Darksabre Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hey guys, I need some help troubleshooting my 2010 Legacy GT Limited w/NAV backup camera issues. So I bought some Reverse CREE LED's (921_9W_W_6K), and brake light LED's (7443_20_P_R) from VLEDS.com. All LED's work just fine, however when I went to test the reverse LED's, I noticed my backup camera was flipping the heck out. It looks like it basically has lost its vertical lock (image is distorted and scans rapidly from top to bottom). If I press on the brake, it seems to change the distortion a little After work tonight, I'm going to pull the backup leds and see if it fixes it, and then I'll pull the brake leds and see if that does anything. Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions or experience in getting the backup camera to work with LED's installed?? I was pretty surprised in the interference really. LED's should be relatively noiseless, especially since they're not having to convert AC to DC. Arg. -Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Marker Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hmmmm interesting. I was going to go LED's for reverse lights.... let us know how it goes. 2011 Volvo S60T6 & 2013 Volvo XC60T6 Polestar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Will do. I'm hoping someone else will chime in that has done LEDs that has the NAV system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Alright, I pulled the backup CREE LED out, and the camera is perfectly fine. So, the red brake light LED's are probably not the problem. Now the new question: why does installing LEDs in my brake light sockets cause the camera to freak out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Well, VLED's tech support was no help. They did offer to refund or exchange though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Marker Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 ^^ At least you can return them... can you use them anywhere else on the car? 2011 Volvo S60T6 & 2013 Volvo XC60T6 Polestar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 A good question, and one that would help troubleshoot. Unfortunately, according to our car's bulb guide, the reverse bulb is the only socket 921 bulb on the whole car. Funkyyyy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I have a feeling it's the spectrum of light or something.... But to test this, keep the bulbs connected, but cover them up with something so that no light gets out. That way, you'll be able to tell if it's electrical interference, or something to do with the light output itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Based on the description of how the camera responds when the reverse lights are on, I tend to think that having the LED in the same power circuit as the camera could be causing powerline noise. I'd be willing to bet that if you used the LED light as the reverse light with an appropriate-sized resistor, the camera wouldn't get all wonky when you shift into reverse. Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I have a feeling it's the spectrum of light or something.... But to test this, keep the bulbs connected, but cover them up with something so that no light gets out. That way, you'll be able to tell if it's electrical interference, or something to do with the light output itself. Thanks for the suggestion. I believe I eliminated this theory with the following test. I left the backup LEDs plugged in, and opened the trunk so that the camera is facing the sky (the LEDs are very directional and aim straight back). Put it in reverse, and noted that the screen was still distorted in the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Based on the description of how the camera responds when the reverse lights are on, I tend to think that having the LED in the same power circuit as the camera could be causing powerline noise. I'd be willing to bet that if you used the LED light as the reverse light with an appropriate-sized resistor, the camera wouldn't get all wonky when you shift into reverse. I'm not sure, but I don't think resistors eliminate noise on a line. (except in long transmission lines where you need termination resistors to match the characteristic impedance of the wire used.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Thanks for the suggestion. I believe I eliminated this theory with the following test. I left the backup LEDs plugged in, and opened the trunk so that the camera is facing the sky (the LEDs are very directional and aim straight back). Put it in reverse, and noted that the screen was still distorted in the same way. Okay, yeah, then it's some sort of noise/interference in the electrical system, hmmm... wtf then. Never thought LEDs would generate noise like that. Maybe use a different grounding wiring for the camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaNu1142 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'm not sure, but I don't think resistors eliminate noise on a line. (except in long transmission lines where you need termination resistors to match the characteristic impedance of the wire used.) I don't really know without seeing what's going on... but the only difference seems to be the bulb vs. the LED. So when there is some resistance/impedance in the line, there's no noise on the camera. When there's only the LED, well, you get what the OP is seeing. Tits mcgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Is the camera powered off the NAV unit or is it picking up power somewhere at the rear and connected to the NAV unit only by the video signal line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 thats a good question. I dont know how the camera is hooked up unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 If the camera is powered off reverse lights you could be getting weird issues due to excess voltage drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I doubt it's a voltage drop issue - those LED lights he's using don't use a simple resistor, they're using a driver circuit of some sort, which is electronic and quite possibly introducing electrical noise into the circuit. Don't ask me how to suppress it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 But...but...how do i suppress it!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Swapping them out with lower wattage, non-CREE led modules once they get here. Hopefully we will see different results... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidWombat Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I doubt it's a voltage drop issue - those LED lights he's using don't use a simple resistor, they're using a driver circuit of some sort, which is electronic and quite possibly introducing electrical noise into the circuit. Don't ask me how to suppress it Ah, if there's a driver circuit they've likely got a (cheap) DC-DC switching power supply then. You're like seeing the switching frequency of the DC-DC converter, which is typically a ~10 kHz. The simplest thing to try would be wrapping the wires around a ferrite core (like are used for computer cables). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrite_bead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Dang, I've got a bunch of those, and I was actually thinking of trying that. Just need to find them...(just moved into a new house - chaos). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darksabre Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Just an update - I swapped them out with the replacement non-CREE leds, and there is zero interference with the camera. The CREE driver must have been much noisier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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