2014 Ford Edge - Backup camera working intermittently

[NickCo]

Hey there, I've seen a few other posts about this from several years ago, and nothing is quite the same situation. So my camera works about 5-10% of the time and all the other times I get the black screen and the "contact your dealership" message. On the rare occasion it works, it has had to sit in park for 5+ minutes, normally while I start the car early and get the kids outside and loaded up. Any info would help. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[NickCo]

As an update, I took the back panel off to look for a cut, loose, or corroded wire, and It looks brand new back there still. I also tried the "quick fix" of turning off and on the camera settings. My vehicle has never had any "vehicle not in park"  symptoms so I don't think its that either. 

[CARR142]

https://www.fordedgeforum.com/search/?q=Backup camera working&type=forums_topic&nodes=6

 

 

 

[NickCo]

1 hour ago, CARR142 said:

https://www.fordedgeforum.com/search/?q=Backup camera working&type=forums_topic&nodes=6

 

 

 

I looked at this specifically, and it wasn't in that condition. Still looked new. 

[enigma-2]

Couple of thoughts on this.

1. Shifter malfunctioning. If for any reason the shifter is not triggeeing the backup signal, the BCM won't get the signal, the backup lights won't come on and neither will the camera. (Possible reason for being intermittent). 

Have someone shift into reverse while you stand behind the car and see if the backup lights come on. If they don’t, the shifter mechanism is suspect. If th we y do, have them check to see if the camera is working. Shift several times to see if you can get it to fail.

 

2. Have someone shift into reverse. With the camera malfunctioning, try tapping directly on the camera to see if it's the problem. (If its purely electrical this may not work). If it works again (even briefly) the camera is the problem.

 

3. It's also possible that there's corrosion inside the connector (the components can still look new on the outside, but corrosion can form inside the connector causing intermittent faults). This requires removing the harch cover panel again, unplug the camera connector and carefully check for corrosion. (This is more common than you think. I was avionics tech in the Marine airwing. In Vietnam, we ran into this all the time. Aircraft cannon plugs are watertight with seals,  but water still found its way into the connections. One of the first things we checked.

Had a "hanger queen" that we just couldn't find the problem. Called in the Boeing rep and he found a thin coating of corrosion on one pin. Nearly imposdible to see. He fixed it by pouring some Coca Cola into the connector. Worked).

[NickCo]

15 hours ago, enigma-2 said:

Couple of thoughts on this.

1. Shifter malfunctioning. If for any reason the shifter is not triggeeing the backup signal, the BCM won't get the signal, the backup lights won't come on and neither will the camera. (Possible reason for being intermittent). 

Have someone shift into reverse while you stand behind the car and see if the backup lights come on. If they don’t, the shifter mechanism is suspect. If th we y do, have them check to see if the camera is working. Shift several times to see if you can get it to fail.

 

2. Have someone shift into reverse. With the camera malfunctioning, try tapping directly on the camera to see if it's the problem. (If its purely electrical this may not work). If it works again (even briefly) the camera is the problem.

 

3. It's also possible that there's corrosion inside the connector (the components can still look new on the outside, but corrosion can form inside the connector causing intermittent faults). This requires removing the harch cover panel again, unplug the camera connector and carefully check for corrosion. (This is more common than you think. I was avionics tech in the Marine airwing. In Vietnam, we ran into this all the time. Aircraft cannon plugs are watertight with seals,  but water still found its way into the connections. One of the first things we checked.

Had a "hanger queen" that we just couldn't find the problem. Called in the Boeing rep and he found a thin coating of corrosion on one pin. Nearly imposdible to see. He fixed it by pouring some Coca Cola into the connector. Worked).

Okay, We've tried the first two.

 

the shifter seems to be working great. and lights always come on. We tapped the camera while in reverse, didn't work. I'll take that panel off again, I looked inside all of the connectors, but I wasn't 100% sure which one was the specific one for the camera itself. I couldn't quite get to the camera without removing that additional backplate. Do you know which one it would be?

 

Thanks for the recommendations!

[enigma-2]

1 hour ago, NickCo said:

 I couldn't quite get to the camera without removing that additional backplate. Do you know which one it would be?

I was thinking of the connector on the back of the camera itself. (Closest to the weather). See if this video helps

 

[gonesail]

yes ..  I wonder how many camera problems are related to the connector as well. what with dirty conditions to high humidity and extreme temperatures. but checking the connector is almost the same as replacing the camera. mine has become intermittent so will do the checks you mentioned above.