The rear view camera of your Ford vehicle might act up and cause problems for you when you are driving or parking. There are other times you might need the rearview camera, like when you want to keep an eye out for anyone following or stalking you.
Moments like these should not be taken lightly. Given how each situation is critical and your need for your rearview camera is high, you should definitely get your camera fixed. For this, you will need to know about the Ford rearview camera problems and solutions to make things easier for yourself.
Ford Rear View Camera Problems
Your rear view camera of your Ford car is a very important feature or device. Sometimes it may cause various kinds of problems. Some of these problems that cause the rearview cameras to malfunction from time to time are given below:
1. Delaying Of The Camera Screen
If you bought a new Ford car and all of its features are brand new, then what you would usually expect from the rearview camera is that it will light up the moment you turn it on. But what if, after years of owning this device, your rear view camera suddenly starts to delay that lighting up when you turn it on. If it delays showing the rear end’s view of your car, then you should conclude that there must be something wrong with it.
Problems with the wiring of the camera set up from the back to the front might be the issue here. This problem could happen at absolutely any moment. Whether your car is parked or resting, or if you are driving, the wiring can still get damaged, and then your rear view camera will also malfunction then. The standard time you should wait to confirm your camera has a delay problem is by checking if it takes over 10 seconds to turn on. This should be checked more than twice for confirmation.
Other than the issues with bad wiring, a bad camera that is faulty or damaged can also be the reason you are facing delaying issues with your rear view camera. The camera might also light up, but instead of showing the rear end’s view, the camera’s screen will show you a system message saying that the feature is unavailable.
2. Screen Settings Of The Device
Sometimes when you operate your rear view camera, the message “Camera Unavailable” might pop up. What do you think this means? Something must have happened to the camera part at the back or the screen part inside your car. Or even if the camera is available a few times while the other times you put your car in reverse, it shows that it is unavailable.
There is clearly something wrong with the camera settings. Some parts of the device might be damaged; the settings might be wrong; the wiring could be bad; etc., many other reasons could cause this problem to arise.
3. Bad Mounting
There are mounting brackets or casings that come with your rearview camera equipment. If those brackets are broken or faulty in any way, it will not allow your camera to operate correctly. The camera will malfunction since it is not properly mounted to the right position in the rear end.
The mounting brackets could be too big for the camera device. Thus the mounting will be loose, and it will make the camera shake when the vehicle is moved. This will be a problem since the most common time you use your rear view camera is when you are driving in reverse for parking.
Similarly, the mounting brackets could also be too small, and the mounting will be too tight on the camera device. It might work fine for a while, but little by little, the brackets will be in danger of suddenly breaking or shattering from all that pressure or tension building up on the extra tight mounting of the device.
4. Wrong Camera Angles
If it is your first time using a rearview camera for your vehicle, then you might get surprised when you see your camera screen showing you an upside view of everything from your rear end’s view. But do not be afraid, because this is something that happens all the time when your camera is old enough.
The error comes from the system of the software itself. You need to get the software fixed only because there is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera or screen equipment.
5. Cost Or Expenses
There are various costs involved with the ownership of a modern Ford rearview camera. Not only is the purchase of all the equipment very expensive, but so are the maintenance costs that come with it. This is especially costly if you depend on visiting your dealers or any repair workers every time something needs to be installed, repaired, or checked on.
For example, if your camera got damaged, you would either need someone to fix the issues, or you have to buy a new one. Even after buying the new one, you need to hire someone to attach and install the camera.
This would be something that happens on a regular basis for any simple problem. So, not only are you paying for the items you are buying for the problems, but you are also paying for the labor and time of the people you hire to handle this mess for you. This way, your car bills are just going up every time something goes wrong.
6. Bad Quality Camera
Sometimes you just end up buying a low quality or bad quality camera for your Ford. Or it could also be a good camera but just not one that is meant for your vehicle’s model. Compatibility and suitability are key factors here. But most problems happen when the components of the camera you bought are very faulty.
Technology is something you need to be careful with when picking. They are expensive and not usually a consumable commodity that exhaust in one day. You walk into a shop and expect to buy a rearview camera that will work for years to come. Bad cameras will just quickly get damaged as they easily capture moisture, break from a bit of collision, die out early on, etc.
7. Shifters Not Being Properly Aligned
When the shifter of your rearview camera is misaligned, it makes your camera malfunction. This means your Ford car won’t even know when you put it in reverse, thus resulting in your camera’s screen not lighting up to show the rearview so that you can back up or drive in reverse.
Ford Rear View Camera Solution
The above problems that we have talked about are some problems that you can get rid of quickly and easily. Now, for mechanical problems you might purchase a Can for F150 Ecoboost, or get the best 302 cam kit, but for these problems, the most common and best solution is for you to buy a new camera and replace the old one. Now, for your damaged rearview camera, a step by step process on how to replace it are given below:
Step 1: Collect The Necessary Tools, Materials, And Equipment
There is some important stuff you need to collect so that you can handle doing the task at hand. Some of these items are a screwdriver, a socket wrench, a base emblem, and your new rear view camera. The camera and base emblem must both be new since the old ones you will remove will not be reusable. When buying the new camera from a shop, you need to make sure to ask any salesperson around for which camera would be the most compatible and suitable with your Ford model.
