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Replacing Backup Camera

MidwestMama
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:18 pm

Replacing Backup Camera

Hello All,

My 2013 Ford Flex Limited had the back up camera stop working well at 103,000 miles. Just past the warranty would cover. The camera works well sometimes, not at all others, and comes and goes the rest of the time. It went started working again for several months and is back to not working again.

From my research online I am gathering that this is the fault of the camera itself. I've talked with the dealership and it seems to be an extremely pricey part to fix. They suggested calling a local specialty store that does custom stereo, video, and security on vehicles. This place said they could replace it with an Alpine aftermarket part that will integrate and use the same screen etc... so I won't even know. That runs $300.

I called another similar retailer here and that gentleman was not sure that that was possible. He expressed concern that he wasn't aware of an aftermarket one that would work.

I did see a rear silver panel that I could buy that includes the camera as a take of from a parted vehicle. I get a little nervous about that though because I've heard of so many cameras that go bad, sounds like this could be another one that goes bad down the road.

Are you aware of any solutions to this?

CincyFlyer
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Location: Greater Cincinnati

Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by CincyFlyer »

Odd that you've heard of so many cameras going bad, but we don't hear of them often in these forums. If the used panel has a return policy, I'd certainly try it. Also, intermittent operation is more indicative of a bad connection or crack in the wire.

2014 Flex Limited in Tuxedo Black, 303a with all options.

MidwestMama
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Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:18 pm

Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by MidwestMama »

The dealership repair man I spoke to said it was common. I don't mean only on Flex though, it is on multiple Ford vehicles. It states Rear View Camera Unavailable, Contact Dealership. On here there was someone talking about the image being upside down. Mine does that frequently. I googled that message and found many others talking about the same problem.

This morning it was back to working fine. This afternoon, not at all. It's frustrating.

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idbl_fanatic
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2017 12:02 pm
Vehicle: 2014 Flex SEL

Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by idbl_fanatic »

Yeah backup cam is going out, once you replace it, you need to have the dealership program it for your VIN

When I got mine from CarMax, mine did this as we were backing up after the test drive, I mentioned it, and they replaced the camera, but had to send it to the Ford dealer to have it programmed.

ppower
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Vehicle: '13 Ltd EB

Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by ppower »

I just found this, and while I don't know if this will last, it might be enough to reset something. Go into settings > vehicle > camera settings > turn off lines/assist/delay. The camera now works. Go back through again and turn on the assist lines and such. Works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=464aQbMYqjs

greenkarma
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Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:45 am
Vehicle: 2011 Ford Flex Limited

Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by greenkarma »

We just bought a 2011 Ford Flex Limited with 55,500 miles on it. When we test drove the backup camera worked fine. After we got it home and washed it up, the camera has now stopped working. We can still see some faint lines on the screen like it's trying to work but you really can't see anything. The sensors are working/beeping. I updated to the latest version of SYNC and did the battery disconnect and nothing worked. We also did a factory reset on everything. Next, we're planning to check the wiring just to be *sure* it's not just a bad connection but I'm not hopeful.

Has anyone replaced the Flex camera? Specifically, we were wondering if we could get the newer camera 2013-2017 PN: EA8Z-19G490-A vs the older camera 2009-2012 PN: 8A8Z-19G490-B. I found that the 2009-2012 camera costs $450 while the newer 2013-2017 costs $262.
Doesn't make sense to me? :forehead:

I read through this article here concerning Ford Part Numbers: http://www.fordification.com/tech/partn ... erview.htm

But still cannot figure out if the newer cameras would work or not!

We are not going to a dealership to have this replaced to the tune of $500-$700. If anything we'll keep buying cameras and trying them until we find one that works.

Seems like aftermarket cameras might not work with the original wiring/display but I'm not sure about this either. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :flower:

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mmsstar
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Vehicle: 2011 Flex SE FWD

Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by mmsstar »

Welcome. As it happens I'm working on a project to add a backup cam to my 11 SE. (another one of those "I don't need it but I want it" mods.) I'm using a mirror that displays the image and a wireless transmitter for the camera and receiver for the mirror. I didn't like the license plate camera I got with the mirror so went and got the housing/camera assy. from a 2012 Limited. It doesn't look like I can use the camera because the wiring doesn't match the diagram I have in my book. I'm at a loss on how to match it up with my transmitter which has 4 wires. The camera wiring plug has 6 wires and doesn't match the wire colors and connection shown on the wiring diagram.

The camera I have is part 8A8T-19G490-B which is part of the 8A8Z-19G490-B assy.

Backup camera..JPG
Backup camera..JPG (100.82 KiB) Viewed 8800 times

EA8Z-19G490-A is a different camera which isn't going to work in place of the 8A8Z-19G490-B.

backup camera 1.JPG
backup camera 1.JPG (11.34 KiB) Viewed 8800 times

If you are interested I'd sell my camera for $99 shipped.

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mmsstar
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by mmsstar »

FWIW, I'm thinking the major price difference is the camera for the Gen-1s is sold with the housing & rear Ford logo assembly while the Gen-2 is only the camera.

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bill32399
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by bill32399 »

Mike I did this Mod in my 2010. My camera had 6 wires also. If I remember right it the 2 video signals, Power and ground, Switched and Backup wire. All of these wires I found in the tailgate harness. I did have to run a video wire(Make sure its shielded) to the front monitor. The video signal was a standard signal.

