How I permanently fixed my Ford Explorer Backup/Reverse camera
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- Like most people who have an Explorer or F150, the backup cameras are known to stop working. The camera itself is not likely the culprit, its a grounding issue. In this video, I showed you how to repair the ground camera cable. This simple repair took me 5 minutes and now my camera works 100% of the time (before it mostly did not work). This fix most likely applies to all Ford vehicles with backup cameras that randomly work.
There are two ground cables coming out of the tailgate and into the cabin. Each ground cable is black with a grey stripe. One cable is 22ga (smallest) and the other 18ga. The 22ga very small ground cable is the ground cable for the backup camera. That is the one you need to tap into and add your own ground cable. Fortunately, there is a great chassis spot to ground to, which is right next to where the cables come out of the tailgate.
Before I figured out this fix, I tried the other ones such as replacing the camera, using ForScan to reset the body module, and changing settings such as rear camera delay, visual park aid alert, and doing a master reset.
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Ford Explorer Backup Reverse Camera Review Camera is unavailable
Dude, you literally saved me! I was about to buy a new camera and start pulling off panels. Did this and BAM camera works perfect. 2016 Flex. Super easy, took me like 10 mins and stuff I had in the garage already. Wife happy now and you made me look like a hero, thanks for that!
That's awesome! I am glad this simple fix worked for you as well. I hope Ford will eventually see this video and do a recall to fix the backup camera grounding issue for all applicable vehicles from 2013-2019.
Trying to find that Wie on my 2016 Flex also
This wins the internet forever. I just did this on my 2013 Flex with what I had on hand, and my original backup camera image stayed on (and not upside down) for a full minute. I've never seen that.
Do you picture's
Thank you, Chad. Most awesome tip. I had the parts on hand and it literally took 5 Minutes. Even though I had to cut my own hole for the ground on my 2013 Flex. It was so easy to identify the wire with your information. I now have a back up camera again. Super information.
Crazy that Ford has not applied a recall for this since its so prevalent among Ford models.
THANK YOU
Your not alone in that thought my friend.
my next car will never have Ford name.
Facing the same on and off camera problems. Thanks. Doesn't look like Ford cares about the users of its vehicles. So many flaws arising with time.
@@Ricotet4 spot on bro. If a mechanic can tell me, “ yeah, this is common among ford vehicles and/ or edges” plus you can do a search in UA-cam about “problems with Ford Edge “ and multiple videos pop up, then that tells me they do not care.
It works, it costs around $3:00 of materials to fix it, Thank you Chad.
Earlier the camera used to work rarely but now working same as new .
Your video inspired me to try adding a ground on my 2016 F150 and it worked like a charm!!! My camera was broke for about a year and this method fixed my problem!!!! Thanks!!!!
That is awesome!
Cool video sir! Just a note that there is a connector in the lift gate behind the trim panel that is likely getting wet and corroding as well, this is why you ground has gone bad. You should address this with sealant grease and cleaning or your problems may return on the signal wires as well. Good luck!
Not always the case. Mine is dry and clean from corrosion and still does this. Must be ground issues all together
@@southernSLOPPYJOE with the ground stud on the tailgate, that means your ground path is thru the hinges - which isn't great. My 2015 Flex does not have that stud near the cable harness, so I'm think of installing a ground strap between the tailgate and the body.
@@jeffeverde1I got a nice zero ohm reading between the camera ground wire and the bare metal at the hinge bolt. Seems pretty good without an additional ground strap. Good backup plan though...
@@jf5016how can you connect without getting additional wire running to the bolt?
@@samuelugh5729 I found the ground wire in the bundle (black and grey), soldered a wire to it and brought the wire over to the hinge bolt with bare metal and retightened the bolt. Update: my camera now works intermittent. I'm going to look at the junction behind driver's kickpanel. May also get a Dorman camera ($139). The cheaper ones apparently aren't so good. Best luck to you.
Chad,
Thank you very much. 2015 Explorer and this fix it in 10 minutes. The 20 times I tried it just after fixing it worked everytime. Again thank you very much.
I have the same vic and problem. How did you splice it in the first place? I can't tell which way the grounding cable is coming from.
It worked so well. Yeah if the camera is working sometimes is not the camera it’s about the wiring 👍🏻. You are the best!
Hi Chad,
This procedure worked instantly. I bought a new camera previously and that did not work. Your process seems to be the fix. Only other advice I would give is to wire brush the stud we used for the ground. Mine had a lot of paint on it. Thanks!
That is a great tip and I am glad it worked for you!
