My camera cut out on me the other day. Went into reverse and noticed the color and lighting in the display was way off and very dark. Now all it shows is a black screen and occasionally some static. I've searched around a few threads, but it seems like anyone who has this issue gets the blue screen which only comes on when the camera is disconnected. So now I'm not sure if it's the camera itself or the display. Any suggestions on how to point out the culprit? Also, are their any replacement camera alternatives? Toyota wants $650 for a replacement which is absolutely absurd. This should not be a part that goes bad and needs replacing every few years. I would prefer something that plugs into the factory harness, but that's seems unlikely unless I go OEM.
Just to put it out there, I'm completely stock and have never even messed with any of the wires or even bumped into the camera.
I think FJ Cruiser Matt mentioned that he was having problems with his camera and that it went black too. I don't know if he figured out the problem or not, but you might PM him to see if he did.
Taking it apart was going to be my next step. It went out in a way that reminded me of when a capacitor in my TV blew out. Maybe its just that simple, but probably not. I checked the harnesses for bad wiring, but everything looked to be in good shape.
I just bought a stock 2012 FJ yesterday. i didn't know it had a camera until i backed up this morning and noticed a momentary blue screen in my mirror then went black. I took my camera apart to find water got into it and in had green corrosion on the board. i tried drying it and cleaning with alcohol and Q-tip. no luck...i see on amazon the camera for a 14-15 tacoma is $89 but, bad pic of plug...it looks different. just wonder if guts would fit inside mine or could it be wired to work on our cruisers?
Probably irrelevant but I'll mention it anyway ...
I was out at the beach and I went to move the truck back a few feet, but the backup camera wouldn't come on. Nothing. I was in reverse and moving, but the screen never lit up. Turns out the back door was ajar. Closed the door and the camera worked fine.
Double check the door mechanism and the door-closed button.
Well guys, better late than never I guess. Finally got around to taking the camera apart. As far as I can tell, there's really no way to salvage it (to the best of my abilities anyway). The disassembly wasn't bad at all. You would just need a set of eye-glass screw drivers.
4 screws are holding the outer casing of the camera together. Take those off and pull it apart. There is a 4 wire harness inside that you can lightly tug loose. The side that the wires plug into is the microchip itself being held down by 2 more screws. Take those off and remove the chip. Next, the chip itself is going to be housed by a this metal sleeve that you can gently pry off with a small flathead.
Once I took that sleeve off, that's when I saw what would most likely be the cause of the camera failure. I'm not sure if something on the chip ruptured, or if it may even be corrosion, but there was a green powder-like coating on the corner of the chip. Roughly the same consistency as dry battery acid. I'm not very electronically inclined, so maybe someone else may know what this is and if it's something that can be replaced.
Did you end up replacing it? I just had the same issue start happening today it's evil that it cost that much to replace!!! I'm Wondering if there's a cheaper replacement solution or way to repair it. I also had my automatic door lock go out too... ugh.
Dang if my camera didn't go tango this weekend as well! Black screen and all. I'm about to check the door closure switches and pull the camera, as Vyper did.
In the event I can't clean off the corrosion, has anybody been able to retrofit an aftermarket Cam yet?
Edit: Pulled the camera, and sure enough, corrosion ion the circuit board.
So I'm working on replacing the broken OEM camera with an aftermarket one.
I used this one from amazon: Esky® EC170-11 World Smallest HD Color CCD Waterproof Vehicle Car Rear View Backup Camera, 170 Degree Viewing Angle Rearview Camera- Size: 0.86*0.65*0.50 inch (No Guideline Version)
When you disconnect and dismantle the OEM camera, you have four wires, a red, a white a yellow and a black going to a connector, and I believe that the red is 12v power, white is the video signal, and the two black wires are grounds.
After hooking these into the aftermarket camera, (I stripped the RCA connectors off the new camera) I'm getting the rearview LCD to come on when I shift into reverse and getting a really jumpy picture. flickering with some vertical rolling...
Bad camera, wrong camera (replacement was CCD and OEM was CMOS, I believe) or am I wrong about the wire designations? What gives?
Just tried a cmos cam with the same stuttering Jaggety picture problem. I'm using the harness from inside the dead oem camera(shown here) to wire in the aftermarket cam. White seems to be the picture. Red is hot. Yellow and black are ground, though I can't figure why two grounds. There must be an inline voltage reducer somewhere because I'm only getting 7v out of the red. I'll test the camera by powering directly through the lighter. If that works I'll probably power directly from the reverse light. I will post the results...
Just tried a cmos cam with the same stuttering Jaggety picture problem. I'm using the harness from inside the dead oem camera(shown here) to wire in the aftermarket cam. White seems to be the picture. Red is hot. Yellow and black are ground, though I can't figure why two grounds. There must be an inline voltage reducer somewhere because I'm only getting 7v out of the red. I'll test the camera by powering directly through the lighter. If that works I'll probably power directly from the reverse light. I will post the results...
View attachment 504434
Breagles, You da real MVP! Just switched the yellow and white and it worked like a charm. I'll clean up the installation tomorrow and post a full thread on it. $400 OEM camera, please.
My backup camera died on my 2013 FJ Cruiser, just outside of warranty of course. I got the Blue Screen of Death on the mirror.
I found the identical backup camera for a Toyota Sienna, P/N 86790-08020, which works just fine in my 2013 FJ Cruiser. It's probably a slightly newer camera design, but looks identical, pin to pin compatible as well, just screwed it in.
You can find used ones on ebay for under $100. This part number is probably easier to find than the FJ Cruiser Part Number.
Curious what you mean...my screen starts blue then goes black with camera hooked up or not. I have a new camera coming by saturday because I took it apart and appeared to be wet inside and green corrosion. will let you know if it works. NEW 2011-2015 Toyota Sienna Rear View Backup Camera *FREE SHIPPING *U.S. Seller
Hi Gregg. Can you tell me how you installed the Sienna camera, just wondering about the bracket that is on the Sienna camera. My original camera failed on my 2012 FJ.
hey guys can i get your opinion on this? im looking for a new camera because my keeps on freezing. if you have any suggestions those would be great as well!
I looked at that one also when I replaced the camera. In the end I went with a $15 camera from amazon. $15 and some solder and it was back in working order.
I went with the Sienna camera on Ebay for $49.00 too. Pops right in the FJ harness (I have a 2012). Only thing you have to do is unscrew the new camera from the Sienna bracket and rescrew it back on the FJ bracket. So far, works like a charm.
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