap and apparently up in to the roof of the RV. I could not pull the cable down to get to the connection. So, there was no way to get to this connection and hence no way I could see to remove the camera.

You'd think that Forest River would want that camera to be easily removable for servicing and they'd put that hardwired/extension connection directly behind the camera or make it easy to get to. But apparently not.

Has anyone done this on their own? Replaced a Rear View Camera? If so how did you get to this connection.
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Old 04-19-2016, 09:21 AM   #7
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i thought I'd update this saga. This problem continues. And in the exact same scenario too. NO SIGNAL blue screen for 1 to 2 hours of use. Then a Black screen for about 30 mins and suddenly the rear view camera appears and everything works normally.

I incorrectly assumed it must be the Multiplexer - that silver box all the cameras and the monitor plug in to. Rearview Systems was kind enough to send me a new multiplexer to test this assumption. But that proved to not be the problem.

When I plugged the rear camera into any port of the multiplexer that port shows NO SIGNAL. When I plug one of the side cameras into the rear camera's port (#3) and put the RV in reverse the monitor shows the side camera just like is should show the rear view camera.

So, yesterday I decided it must be the rear camera itself. RVS says that there is a "short" (up to 6') hard wired connector in the rear bulk head behind the camera and this is plugged into a 66' extension cable that carries the signal forward. So, I removed the camera and carefully pulled on the hard wired cable.

My thinking was I would immediately find the connection from the camera to that long extension so I could remove the camera and try a replacement camera from RVS. But unfortunately that hard wired cable from the camera ran up into a hole in the rear cap and apparently up in to the roof of the RV. I could not pull the cable down to get to the connection. So, there was no way to get to this connection and hence no way I could see to remove the camera.

You'd think that Forest River would want that camera to be easily removable for servicing and they'd put that hardwired/extension connection directly behind the camera or make it easy to get to. But apparently not.

Has anyone done this on their own? Replaced a Rear View Camera? If so how did you get to this connection.
Sorry to hear the camera cable was not accessible. I hope my suggestions helped you isolate which device was the problem.
Maybe accessible from rear upper cornice? Best to let the dealer tear into that if still under warranty.
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Old 04-19-2016, 02:16 PM   #8
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I thought it might be in the cornice but when you remove the camera and a couple of the clearance lights you can see in and it's a flat metal wall. The depth is about 2 to 3 inches. And there is a metal top plate as well right above the area with the wires for the clearance lights and the camera cable.

There is about a 1" size hole in that top plate and the camera cabling goes up into there. When I tug on the cable it comes out about 4" but that's all. No sign of the connection to the 66' extension cable.
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Old 04-19-2016, 03:23 PM   #9
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I thought it might be in the cornice but when you remove the camera and a couple of the clearance lights you can see in and it's a flat metal wall. The depth is about 2 to 3 inches. And there is a metal top plate as well right above the area with the wires for the clearance lights and the camera cable.

There is about a 1" size hole in that top plate and the camera cabling goes up into there. When I tug on the cable it comes out about 4" but that's all. No sign of the connection to the 66' extension cable.
Just out of curiosity, have you looked in back and under the wardrobe (pull out drawers) to see if the cable runs there?

In reading the RVS description of the camera, it can be ordered with cables of 6"" to 66' with the default being 66'. So your camera can have a 6" connection or go the entire length of the MH using 66'. Maybe Joshua Cavett can check and see what's used and the routing for you? What a job that would be to pull new cable.
Maybe if you contacted the FR warranty agent for Texas and see if they can OK a local RVS camera installer in your area that can replace the camera and just splice it in at the rear. Or better yet, the rear camera may come apart and the wires are just attached with lugs. RVS may have a better solution for you.
Frustrating, I know!
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:03 PM   #10
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I keep hoping Joshua will chime in, but no luck on that.

I have set up an appointment at the nearest Forest River dealer - they are only about 30 miles away. But it's a very large dealership that can take over a month to get an appointment. I got "lucky" and the day I called they had a cancellation So, I only have to wait 2-weeks to get it in. However, we leave on a month long trip to Albuquerque, Durango and Santa Fe on the 18th of May. They usually take 2 to 4 weeks for any warranty repair. So, I was hopping to find an easier and quicker fix.

The 3051s doesn't have any drawers in the wardrobe - just shelves and I see no wire looms running through there.

If you look at the photo on the cover of the Product PDF the camera is shown with a few feet of cable and a longer 66' coil of extension cable. When I looked at ordering the camera separately the order form had it with lengths between 6" and 6'.
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:15 PM   #11
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I keep hoping Joshua will chime in, but no luck on that.

