Backup camera failure

O.k., I contacted the camera manufacturer. They were very helpful.
The lights are all fixed, as is the camera. I managed to splice all the wiring.
And, I covered the wires in a clear plastic sleeve called Critter Cord that smells awful and is designed to prevent pets from chewing electrical cords. Other than that I’ve got my fingers crossed.
But, for now all is back to normal.
Keeps life from getting boring?

O.K,…so, I pulled the rear marker lights to see if I could get to the camera conduit. Lo and behold, the lights wiring was chewed through, also.



I couldn’t get to the wiring, so I opened it up a bit with a hole saw. A bit.



I managed to get to all the light wiring, and in the process I found the camera cable. It routes straight down through the back wall to the underside. There was some slack below, but I couldn’t pull it up.



The lights I can rewire easily. But, I tried splicing the camera connector and could not get the camera to work. Either it is severed in another location, or there is some trick to the splice that I’m missing.

Effing fat ruckers! This is more fun than a colonoscopy.

:M

If you can fish the other end of the coax, I would expect a 4- or 5-wire connector. The new camera will screw in easily. It's fishing the wire out that's the rub.
Good luck!

CA Traveler wrote:
There are plenty of other wires. :(

Exactamundo.
I know that rodents come with the territory. Heck, I’ve got a buddy who suffered through living with a palm rat for an entire season. I have another friend who fell asleep eating a cookie and awoke to find that a mouse had finished it.
Stay tuned. If I have to, I’ll make this RV wireless. Not sure about the bedding.

There are plenty of other wires. :(

Here’s the conundrum. If I rewire the camera,…even if I manage to locate the other end of the cable and splice the wires, what’s to prevent the little rodent #¥<€&$ from chewing it again? And, yes, I’ve tried every rodent cure out there; dryer sheets, all types of smelly oils, ditto for soaps, original D-Con (until the wonderful people at PETA had it outlawed), every (pretty much useless) D-Con substitute, bowls of anti-freeze, traps and pest repellent expanding foam to seal openings. Nothing has worked to date. So, now I have a disabled generator AND a dead rear view camera.

Might it not be better to install a wireless camera system? Yes, it’s another expense. But, maybe the reduced aggravation factor makes it worth it? Of course, that doesn’t solve the generator problem. Maybe a Bluetooth generator!?

Remove the marker light(s) and check. Run a new wire, possibly partially inside or underneath. Cabinets, interior walls etc can be used.

You might be able to drill into the ceiling area for routing. Do you have AC ceiling ducts inside for routing?

Long flexible drills like 4' etc are available.

O.K.,…I now know why the rear camera doesn’t work.
Effing rodents!

The question is, how do I splice the wiring? I don’t see how there is any way I can access the other end of the cable?? I thought I might be able to locate it by dropping the bedroom ceiling light fixture closest to the rear. But, the ceiling interior is filled with hard foam insulation.

Any thoughts?

Bob,
Will do.
Given that the mice ate my generator wiring last winter, nothing would surprise me.
Stay tuned.

Best,
Jack

Yes cables can be a issue. My camera is powered from the monitor. See if you can remove the camera and connect it directly to the monitor for testing. Send camera and monitor to RV Cams for testing, my camera was bad.