Wiring Furrion camera ipo marker light?

[Shipper]

Having problems making camera hot. I removed one of my top rear marker lights and it had two black wires going to a white wire and a black wire inside the RV. The camera has red and black wires...I assume the red is positive and the black is negative. I guessed the white was positive and the black negative and connected them. No power so I reversed them and still no power. The marker light worked and all of the remaining marker lights work. The camera wires are very small (less than 22), but I feel I got a connection. What am I missing? Any ideas? Thanks!

[dougrainer]

Shipper wrote:
I used a volt meter set to 20 volts and read 9.5 volts. I thought the white was positive (14 ga wire) and the black was a 18 or smaller. I have always thought that white was opposite on 12V and 120v. When I reversed the wires the blue pairing light came on but just long enough to screw the camera back in. I did check the camera with the monitor and all worked. The wires are so small its possible they came loose or I did reverse polarity and damaged the camera. I will remove it again and check with the monitor. Many of the reviews said it was a 15 minute job and Ive probably spent more than 2 hours with more to come. It has one more chance before I trash it and do without.

The clearance lights usually have a 4 to 6 inch pigtail and will be Black and White or even Black and Black and White and White. Are you positive these wires you see are just the Light pigtails and those are then connected farther in the upper back wall to the main light harness of the trailer? Doug

[Shipper]

I used a volt meter set to 20 volts and read 9.5 volts. I thought the white was positive (14 ga wire) and the black was a 18 or smaller. I have always thought that white was opposite on 12V and 120v. When I reversed the wires the blue pairing light came on but just long enough to screw the camera back in. I did check the camera with the monitor and all worked. The wires are so small its possible they came loose or I did reverse polarity and damaged the camera. I will remove it again and check with the monitor. Many of the reviews said it was a 15 minute job and Ive probably spent more than 2 hours with more to come. It has one more chance before I trash it and do without.

[Gdetrailer]

jkwilson wrote:
Very few electronics devices don’t have reverse polarity protection, so I doubt you damaged the camera. It just takes a single, dirt cheap diode.

How do you know the camera doesn’t have power?

Beg to differ..

MOST electronics do not have reverse polarity protection.

Cost savings is the reason, saves the manufacturer a couple of pennies for the diode, a couple of pennies for the FUSE that is required when implementing a reverse diode protection and a couple of pennies on Production time and inventory costs.

If a manufacturer can save just FIVE CENTS per unit and they build 100,000 units, they have SAVED $5000 in costs and now have increased their profits..

Yes, $5K does not sound like much but it IS the truth and reality of staying in business and making profits..

I have repaired a lot of electronics over the yrs, very rarely have I seen reverse polarity protection on devices other than car stereos and CBs and that was 30 yrs ago when I worked at small repair shops.

Best advice is to NEVER "ASSUME" and randomly connect a DC device to power. You have a 50-50 chance of letting the little smoke packets out of your device.

ALWAYS use a MultiMeter to check polarity before connecting, it will pay dividends in not damaging equipment!

There is no excuse, multimeters are cheap, readily available everywhere.

[jkwilson]

Very few electronics devices don’t have reverse polarity protection, so I doubt you damaged the camera. It just takes a single, dirt cheap diode.

How do you know the camera doesn’t have power?

[dougrainer]

You do not state Year or Brand of Trailer.
1. "Most" quality built trailers keep the exterior tow wiring the same color. GREEN is Running lights Positive. WHITE will be ground. You stated Black and White. Very unusual, but WHITE is Ground in your case and BLACK is positive.
2. Hooking up reverse polarity usually burns out an appliance. The Furrion wiring and internal board is so small, I doubt they have fuse protection that can easily be replaced in the Camera. Doug

[All_I_could_aff]

Sorry, but I have to agree that black was hot and white was ground. Camera is likely damaged

[Gdetrailer]

Shipper wrote:
Having problems making camera hot. I removed one of my top rear marker lights and it had two black wires going to a white wire and a black wire inside the RV. The camera has red and black wires...I assume the red is positive and the black is negative. I guessed the white was positive and the black negative and connected them. No power so I reversed them and still no power. The marker light worked and all of the remaining marker lights work. The camera wires are very small (less than 22), but I feel I got a connection. What am I missing? Any ideas? Thanks!

You guessed wrong.

RV "12V" systems typically use the same wiring scheme as home 120V wiring.

120V wiring your HOT wire (the one with the circuit breaker in circuit) is BLACK (or any other color except white or green) and the WHITE wire is NEUTRAL.

SOOOO, in the case of RV 12V wring the BLACK wire is (+) 12V and the WHITE wire is (-) 12V (or battery ground).

You had a 50-50 chance of hooking up wrong..

However, rather than guessing, you should have used a "multi meter" set to DC and voltage range at 20V as a minimum to CHECK to see if you have voltage AND which wire is pos and which is neg BEFORE you attempt to connect something that may not appreciate reverse polarity!

Never guess when it comes to electrical, always use a meter first before connecting, it can save you a lot of time and money. They are dirt cheap ($5-$10) and often free with coupon at Harbor Freight.

You most likely have ruined the camera by applying reverse polarity to said camera assuming that you DID turn on the marker/running lights with the camera hooked up incorrectly (which the maker lights WILL need to be turned on ALL the time for your camera to work ALL the time)..

[Lwiddis]

Not silly at all, beemer.

[beemerphile1]

May seem silly but did you try the camera with the lights on?

Did you try the camera from a reliable power source before installation?

[Lwiddis]

What is the camera’s draw?