I have set up an appointment at the nearest Forest River dealer - they are only about 30 miles away. But it's a very large dealership that can take over a month to get an appointment. I got "lucky" and the day I called they had a cancellation So, I only have to wait 2-weeks to get it in. However, we leave on a month long trip to Albuquerque, Durango and Santa Fe on the 18th of May. They usually take 2 to 4 weeks for any warranty repair. So, I was hopping to find an easier and quicker fix.

The 3051s doesn't have any drawers in the wardrobe - just shelves and I see no wire looms running through there.

If you look at the photo on the cover of the Product PDF the camera is shown with a few feet of cable and a longer 66' coil of extension cable. When I looked at ordering the camera separately the order form had it with lengths between 6" and 6'.
I know the rear camera has the cable directly attached with no connectors. Maybe a call to RVS to see if there are just screws and lugs for the internal cable attachment and not solders. That would be too easy, just unscrew the lugs and swap in new camera. Nothing is simple anymore.
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:18 PM   #12
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RVS had me unscrew the cap on the back of the camera to tell them how many wires there were back there (5) and all of them were direct soldered INSIDE the casing. They said you cannot open the casing. They also said there should be a short cable that goes into the RV and then a longer extension connected by a screwed on connector.
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:24 PM   #13
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RVS had me unscrew the cap on the back of the camera to tell them how many wires there were back there (5) and all of them were direct soldered INSIDE the casing. They said you cannot open the casing. They also said there should be a short cable that goes into the RV and then a longer extension connected by a screwed on connector.
Any chance RVS will send you the rear camera like the multiplexer? But then how much cable length?
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:43 PM   #14
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Probably, but without finding a short connection in the cable or one I could get to there is no way to remove the old camera and plug in a new one.

That was my goal with taking the camera off yesterday so I could see inside the rv where the cable enters the RV. I hoped to unplug the camera, get a new one to try and plug in at the back of the RV.
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Old 04-20-2016, 06:23 AM   #15
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Probably, but without finding a short connection in the cable or one I could get to there is no way to remove the old camera and plug in a new one.

That was my goal with taking the camera off yesterday so I could see inside the rv where the cable enters the RV. I hoped to unplug the camera, get a new one to try and plug in at the back of the RV.
CP,

I have following along with your efforts related to a project I had in mind. I would prefer to have a full time view out the back of the RV while driving but that would require positioning the existing camera for that function and then not having a backup view. However, there now appear to be camera's that have the ability to re-position themselves wirelessly, depending on the view you need at the time. My concern up to this point was precisely the issue your running into. I.e. FR factory install would not make it easy to replace the camera. It appears that you have confirmed this which is unfortunate since replacing a defective camera would now be much more difficult than it needs to be. I wonder if FR considers the impact to warranty service over time when they design the installation procedure for devices like this? Certainly the current method of installation would make that work much more expensive than it should be.

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Old 04-20-2016, 09:24 AM   #16
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Creativepart, best to leave it for the dealer. You don't want to take a chance in pulling the connectors apart somewhere in that back wall.
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Old 04-20-2016, 09:37 AM   #17
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Creativepart, best to leave it for the dealer. You don't want to take a chance in pulling the connectors apart somewhere in that back wall.
Agreed, but I "think" as in I hope it is one of those plugs with the screw on collar like the connection to the multiplexer. It looks that way in the photos.

But not knowing for sure I tugged only so hard. Plus the 1" hole in the metal top plate where the cable goes up into the roof is sharp and caught on the cable as what little bit would come out passed through.
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Old 04-20-2016, 09:56 AM   #18
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Agreed, but I "think" as in I hope it is one of those plugs with the screw on collar like the connection to the multiplexer. It looks that way in the photos.

But not knowing for sure I tugged only so hard. Plus the 1" hole in the metal top plate where the cable goes up into the roof is sharp and caught on the cable as what little bit would come out passed through.
Ah, you're right about the plug connector. I was thinking of my side camera connections. That big screw together connector would never make the bend. Must be in the cornice. Hope you get the MH back in time for your trip!
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Old 04-20-2016, 10:02 AM   #19
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Hope you get the MH back in time for your trip!
Oh, we won't miss the trip. We told them when we had to have it and we'll hold them to that no matter what. Even if it's not repaired.
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Old 04-20-2016, 07:05 PM   #20
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Sometimes it is best to abandon in place and rerun a new cable. If my camera stops working, that is what I will do.
I would pull the rear trim, drill a hole, have the connector behind the trim and find another route to the cab. Just me.


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