Thanks! Worked great. In my case (2012 Explorer) after the fix, I started up the car and SYNCH shut down and the whole display was blank. So I just removed the ground terminal on the battery and then replaced it. Synch had to go through it's whole periodic maintenance reboot, but after that, the backup cam worked perfectly. Thanks again.
Thank you for this video I've been having the exact same issues with my 2014 Ford Explorer. Sometimes it works, Sometimes it doesn't it's very frustrating. But thank you're info is awesome. Saved me from spending a lot of unnecessary money with Tom D. Ford, Thank you👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙏🏼
I did this and it worked great for about 3 weeks and now its back to the message. I checked the ground and its tight and looks good. Ford needs to fix this. Its a chronic issue with all models. Design flaw
Thanks for the tip! I did this on our 2014 Explorer. Easy peasy and so far so good! Thanks!!!
Thank you for posting this the camera on my wife’s explorer hasn’t worked properly for at least 3 years .I did what you showed in the video and the camera is working perfectly know thanks
Thanks for your video. I took all the panels off the liftgate. There's a connection on the gate secured to the framework, that connection is not exposed to moisture or dirt. I also removed the chrome trim that houses the camera. Took the camera out. Lots of dirt in there. All the weather stripping was disintegrated. The camera connection was clean. Cleaning connections didn't solve the issue. Before I gave up, I tried your method. It is the black and grey wire which is continuity to ground (checked it). I ran a ground wire to the closest hinge bolt which a much more solid ground. Soldered the connection. I don't trust the splicers. Result: working so far!
Hey fam - is this fix still working for you? (I see your comment is recent). I have a 13 explorer and considering this fix. I’ve checked the connector and am prepared to hard wire but the ground seems an easy add as well. Thanks.
Chad it worked for me too on my 2014 XLT Ford Explorer. I was still having some problems but I made sure I had clean contact and then I cleaned all my back up sensors and it now works perfectly.
Thank you for posting and sharing. That fixed it! 5 minutes. God bless
You saved me from expending money, I followed your instructions and solved the problem.I found that the plastic nut doesn't tighten the wire very well so I got a metal but that does the job perfectly. I hope the fix lasts.
This works for me. Took me about 15 minutes. Save me $800 dealer quotes. Thank you!
Having the same issue on my 2013 Explorer. I appreciate your tip. I’ll look into it. 😀
Did it work?
I'm a total newbie to electrical. Would you be able to post links in the description to the parts I need for this? I'll see if I can find another video on how to splice. My 2013 Ford Explorer has had camera issues for 3 years, I'm ready to be done with it! Thanks so much.
I splice both black and gray and hook them up together to avoid running a ground, and concealing the wires
Thank you for this. I’ve tried everything I could think of and replaced everything and still doesn’t work. I’m gonna try this as soon as I have free time!
Good luck and let us know if it resolved your issue!
Did it work?
Well....
Did it work you fair weather fan?!? You enjoy the feedback I'm sure, but too selfish to pay it forward!
Johnny got electrocuted 😢
So I came across your vid today, after looking at so many people having the same issue on youtube. If this works(did mod 6/12/21) you have accomplished something not even Ford has done....make a backup camera stay working. I'll post back after the wife tries it out.
im in cali and for some reason (probably just a coincidence) my camera doesnt connect every time, but i notice it on the really hot days lol. I'm going to try this and see if it works for me
It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All this is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
just tried on my 2014 explorer. so far so good
Worked for my 2013 Explorer. Thanks!
Hey Anthony, is yours a limited? I read some of the comments here and two people who have a 2013 and this method messed up their trucks.
Took me about 10 minutes. Excellent!!! 👌
is there a way to be able to contact you directly instead of in a thread? did you by chance do a video of a step by step of this?
Sorry maybe silly question; what i need to buy for this fix to be able to do it?
do not use a cable splicer it will cut into the wire and corrode in a couple weeks in the wet parts of the country .. use a proper solderless connector with shrink wrap. otherwise you permanent fix is a new problem also you want to ground door to body with a different wire.
Thanks for sharing. Great repair!
You are all ne smart dude 👍🏻
Have this problem on my 2011 Ford edge gotta try it
Just tried this on my 2013 Explorer Sport and it did not work. Liftgate and everything still worked fine though, but I don't think the wire is colored the same in my model. Unless anyone knows what the proper ground wire is, I think I'll try a new camera next, though I doubt that's the problem since the camera clearly works sometimes. And no, it is NOT internal corrosion (for the guy who keeps posting this solution) on the liftgate cables, I did check that first and mine are super clean with no evidence of leaking. HOWEVER, my camera started having problems after I had a cabin leak over the last few months that I finally just found and fixed, so there might be corrosion on some wires somewhere else inside the vehicle structure that I cannot see. This could be a reason why splicing a new ground wire in the tailgate isn't working for me - if the corrosion is further up the vehicle an additional ground would have the same (i.e., no) effect as the original. Suggestions are welcome - and thanks for the video anyway, very helpful.
