Furrion camera power

[RV Newbie]

We have a 2021 redhawk 29XK. I am wanting to install a Furrion rear observation camera. I tried wiring the camera directly in place of the top center running light on the rear of the coach. The camera worked well with the ignition switch in the accessory position but the screen went blank indicating “loss of signal” shortly after the engine was started. Apparently the voltage drops below the requisite 12 volts once the engine is running. Furrion tech support told me to wire the camera direct to the “house” battery, bypassing the chassis battery.
I’m thinking of running from the house battery under the coach to the back wall but I have no clue to the construction (obstructions etc.) inside that wall and how to get the wire thru the wall to the camera. Ideally I would like to keep the camera in the location mentioned above. Open to any/all suggestions.
Thanks

[MacHawk]

Turning on the running lights will maintain power to the camera.

[RV Newbie]

I tried that but had same results.

[jyh818]

My rear camera on the 2021 Redhawk 31F crapped out right before our cross country trip. I realized that if I sprayed water on it when washing it is when it zaps out and don't know when it would work again. I replaced it with a rear camera from Walmart for $15 while in FL.

I temporarily ran the video wire down the outside back of the coach into the emergency window and ran it all the way back to the front dash radio. For the 12V power, I got a 7 pin plug and tapped it into the 12V+ aux charging and ground. (My ground in the 7 pin didn't work for some reason, but works for the 4 pin. Go figure). You could feed the 12V+ to the center reverse pin and it would only come on when you put the coach in reverse gear.

I will eventually tap into the 12V+ aux charging wire for the 7 pin to feed the power. I will then need to use fish tape to wire the video feed through the back wall and through the slide...or maybe just the gap between the slide and coach wall.

Hope this helps.

[TWP723]

This makes me leery about the Furrion system on my Rv. As well as other posts in forums.

[RV Newbie]

Originally Posted by jyh818

My rear camera on the 2021 Redhawk 31F crapped out right before our cross country trip. I realized that if I sprayed water on it when washing it is when it zaps out and don't know when it would work again. I replaced it with a rear camera from Walmart for $15 while in FL.

I temporarily ran the video wire down the outside back of the coach into the emergency window and ran it all the way back to the front dash radio. For the 12V power, I got a 7 pin plug and tapped it into the 12V+ aux charging and ground. (My ground in the 7 pin didn't work for some reason, but works for the 4 pin. Go figure). You could feed the 12V+ to the center reverse pin and it would only come on when you put the coach in reverse gear.

I will eventually tap into the 12V+ aux charging wire for the 7 pin to feed the power. I will then need to use fish tape to wire the video feed through the back wall and through the slide...or maybe just the gap between the slide and coach wall.

Hope this helps.

Thanks jyh818
Didn’t think of tapping in at that location.
Something I found out while troubleshooting my issue. Checking the voltage at the running light location with the ignition in accessory position showed a constant 13+ volts but after the engine was started the voltage dropped to the 11.5 to 11.8 volts. The Furrion tech told me the camera requires a constant 12 volts and 300ma current. He went on to say they have found that in some motor homes the voltage drops below the 12 volt threshold ( he didn’t know why) but his solution to me was as stated above. ( bypass the chassis battery). I saw in another post somewhere in this forum that manufacturers were dropping the voltages with all the LED bulbs used in today’s vehicles.Maybe that’s the answer,I don’t know.
If you’re thinking of installing the Furrion camera you may want to check your voltages before you buy to make sure you have the full 12 volts
Right now I mainly interested in how to get the power supply thru the back wall to the camera. Is it as simple as a fish tape up the wall. I could use someone with x-ray vision to let me know where the best place to enter the wall, where any obstructions are etc. Barring someone with x-ray vision someone with previous experience will suffice.
Thanks to all
Allyn

[jyh818]

Hi RV Newbie, Did you ever figure out what to do about getting the 12V to your camera?

I rewired my camera and found the 12V and ground for the camera module in the dash and I ran both of those along with the 2 video feed all along the slide (my slide is the whole length of the coach).

I was looking at your model and you have overhead cabinets over your bed. You could get your 12V and ground from the 7 pin harness. On your passenger side rear corner, there would probably be wires going up through the floor and into the night stand in your bedroom. You are lucky you have full cabinets where you can run the wires in the cabinets to the rear camera location. You can drill a hole behind the camera into the cabinet and access the camera. If I drilled a hole where my camera is, the wires would be exposed.

Anyway, just a thought for you to try.

[RV Newbie]

Thanks for your interest jyh818
As a matter of fact we just got our coach back last week from the dealer for an unrelated warranty repair. When I dropped the coach off with them I mentioned the problem I was having with the camera. They agreed to look into it.
To make a long story short, the tech did not find a problem with the coach but he went ahead and ran a separate wire to the back of the coach to power the camera for me. The camera works well now
He took power from the light inside the rear storage compartment. However, he did not install a switch loop ,so the camera is on whenever the master power to the coach is on. But hey, he did the toughest part running the power wire thru the back wall. I am grateful for the work he did. I’m looking into running the switch loop.
RV Newbie