Backup Camera with no Power

[wncwildcat]

Hello,

I need help figuring out how my backup camera is wired up. I recently purchased a used Wildcat 323RBX that came with a Furrion backup camera installed. The problem I have found is the camera does not have any power going to it. The first owner said that he never used the camera.

I removed the bracket to find the camera's power cable connected to a yellow and white pair of wires. Those wires run from the center of the camera towards the driver's side. I have checked the clearance lights and taillights, but the mysterious yellow and white wire does not connect to any of them.

There is not any 12 volt power on the wires going to the camera. I have tried every interior switch possible. I have tried all of the lights from the truck and cannot get any power to the camera.

I considered rewiring the camera to the clearance lights, but the aluminum frame prevents me from fishing anything through.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with their camper? Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

[kenandterry]

The simplest method for getting power to a backup camera is to tap into the center clearance light. How far from this light is the position of your camera?

If you can’t fish the wall to run connections, here’s a selection of wire mold from Home Depot

https://www.homedepot.com/s/Wire%20channel?NCNI-5

I would just check by running a temporary 12v and ground to the camera to make sure just power is missing.

[BandJCarm]

Turn on the truck lights.

[Mr. Dan]

The rear camera on my Wildcat stopped working 18 months ago (yes, "stopped" means it worked flawlessly up until then). In a campground, I removed a rubber grommet where my power wire went into the trailer and I found a wire connection had come apart. I pulled it apart and stuck it back together and it started working. This tale doesn't sound like it will help you, though, if you can't find a wire connection.

BTW, my camera power is always hot... meaning not powered only when my clearance lights are on. I can unhitch my trailer, take the monitor in the bedroom and watch (and hear) what's going on behind my trailer.

[onetonford]

Have you checked the junction box up by the pin box to see if the wires dead end in there?

[stacyrus]

If it is like our backup camera you have to turn on your truck headlights. Not sure why but that is the way to get it to work. Took us a while to figure it out too!!

[TGR]

You could have a blown fuse.

On my Wildcat, the power wire for the camera runs to the battery cutoff switch. There is a red inline fuse holder wired to the load side of the cutoff switch and the camera power wire is spliced to the fuse holder.

I didn't like the idea of the power always being on to the rear-view camera while camping, so I mounted a 12 VDC switch on the panel next to the battery cutoff switch and wired it in series with the 12 VDC power. I turn off the power to the camera whenever I'm not traveling.

[Grouch]

I have the Furrion backup camera and it get's the power from the running lights on the trailer which are triggered by the tow vehicle's running lights on position. I hope that helps.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by stacyrus

If it is like our backup camera you have to turn on your truck headlights. Not sure why but that is the way to get it to work. Took us a while to figure it out too!!

If you need 12v for a camera at the back of a trailer, the easiest way to tap it is from the taillight or license-plate light. Then, of course, you have to turn on the headlights (or at least the parking lights) to get the power.

When you buy a backup camera (e.g., from Amazon or eBay), make sure to ask whether it's rated for continuous duty. Some are not and should only be connected to the Reverse wire so they don't operate continuously.

Has the original poster checked to see whether 12v is present with the tow vehicle connected, engine running, and transmission in Reverse? (Be sure to set the parking brake for this test.)

Larry

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by wncwildcat

Hello,

I need help figuring out how my backup camera is wired up. I recently purchased a used Wildcat 323RBX that came with a Furrion backup camera installed. The problem I have found is the camera does not have any power going to it. The first owner said that he never used the camera.

I removed the bracket to find the camera's power cable connected to a yellow and white pair of wires. Those wires run from the center of the camera towards the driver's side. I have checked the clearance lights and taillights, but the mysterious yellow and white wire does not connect to any of them.

There is not any 12 volt power on the wires going to the camera. I have tried every interior switch possible. I have tried all of the lights from the truck and cannot get any power to the camera.

I considered rewiring the camera to the clearance lights, but the aluminum frame prevents me from fishing anything through.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with their camper? Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

My unit didn't come with a camera so I installed one (actually 3). I ran 4-core wire from the camera through the underbelly foamcore up to the battery box, then through the body to the trailer plug, using a separate 4 pin connector for it. I ran a 4-wire length up under the TV tub, through the engine bay and firewall to a camera selector switch on the dash. Since then, I have changed the 7-pin plug to a 12 pin one and put all the connections on the one plug/socket arrangement, something I should have done at the start. Because I ran 4-core, I tapped into the accessory power circuit behind the dash. This way I can use the camera day or night, without worrying about turning on lights.

[cmar273225]

I have a 2015 Wildcat Maxx. In their ultimate wisdom the boys and girls at the Dallas Or. plant wired my camera to the rear vent fan. This means that the camera is on all the time when the battery is engaged. Thus burning out the camera and running down my batteries.
My answer was to install a toggle switch in the plastic shroud around the fan opening.
You may want to lower the shroud and see if the camera wires are connected there.

[PenJoe]

Have you determined if the Furrion system is a backup camera or a rear view camera? Is there a model number available? It makes a difference on the wiring. A backup camera would be wired to a reverse trigger switch on the TV. A rear view camera would come on with the TV ignition or the running lights on the TT (or the fan as another owner suggested). If it is off of the vent fan, do you have your TT 12 volt battery power on?

[weldon182]

Mine also is wired into the on board battery master switch

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by cmar273225

I have a 2015 Wildcat Maxx. In their ultimate wisdom the boys and girls at the Dallas Or. plant wired my camera to the rear vent fan. This means that the camera is on all the time when the battery is engaged. Thus burning out the camera and running down my batteries.
My answer was to install a toggle switch in the plastic shroud around the fan opening.
You may want to lower the shroud and see if the camera wires are connected there.

My cameras are on all the time my truck is and that could be 4-8 hours. My rear recording 'dash cam' is also on all day, until we camp and I remember to pull the plug. It's still going after two years. So having a camera burn out is probably another issue.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

Turn on the truck lights.

X2. Sounds like another lousy PDI. Shame on your dealer.

[doulos]

Yup, my back-up camera is wired to the running lights... gotta turn them on!

[rcrupper]

Originally Posted by wncwildcat

Hello,

I need help figuring out how my backup camera is wired up. I recently purchased a used Wildcat 323RBX that came with a Furrion backup camera installed. The problem I have found is the camera does not have any power going to it. The first owner said that he never used the camera.

I removed the bracket to find the camera's power cable connected to a yellow and white pair of wires. Those wires run from the center of the camera towards the driver's side. I have checked the clearance lights and taillights, but the mysterious yellow and white wire does not connect to any of them.

There is not any 12 volt power on the wires going to the camera. I have tried every interior switch possible. I have tried all of the lights from the truck and cannot get any power to the camera.

I considered rewiring the camera to the clearance lights, but the aluminum frame prevents me from fishing anything through.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with their camper? Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

I have the same camper as yours and my camera is "hot" all the time when the battery switch is on. I doesn't matter about the truck being hooked up. My 323 came with the backup version of the camera but I switched it to the observation model and works much better going down the road....

hope that helps.
rob

[newmansc]

Ours is tied in to the running lights on the truck, so if you are traveling during the day you have to turn your running lights on inside the truck cab. Took us a year to figure that one out.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by newmansc

Ours is tied in to the running lights on the truck, so if you are traveling during the day you have to turn your running lights on inside the truck cab. Took us a year to figure that one out.

And another lousy PDI raises it's ugly head!

[Wildcat275]

Wncwildcat did you ever figure the problem out? I have 2015 Wildcat 275 cks with the same problem

thanks