Received the “see dealer” warning. Replaced with a cheap knock-off but such had solid white guidelines which made it appear my wheels were turned. Ran calibration with FORScan which said was a success but didn’t fix such. Installed a Dorman camera but couldn’t calibrate as I receive a “B115E:08 - LIN communication fault from the video camera”. Put OEM camera back in and ran calibration and received same warning. Does my camera need to be calibrated with a different scan tool or is this likely my issue?
If you replace the camera with an OEM, it does require calibration, usually from Ford (unless FORScan works too). If the camera is not OEM, its possible its sending an unexpected signal to your head unit causing the "see dealer" warning.
Ur a genius!! How did u think of this.
I took my car to the dealership to fix because the lift gate almost decapitated me and of course they could not fix it and they replaced something different than they said then it almost killed me Again!
Took it back and they fox that problem but I wonder if that caused the camera to stop working now. 🙄🙄😡😡
Didn't work for me. Mine is a 2014 limited. It poped up Terrain managment warning and the car came to a stop while driving. I had to immediately disconnect it and the car went back to normal
Sounds like the start of its infamous steering wrack problem…
Did not work on my 2014 Ford Explorer. The smaller black and gray wire fed my power lift gate, it was not the camara ground!!
Thank you so very much 💯💯🙏
Vampire insulation displacement wire taps are a poor alternative for long term use in outdoor temperature range environments. Better to use a proper, sealing crimp, or if (and only IF) you can solder well, solder plus heatshrink tubing over it. You don't really want to add a lot of bulk , and rigid at that, inside that wire boot because every time you open and close the rear gate, the rest of the wires are going to have a hard corner they flex against where the connector ends, and will wear faster in that flex area.
Yea so I did this on our 13 ford explorer and it did absolutely nothing different so does that mean camera is bad ford said supposedly they go bad alot
Hey. Chad. Great vid. I’m trying to see which one is the ground cable ? I don’t see it in the vid ? On my ford. There’s some cables taped up in black tape. I’m wondering if those are the ones? but i do see something similar. I just don’t want to cut into the wrong cable. 😏
It's either solid black or black with a grey stripe. If your Ford is a different model than mine, you will need to find the wiring diagram to confirm your cameras ground wire. My car has had 0 issues since my repair.
@@94cobragermany thats awesome. thank you.
@@94cobragermany by the way. did you cut into the ground and solder it ?
@@94cobragermanyhey. Quick question. The other wire that’s connected to the nut on the trunk. Where do you get that wire ? And what size ? 22 gauge ? And how do you take that plastic thing off lol cuz man its on there!
Hi Chad,
I have slightly different problem. My backup camera is working all these days but since 2 days it shows mirror image. How to fix it?.
I have same issue did you get this fixed? If so what was fix?
Brilliant!
2013 has different wire colors. The small black and grey is not the ground.
Do you know which one it is? I tried the small black and gray, liftgate and everything stopped working.
@@westlandwarrior8761 I'm fairly certain the ground is wrapped in black tape and not coated but I can't be certain. When I tried to add grounding it didn't help
Is yours a 2013 limited? Now I'm concerned trying this as I have a 2013 limited
@@chefenriqueavargas3326 I don't know what mine is. There's no markings
@@thaddflock it would say limited on your trunk
Will it work with new 2020 Explorer? Having glitch, nor working in my 2020 Explorer ST rear view/reverse camera.
I can imagine they all will have this issue at some point, especially if you live in colder climates. My theory is that the tiny two or three strand ground wire gets brittle, which is why its hit and miss (and explains why sometimes it will work after opening and closing the liftgate). Quite frankly Ford engineers poorly engineered the ground cable for these backup cameras. There is no harm in performing this procedure.
Let us all know if you perform this repair and that it works.
I believe there is a recall on 2020
So it that the same wires that are wrapped in the electrical tape
my camera works when tailgate is up??
Another great video.
Hi Chad, I looked at the video and tried this for 2013 Lincoln mkx, I see the big black and grey wire but no small one, can it be just the black wire?