The reason you need to buy a new base emblem is that the old base emblem will most likely break or crack when you remove your old camera. So, there is no way you can use the same base emblem for your new camera. Remove it and change the base emblem before installing your new camera. The screwdriver is needed to screw the old base emblem out and screw in the new base emblem. And the socket wrench is handy for removing other screws or fixtures of the vehicle.
Step 2: Setting Up The Area
After you have gathered everything you need, you can now move on to working on your car. You need to drive your car into an area with lots of lighting. If you do this during the day, then you can do this on your driveway, as long as the day is not too sunny and hot. If you are doing it during the night time, then you will need to drive it into your garage. Make sure your garage is very well lit, especially on the ceiling. Let your car cool down so that it is not too hot for you to touch anywhere.
Step 3: Removal Of The Old Base Emblem
Now that you are ready with all your equipment, tools, and materials nearby and have your car parked safely with enough lighting around, you can now begin with the replacement task.
The first thing you need to remove is the old base emblem. Remember that the base emblem is very fragile and not adjustable. Once it is installed, it is meant to stay there with the camera. When you remove it, the chances of it breaking apart or cracking are close to a hundred percent.
But do not worry, that is why a new base emblem was added to your shopping list. You can quickly and easily take off the old emblem and throw it away since it is useless to you now. To remove it, you just need to use your handy dandy screwdriver and push the tip of the screwdriver under the body of the base emblem.
Place your hand firmly on the emblem’s body. Start moving the tip of the screwdriver all around the bottom gap of the base emblem. Make sure to push the screwdriver a bit deeper with enough pressure so that the emblem comes off. Even if it comes off whole, you will still be able to notice that all the tabs around the base emblem are already broken since the moment it got detached.
Step 4: Removal Of The Screws
There are screws on the vehicle that attach the rear view camera equipment. Take your socket wrench and start unscrewing all the screws from inside the vehicle and on the outside. Keep the screws somewhere safe, like in a small box with a lid to lock them in. This way, they will stay put and will not accidentally drop and roll-off or roll away, and you will know where to find them when you need them.
Step 5: Removal Of The Rear View Camera Device
The base emblem is gone, the screws are gone, so now all that is left is for you to remove the camera from the connector it is attached to. This step needs to be done very carefully. The reason is not to protect the camera because you will not use it anymore. The reason is to protect the connector. You will be reusing the same connector again, so you need to remove the camera gently so that the connector does not break in any way.
To carefully slip the old camera away from the important connector, you need to hold onto the connector carefully but also with enough pressure that it stays in place.
Take your free hand and try to slide the camera device off the connector while holding the connector still and firmly with your other hand. This way, the connector will not get pulled on while you try to tug on the old camera. If it is too hard or strong to pull out, then you can try using your screwdriver to poke around any gaps or spaces to detach the camera from the connector.
Step 6: Installing The New Camera Device
After removing the old camera, you can throw it away. Now get your new Ford camera out of its packaging and read any instructions given with it, just in case there is some important information that you did not know before. Take the screws off the holding tab so that you can take your new camera out for installing it.
Carefully place the camera on the new plate. Do not forget that you cannot place the camera at a backward angle since it will provide your screen with an upside-down view or image.
Screw the camera on properly and then plug the connector inside the device. Put the camera back in till you hear a click so that you know it is officially attached to the connector and will not fall off. Finish putting other parts of the equipment back on, and then you are good to go with the installation issues that involve manual hard labor.
Step 7: Set Up The Camera With Its Software
Just manually installing the rear view camera’s device on the rear of your car does not make the camera work automatically. You obviously have to manage the setup and settings of the camera’s software. For this, you need to download an application software called FORScan for your Ford rear view camera. Download and install this on your personal computer and then connect your personal computer to your car with the help of an OBD device.
Open the software FORScan and select the option “Connect to the vehicle.” Shortly afterward, you will be able to see some windows open up here and there on your computer screen.
Make sure to read everything written there. Soon a dialog box will pop up for confirmation that you agree to the terms and conditions. You just have to read through, select the “OK” option, and move on. The software will scan the rear view camera device. After the scanning is done, click on the settings option that looks like a wrench icon.
Continue by scrolling downwards and then select the “Rear Camera Calibration” option. That option will immediately run and then provide you with a window that will instruct you to turn off or remove your car’s ignition. Redo the ignition twice, and do not keep your foot on the brake.
The FORScan software will analyze your actions and inform you that everything in your car is running fine. The next step is for you to put your car in reverse. The camera screen should immediately show you an image of the rear view of your car.
Final Words
You can solve the problems by letting someone else handle them. But you will definitely have to pay a handsome amount of money for it. Why not try solving these problems yourself? We have shown you how to get rid of the damaged camera components and how to replace it with a new and better one. All you needed to do was identify the Ford rear view camera problems and solutions.
Other than this solution, you can try fixing the settings. But most of the time, it does not do much good, especially for problems that involve the physical body of the camera’s components and not just the internal software’s user interface.
Now, If you want to find the best tuner lug nuts, you must read our post on lug nuts for Ford trucks.