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mmsstar
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by mmsstar »

The problem is figuring out which wire is which. There are 2 white, 2 black, a red and a blue. I need to know which are the video feed and the 12VDC + & -. Is the camera powered all the time and triggered when the car is in reverse?

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Unobtainium
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by Unobtainium »

FWIW, if the camera operates like those on other vehicles, the camera is always energized, the only thing that changes is when the head unit changes the display to show the camera image.

Image

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bill32399
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by bill32399 »

Unobtainium wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2017 11:12 am FWIW, if the camera operates like those on other vehicles, the camera is always energized, the only thing that changes is when the head unit changes the display to show the camera image.

x2 on that. I ran my own video feed since my harnesses did not have them.

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mmsstar
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by mmsstar »

Bill, which wires did you use for the video feed?

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greenkarma
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by greenkarma »

Thanks for the offer mmsstar. I was very close to buying that camera from you but we ended up finding one from a parted out Flex on ebay. Hopefully it works but if not we have a 6 month return window.

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mmsstar
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by mmsstar »

Good deal! Thanks for the follow up report! I paid a little more for mine but it was local and I could pick it up so avoided shipping.

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bill32399
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by bill32399 »

mmsstar wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:09 am Bill, which wires did you use for the video feed?

I don't even remember now. I don't have my 2010 wire diagrams to look anymore either.

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Zogh
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera TRY THIS!

Post by Zogh »

I found this to be very useful, easy to do, and WAY cheaper than replacing the camera. And if it does not help fix the issue, you can then rule out most of the cable connection possibilities.
CHECK YOUR GROUND WIRE! If you have a floating ground, it will cause almost ALL of the issues with the black screen. As a professional cameraman, it TOTALLY made sense that this would be the issue.
Check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=464aQbMYqjs

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The_Auto_Tech
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by The_Auto_Tech »

My camera is currently taking a crap in my 2013. Crazy how expensive a new one is, but I guess that's how it goes.

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The_Auto_Tech
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by The_Auto_Tech »

I debated going to an aftermarket headunit and doing a "universal" camera, but I like how the factory one fits the rear nicely and hides into the body. Guess I'll just have to suck up the price.

2013 Flex Limited Ecoboost - Wife's daily

2013 F-150 Raptor - Shop truck/offroad toy

1993 Cavalier Z24 convertible - Daily driver

Doodle
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by Doodle »

So I searched the whole site and didn't see anyone with this SPECIFIC behavior out of their backup cam. Today (June 24) I put Ol' Red into reverse. And lo and behold, what I saw on the screen wasn't what was behind me....but instead a psychadelic mishmash of pinks and blues and greens that would have looked right at home in a 1960s Woodstock documentary. It flashed on and off every 2 seconds...but always with the same multi-colored lava lamp theme. Tried turning off guides and turning back on, and that did nothing. Most of you are saying your screen has a fuzzy image, or that it's just black and won't turn on at all. Any thoughts on what might be causing my particular "view"? Or could it be just another "Ford cam gone bad" story, but mine chose to exit this spinning rock with a little extra vintage artistic flair?

EDIT: This is EXACTLY what my backup cam is doing. Just to put a visual with the above "colorful" description.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fordfusion/com ... &context=3

2014 Limited EcoSleeper w/Appearance Pkg

Doodle
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by Doodle »

Thanks Nate. I figured it was not going to be a positive outcome. Appointment made at dealer. Thank goodness for PremiumCare warranty with first-day rental car coverage!

2014 Limited EcoSleeper w/Appearance Pkg

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The_Auto_Tech
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by The_Auto_Tech »

Anyone replaced their OEM 13+ camera with an aftermarket replacement? From what I'm seeing everyone says the quality is much lesser than the OEM replacement part. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and spend the 225 bucks on the OEM one.

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smoshingtondc
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Re: Replacing Backup Camera

Post by smoshingtondc »

Just did this today with a 3rd party replacement camera from Amazon, was pretty easy and worked flawlessly, no calibration or programming necessary.

Master Tailgaters Replacement for Ford Flex (2013-2019) Backup Camera OE Part # GA8Z-19G490-A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SPHPN1Z/re ... UTF8&psc=1

The image quality is better than the original, we bought ours used in 2018 and the original backup camera always had a blurry/cloudy quality to it. This new one is clear and vivid.

Steps are easy:

-remove power lift arm
-remove upper interior lift gate panel
(Clips release by pulling inward towards the center from the outer edge of the lift gate.)
-remove lower interior lift gate panel
(pop off reflectors on handles, unscrew, then clips release by pulling straight back from the lift gate)
-remove retaining nuts for exterior lift gate panel from interior side.
-release retaining clips for exterior lift gate panel from interior side.
(This takes some finagling, you need to pinch the clips on the interior side while having some kind of force pulling the lift gate panel away from the outer side. I did this by wedging plastic pry tools near the clips I was releasing and working my way from one end to the other. Some of them are hard to reach and took some careful poking with a long, skinny bar)
-remove camera retaining clip.
-replace camera and reassemble!
(Test the new camera is working before pupping everything back in!)