Its possible it could be the wire, and it would not cause any harm if you tap it (not cut it). But usually these camera wires are 22 gauge (tiny). I suspect like mine all the wires coming out of the trunk lid all all bunched together and that you have lights on it as well. If that is true, you should have two separate ground wires. Best way to know is to remove the camera panel and look at its wires and see how big they are.
@@94cobragermany Hey thanks. I took the panel off, found the ground pin and did a continuity test on it. It seems to be fine. I am thinking the problem is somewhere else, like maybe in the camera.
If I get really close to the camera, will there be great ground?
Great Video...I have the same problem with the camera not turning On when reversing!! I will try it tomorrow and hopefully it will fix the issue. When you said splice the camera ground wire, does it mean you cut the small ground cable in two then add an external wire to the two ends that got cut? Thanks
Good luck and let us know how it went! By splice, I should of used the word tapped, as I did not cut the tiny ground cable and instead tapped into it (using that special connector I showed) and added that short ground cable to the bare metal stud.
It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All this is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
@@94cobragermany The "special" connector you used it called a "splice" connector. So, yes, you used the correct word :) :)
Thank you!
i fixed ny ford edge 2013 limited doing this
it is back on doing same thing camera upside down
thanks a lot
I did this in a 2013 explorer, didn't fix the problem. I'm wondering if the ground cable coming out of the camera itself is starting to fray
Have you tried reseating the camera? I don't think it would be frayed between where I make the splice and the camera. Have you tried changing the backup camera settings? I have heard that could also resolve issues, which should be tried first.
@@94cobragermany I tried the reset myself and it worked for a while but now won’t work at all. I’m thinking that it might be the ground. I’ll try that before changing the camera, it’s cheaper to do and if it doesn’t work then I’ll change the camera. Great tip.
@@wilfredosoto2722 no. It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All this is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
@@drwheycooler8423 thanks I’ll check it out.
Hey Michael, did you ever figure out what the issue was
I don’t have a message my back up cam is upside down
Mines is on the wrong sides my right side shows on my left side smh
ua-cam.com/video/EMVYngctncE/v-deo.html&ab_channel=NAsNAs
Dang, this did not work for me. Still having the same issues after tapping in and running a ground.
I don't even understand what did he do
It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All this is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
@@drwheycooler8423 thank you
Me either! Now my F****** rear hatch doesn't open!
@@dikpretty same thing happen to me.. I'm sure you got it fixed by now.. For those with a 2013 explorer there's a little plastic trim on the inside of the trunk about the size of a cell phone...you can pop it out and there's a tiny metal bracket you press and slide towards your right side and it will open the trunk.
Mine doesn’t have the guidelines anymore, do you know how to get the guidelines back ? Please lmk
The only way to get the lines back is to take it to ford.
Chad, I am having this issue and it has progressed to turning off the audio. I can press the audio button and it will flash on the screen and then go back to "Entertainment Off". Since the back up camera is tied to the audio (the beeps), could the short in the camera also affect the audio/entertainment? Also could this be the cause of a parasitic battery drain? If I don't drive everyday, the battery is dead on day two and it is a brand new battery. Yesterday, instead of a slow charge, I tried the Quick Charge/Start function on the charger and lo and behold, the radio started working and so did the camera until.....I killed the engine. The entertainment system died again, as well as the camera. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Hello! I don't think your issue is tied to the camera, it sounds like a power wire is grounding out somewhere and draining your battery. There are videos on youtube that shows the best way to find out what is causing battery drains.
These sound like the symptoms my 12 Edge had when the APIM was failing. I ended up replacing the Sync 2 system with a newer version Sync 3 to resolve my issues
Do you by chance have a Hotspot/ Drive device connected to the vehicle's OBD connector? We had same battery parasitic drain issue on 2015 Ford Explorer with a Sprint Drive device connected. As soon as we disconnected the Drive device, issue went away!
Start by replacing the battery.
What size ring terminal did you use for the ground wire to the bolt on Explorer? Thanks
It's red too so it should be the same 18-22ga. The sizes are usually color coded for automotive connectors.
I cut the largest black cable then did as you. But it didn't work for me
After you cut the largest black cable. You connect the wire to the distal or proximal side?
Answer me please. I found just 1 big black cable and I cut it and tried to connect the proximal then the distal to the wire. But it didn't work
Genius, Chad! I now have CLEAR VIDO from the backup camera after years of Intermittent distorted video on our 2016 Ford Expedition Limited. Once I watched THIS video ua-cam.com/video/KZtYWnTCWyg/v-deo.html on how to remove the inside panel & vapor barrier on the lift gate / rear door, YOUR VIDEO MADE IT AN EASY FIX to locate the ground wire and attach a jumper to a near by bolt. Thanks for going to the trouble to post your brilliant repair!
