Topic: Problem with my Snakeeyes

[Main One]

I installed a Snakeyes backup camera, the one that the camera mounts in the tailgate handle bezel, two Labor Day weekends ago.  This makes the 2nd winter with it.  It started getting a bit flaky the last few weeks, flashing the pic off and on and such, and now is just black.  This fall, it started getting a fuzzy picture due to some moisture getting in the camera that you could see.

After looking at some corrosion at the connector that sits below the tailgate, behind the bumper, I thought that cleaning the connector contacts would take care of the problem, but had no luck with that.  Had Rachel sit in the driver's seat looking at the monitor as I played with the connectors, but she never saw any picture.

After reading some posts at the CAFCNA site that I was able to find thanks to Yahoo (can't search or pm there since their "upgrade") I now believe that my camera is shot.

This camera has an S-video type connector.  I noticed looking at the cameras on ebay that they all seemed to have an RCA-type video connector.  Does anyone know much about the Snakeeyes cameras?  I noticed I only had 3 pins in the S-video connector to the camera, when "real" S-video is supposed to have 4.  I'm wondering if the camera is really running composite video with a single video line, with the other 2 pins for + and - power.  (S-video separates the video into 2 signals, one for color, the other for intensity, which offers more bandwidth and hence the potential for better video quality than a single composite line, but I doubt that would matter in this application.  Each signal line has its own ground, hence the 4 pins in S-video connectors.)

Anyway, if anyone has any technical insight, or has replaced their Snakeeyes camera with something else and has some suggestion for me to try, I'm all ears.  It seems that Snakeeyes is out of business, so I don't think I can count on any help there.

[bluedevil]

Sorry Main1.  I do not have one of these and dont know anything about it either.

Butch,Justjr,tdybr,ohiobellboy have backup cameras but theyre not snakeeyes.

No replies........Its Sunday so theyre probably out and about on this nice weather.

[oHIobellboy]

Just got home from Lowe's. spent $2100 on house modding to be done in a few weeks.
OOPS

Backup camera, I really don't know what brand mine is. It came off ebay and it's a wireless one. Want me to check with teksavy and see if he can contact you?

[Main One]

I'm open to all suggestions.

[oHIobellboy]

just sent him a pm. for some reason I thought you were banned from there according to previous post here. must have been another member here. sorry for the confusion. Hope he gets back to you.

[Z66 Butch]

This camera has an S-video type connector.  I noticed looking at the cameras on ebay that they all seemed to have an RCA-type video connector.  Does anyone know much about the Snakeeyes cameras?  I noticed I only had 3 pins in the S-video connector to the camera, when "real" S-video is supposed to have 4.  I'm wondering if the camera is really running composite video with a single video line, with the other 2 pins for + and - power.  (S-video separates the video into 2 signals, one for color, the other for intensity, which offers more bandwidth and hence the potential for better video quality than a single composite line, but I doubt that would matter in this application.  Each signal line has its own ground, hence the 4 pins in S-video connectors.)

Anyway, if anyone has any technical insight, or has replaced their Snakeeyes camera with something else and has some suggestion for me to try, I'm all ears.  It seems that Snakeeyes is out of business, so I don't think I can count on any help there.

I really don' t know how the Snakeeyes is wired but I but you are on to something about the s-video. I also bet that you can get an adaptor from s-video to RCA and that may be your best bet!

Butch

[oHIobellboy]

I really don' t know how the Snakeeyes is wired but I but you are on to something about the s-video. I also bet that you can get an adaptor from s-video to RCA and that may be your best bet!

Butch

good catch on the adapter Butch, never thought of that myself.

[Main One]

just sent him a pm. for some reason I thought you were banned from there according to previous post here. must have been another member here. sorry for the confusion. Hope he gets back to you.

If "there" is CAFCNA, well, I can log in, but cannot post.  Seems like my ability to search and pm people comes and goes.........

Up until the CAFCNA site update, I had access to my PMs.  For a while I could get them, but not send them.  Lately I was able to send them.  Now I can't even get to anything PM wise.  Have him PM me here if he could.

[Main One]

I really don' t know how the Snakeeyes is wired but I but you are on to something about the s-video. I also bet that you can get an adaptor from s-video to RCA and that may be your best bet!

Butch

I'm afraid that it won't be quite that simple.  The problem in my mind is that it doesn't look like a standard s-video connector since it is short one pin, and hence the use of the pins I suspect is non-standard since s-video uses all 4 pins.  I also believe that 2 out of the 3 pins are running power and return, with the 3rd I am guessing running composite video since there is only one pin left.

I believe my end solution will be kludging together some sort of adapter with a female s-video connector on one end, and 2 RCA jacks on the other, one for power, the other for the composite video.  I'm just trying to get as smart as I can before I end up frying the monitor too, although I'm not sure that my problem isn't the monitor.  Given that I started seeing the moisture in the camera not too long before the thing went south, and how it started out as intermittent, I'm pretty confident that it is the camera.

[73cuda]

Main One,

If there is only three wires at the connector then I'm sure you're exactly right, positive, negative, video. With the one negative being for power and the video.

Have you checked the cable all the way to the monitor for damage or if it's connected tight at the monitor. Have you used a meter to see if you're getting power to the rear connector ? I don't have a snakeeyes but do have allot of experience with these micro cameras. Also, if you have it out, can you take a pic of the camera ?

Just trying to help,

73cuda