Moisture in Backup Camera

[Tall Grass]

Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum to post this question.

A quick search of the forums didn't show anything specific to my quandary, so..


There is moisture on the inside of the backup camera of my FC. The antenna was loose, and I assume that's the entry point.
How can I dry it out? It doesn't seem to be "plug n play" where I can just unplug it and stick it in a bag of rice. Any tips?

[lsbrodsky]

My BU camera was penetrated by Hurricane Florence. Opening it up would have violated the warranty on it, but I opened it up anyhow and was unable to dry it out. I had to buy a new one.
Larry

[djb75]

A session with a warm hair dryer or heat gun (not too close!) might get the condensation out.

[Castaway]

I had the same problem, I also opened it up and let it dry out only for it to steam back up. I called Voyager and told them my story, without question they sent me a new one no charge after I sent mine to them. I was very impressed with their Customer Service.


Gary

[Tall Grass]

I'd be interested to know how you replaced it. If it's not plug n play, I might be better off having a pro do the job.

[WHERRWE]

We had the same problem.

After giving it ample time to dry out, it didn’t, so I called Voyager.

They were very good. They sent me a return authorization number, I followed their directions for returning the camera, they sent a new one at no charge. Easy as that.

Install was quite easy. The wires plugged in to the existing ones, no wire stripping or crimping involved. I just made sure the mounting bracket was well sealed to the trailer with silicone.

Before installing, I also siliconed everywhere that I thought moisture could enter the camera. Hopefully I got it all sealed.

[Don McKelvay]

One of my two cameras had the same problem. I opened it up (being very careful), used a 'Q' tip then a hair dryer. Before reassembling I placed two of those bags that come in pill bottles to soak up moisture and used silicone on the opening areas including all screw holes. A few months later I noticed I had not put enough silicone on the openings so took it apart and did the job again. So far, so good. Only problem is sometimes the signal from the camera to the monitor does not work. I may have to order another camera on eBay from my dealer in China. It is very similar to the Voyager but about half the price.

[DAVSCH]

Originally Posted by Tall Grass

Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong forum to post this question.

A quick search of the forums didn't show anything specific to my quandary, so..


There is moisture on the inside of the backup camera of my FC. The antenna was loose, and I assume that's the entry point.
How can I dry it out? It doesn't seem to be "plug n play" where I can just unplug it and stick it in a bag of rice. Any tips?

To get the water out without disassembling??? Maybe if you set a hairdryer close enough to it to vaporize all the water inside so it can cook out. I didn't want to wait and carefully disassembled it. The problem is not your antenna, it's the glass-to-body interface. There is no seal between the glass and body!!! Water is running down the glass right into the camera body. I solved the whole issue by drying out the camera first, then putting a thin bead of outdoor proof silicone sealant around the edge of glass. It doesn't affect the picture if you keep it restricted to just the where the glass touches the camera body. All water penetration stopped after that. Very irritating that a company would sell and outdoor camera that isn't sealed against water.

[Rusted]

Plastic bag and some rice...place rice a hand full in a sandwich bag wrap it around the camera use a rubber band and park in the sun ... leave it for a day or two. The rice will absorb the moisture.... worked on mine.

[FishByFly]

I bookmarked this topic to address it when spring arrived. I’ve had condensation on the inside glass of my Voyager camera for about a year. Was most visible in night mode.

Last week, I drilled two small holes at the base of the aluminum casing. Within 12 hours, no condensation was visible. I let the camera continue to dry with the trailer in full sun for two days. I then sealed the glass to the casing with a bead of sealant around. I sealed all screw locations and seams of the casing. After another day of sun drying, I sealed the two holes at the base of the camera.

Have not been able to water test yet and will write back if these measures fail.

[Tall Grass]

I thought I had better post an update, I had almost forgotten about this thread.
So, after trying the rice bag trick, which didn't work, by the way, and attempting various other methods to dry the camera, I contacted my dealer and the camera manufacturer. Voyager replaced the camera, and I will make an appointment to have my dealer install the replacement when and if things settle down.