Ford should be make to fix this problem are everyone with this problem should complain to the consumer an the BBB this would be considered as a default with the manufacturer and designer an it expensive.
How is that a ground when the bolt is plastic?
It's just a plastic cap over a metal bolt. I do recommend soldering the connection for the long term and to use a bolt without a platoc covering to make sure you have maximum ground.
@@94cobragermany on my 2015 ford limited, it’s a plastic bolt. I tested it with a voltage meter.
@@94cobragermany i cannot find the wire 🤨 and I don’t want to cut into the wrong one. Also, how can we take off the rubber cap.
@samuelugh5729
The rubber capbis actually a bolt. Just screw it to losen
Tried that still doesn't work
Following i have the same issue. So its been a month since this posting may i ask is the camera still in functioning order with no more issues?
I have had 0 issues since this repair. It works 100% of the time.
Thought there was a pig that ran around yelling "weeeeee!" Just like Geico
Mate, dose it work with Raptor 2017? I washed my car yesterday and seems some water came to electrical components. Now rear camera is plain blue with blind spot error message. Computer check shows B115E:08 error. Appreciate advice.
Thanks
No idea, but there is no harm in trying it out.
I heard the camera fix will also fix the stereo changing inputs randomly gonna try tomorrow
This did not work for me. Ugh.
I just called Acura ,I am in canada .to ask how much is reverse camera I was just grounded OVER $2000..OMG!!
It didn't work for me
hello , how does a beginnerfind the correct ground wire , and then "tap" into the ground wire ?
Hi. Thanks for the video. I did exactly what your video shows. Unfortunately, it also did not work for me either. Does anybody know how exactly I can know for sure if it's the camera?
It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All he is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
@@drwheycooler8423 that was a great idea but im sorry it wasnt corrosion either. I believe in my case it may be the camera. I will update.
Thanks for this. I am having same issue with my 2012 Ford Edge. I wanted to carry out same procedure but can't seem to find a suitable ground point on my tailgate. Any ideas please?
I don't think Edge is the same setup. My 13 is out also, I checked what I could and ordered a new camera, we'll see
I also have a 13 edge with this problem. Would love to know if grounding works and where I should ground to. Or if I need to just buy a new camera
@@DALEK138 Edge doesn't have this ground. Probably just replace camera. I replaced mine and it worked. Bought one on Ebay for $80
@@willygee8436 thanks for the info. Did you have to have it reconfigured to get your guidelines and warning sensors to work?
@@DALEK138 no I didn't. Plugged it in and it worked correct right away. Wife claims image wasn't as good with the new camera, but I couldn't see a difference? Mine is a '13, some of the newer vehicles I think need programing or calibrating? Mine doesn't offer any.
Don't use those miserable splice connectors like that.. it will be a bad ground again soon enough
Anybody that did this in the Inland Empire that can do this for me? I have the same camera issue.
Tired this and it didn’t work. Still shows blue screen then camera is unavailable.
I followed all the instructions in the video.
Question - did you connect all 3 wires to the splitter?
It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All this is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
Did you connect 3 wires all together?
Did not work for 2013 explorer. Misleading title. Works when only a ground issue, unfortunately the other 1,000+ people with backup camera issues with Fords require a new camera or apim which is hundreds of dollars and Ford won't do the needed recall.
No. It's corrosion on the cable that connects your camera wiring to the body wiring. It's located behind the trim panel on the back door. Water gets in and the drip loop is not set up to drip the water away. All this is doing here is delaying a complete failure...from the corrosion. Look for "ford tech makuloco rear camera" on here. Should be the first video.
mines fine till it rains
Connection itself has water in it
Complicated
WARNNING! IF YOU SPLICE WRONG WIRE LIFTGATE WILL NOT OPEN, LIFTGATE AJAR WARNING, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT WONT WORK, CENTER BRAKE LIGHT WONT WORK! HUGE PROBLEMS! THIS GUY SHOULD EXPLAIN THIS IN THIS FUCKING VIDEO! IM FUCKING PISSED!
He did tell you which one to splice 2:00
He literally tells you what wire, smallest black with gray stripe. Not his fault you can’t comprehend and do extremely basic wiring.
Same here, 2013 Limited. Spliced small black and gray, everything stopped working. Does anyone know the correct wire color for that year?
Yea, followed his directions exactly, small black wire with gray stripe. Wrong wire. Liftgate doesn't work now.
Didn't work for me. It poped up Terrain managment warning and the car came to a stop while driving @bokay0348
what is the tappin wire tool used?