Back Up Camera Bad Connection

[mainer30]

I have a 2018 Forest River Forester 2861DS. The backup camera system appears to have a bad connection somewhere. The backup cam screen (in radio) will become fuzzy or go black. The side cameras all work with no problem. I spent some time troubleshooting the system and believe the problem is a bad connection or cable. I pulled the cable at the backup camera and the picture cleared up. I was not able to find any connection before the cable became tight and I don't see any access to inspect this. I think there is a pigtail from the camera that connects to a 60' cable but I cannot get enough cord out to be able to see this. There is only a small hole where the cable goes into the MH. Also, when I pull the cable (at the camera), it appears to go to the right, but when I look under the MH I think the cable goes to the left in a plastic conduit.

Has anyone run into this and found a way to get access to the connection? I can't explain why the cable seems to go the opposite direction at the camera to where it goes on the bottom of MH. The camera stopped functioning again yesterday about 30 miles down the road, so I'd like to fix this for real. Any help would be appreciated.

[Sunseeker16]

On my 3010 DS I had a wide piece of trim that went from left to right where the ceiling and the wall meet. I gently took it down and found the camera pigtail wedged between the inner and outer back wall. To fix mine I split a piece of clear plastic tubing. Wrapped the connection and zip tied it. Then I took a piece of pipe wrap and zip tied that around it too for extra support.

[mainer30]

Thank You Sunseeker16. I suspect we may have similar trim. The "carefully remove the trim" is what I will need to figure out, as I'm sure it ill take some prying. Was is difficult to remove and not damage it? What did you find wrong with the connection?

[Sunseeker16]

The trim on mine was a tight fit from left to right so I started in the middle with a stiff putty knife and worked the trim loose enough to where I could get a small pry bar behind it. I started in the middle so I could bow it down and away from the side walls. Just go slow and take your time. Mine was held in with long staples and I pulled those out of the trim from the backside. After I repaired the connection I put the trim back up with small finishing nails using the same holes where the staples were when I could. The cable connections are just a poor design and are very light duty. Bouncing around they just lose connection and the next bump might make it reconnect. Mine is Rear View Safety and they boast aircraft quality connectors. I wouldn't want to be on that plane. My RV has a wardrobe on the left side and inside there is a short piece of trim like the one that goes across the back. Once I got my camera connection reinforced I had enough slack to put everything behind the short piece of trim in the wardrobe. That way I am less likely to have to mess with the long one again. Hope this helps.

[mainer30]

Thank you for the clear explanation. I have the same setup and also that piece in the wardrobe closet on left side. This will be something I will need to work on when I get home with pry tools and time. I'll finish out the trip with no camera, unless the next bump makes it work again for a minute. Thank you again for the information here.

[Sunseeker16]

Once you find the pig tail you should be able to gently shake it and make the camera go on and off. I had to drive half way across the country once with the camera going on and off. Drove me nuts.