Camera dead after rain

[zebrock]

I have a 3 week old DS-2CD2032-I bullet cam that had been running great since install. We had some rain the last couple days and now the camera will no longer power up. POE injector just cycles on off. Tried new injector, cable, reset, etc. Found a burn mark in the rj45 connector on the camera. I purchased from wrightwood and have submitted an RMA request but probably wont hear back from them for a couple days.

Has anyone experienced this before, and if so is there anything i can do to fix it? Is this something they should cover under warranty? Camera is less than a month old.

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[nayr]

yes see this all the time, you likely toasted a few electronics inside, not fixable unless you can solder surface mount components.

you failed to properly seal the connectors, this failure was due to your installation and not from manufacturer defect; they have no obligation to warranty you really.

next time waterproof your connectors as is required for outdoor installs; use this stuff on all connectors: 1 in. x 10 ft. Self-Bonding Super Tape

 

[zebrock]

yes see this all the time, you likely toasted a few electronics inside, not fixable unless you can solder surface mount components.

you failed to properly seal the connectors, this failure was due to your installation and not from manufacturer defect; they have no obligation to warranty you really.

next time waterproof your connectors as is required for outdoor installs; use this stuff on all connectors: 1 in. x 10 ft. Self-Bonding Super Tape

I used the included collar and had marine tape wrappped around the connector. I would think that was enough?



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[nayr]

apparently not enough if water got to one of the connector pins and you found a burn mark.. had the seal been done right your camera would still be working, dont forget to stretch the tape out as your wrapping to ensure everything is sealed.

 

[zebrock]

apparently not enough if water got to one of the connector pins and you found a burn mark.. had the seal been done right your camera would still be working, dont forget to stretch the tape out as your wrapping to ensure everything is sealed.

Damnit. So they will likely deny my warranty?

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[nayr]

most likely; burn mark on RJ45 port is a tale-tale sign of installation error.. but Wrightwood has a good reputation, I bought my big black face PTZ from em; if they dont warranty you they might give you a replacement at cost or something like that.

 

[zebrock]

most likely; burn mark on RJ45 port is a tale-tale sign of installation error.. but Wrightwood has a good reputation, I bought my big black face PTZ from em; if they dont warranty you they might give you a replacement at cost or something like that.

I hope so. Thanks nayr

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[Q™]

IMO you can't go wrong with "Coax-Seal" brand tape. Helpful hint: wrap with electrical tape first, then Coax-Seal over the electrical tape. This make it much easier to cleanly remove the Coax-Seal at a later date.

 

[Jack B Nimble]

Agree Coax Seal on all my cameras, even with the weather tight connectors that are included always add the extra protection in my opinion.

 

[Dodutils]

I used the included collar and had marine tape wrappped around the connector. I would think that was enough?

Also think that sunlight and temperature differences may damage the quality of your tape wrapping after months (depending of course of the tape's quality itself), also check the angle of your PoE injector, I mean if your injector's connector is lower that all the cable comnig to it (and all this cable is also exposed to rain) then the water drops that the main cable will grab may slide down to your connector so the connector may receive much more water than "direct" rain drops and if your tape is not 100% sealed it's worse... so always think about doing a small curve before cable arrives to injector so the injector will be higher than câble arrival and will not receive all the sliding water drops flow as they will stay and drop to floor at the bottom of the curve (sorry for my english).

 

[Fastb]

Burn marks on the RJ45 prove water got in there.
Been there, but luckily it didn't fry the camera or the POE power source.

Shorting power & gnd is harder for the POE supply as compared to the camera.
I cleaned the scorched contacts, compressed air to eliminate water, dried camera indoors for a few days, replaced patch cable (which also showed signs of scorching).
The camera works afterwards!
Good luck!

 

[looney2ns]

Never hurts to add a dab of Di-electric grease on every terminal as well.
Amazon.com: CRC Technician Grade Di-Electric Grease with Precision Tip Applicator, .5 Wt Oz: Automotive

 

[zebrock]

So much good info in here. I am drying it out now. Will try an ac adapter for power too. Live and learn i guess. I will wait to hear what wrightwood says before i attempt splicing a new connector. Next one i replace with I overkill with sealant and tape.

Luckily I had a DS-2CD2142-FWD-I delivered to me yesterday that i was going to use in the garage. Maybe ill just replace the bullet with that for now.

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[Fastb]

When water shorted the POE lines and scorched the conductors in the RJ45 female on the camera cable, I thought I might need to splice on a new connector.
I kept cleaning the contacts, using a small straight blade screwdriver. I managed to uncover bright metal. And then used a new patch cord to connect the camera to my POE switch. Still no video. But I wasn't convinced the camera was dead.
Shorting the power conductors at the camera connector meant the camera lost power, right? That shouldn't be fatal, right?
So I eliminated POE power, and used the 12V DC supply instead. (Note: don't use POE and 12V at the same time - this reportedly causes damage!

I went into the NVR config screen, and toggled between B&W and color repeatedly. I heard the "click" of the IR cut filter moving in and out. Ah, hope!
I cut the lights in the room. I saw the dull red of the IR LEDs. More hope!
After a day or two, video returned.

My point, based on what I experienced, is don't be too hasty about replacing the female RJ45. And don't be hasty in deciding the camera is dead.

Fastb

 

[zebrock]

Update:

I tried an ac adapter and patch cable into my non poe switch and success, I have video! So the camera isnt totally dead.


I then cleaned out the RJ45 with alcohol and qtips. The contacts are still a bit dark and POE is still not working. Should i just use a small flathead and lightly scrape away at the contacts to clean them up? Or is there a poe module on the camera motherboard that is likely toast and dont even mess with it?

Pic attached

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[nayr]

probably fried the internal PoE, can use external PoE but you'll need a junction box to keep this baby dry:
Amazon.com: iCreatin Active 12V PoE power over ethernet Splitter Adapter, IEEE 802.3af Compliant 10/100Mbps, 12V output: Computers & Accessories

 

[Carcus]

I have done this a few times myself you can just re-terminate the crimp.

See attached PDF.

 

[zebrock]

Looks like I have more issues than just POE. Camera has been up and running with the ac adapter and I thought the outside lens was dirty so I cleaned it but it made no difference. Here is my view earlier in the day and now.

Here is the last image before it died for reference.

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[Carcus]

If water has got into the camera i would expect it to be covered under warranty.

If the connector is burn out that's a installer fault.

You might be able to return it if the internals are damaged due to water.

I haven't experienced any issues with cameras after we have replaced burnt out connectors but I could be wrong. (water can do funny things to electronics)

 

[wozzzzza]

that mist you can see there maybe a component or two blown up internally leaving its residue on the lens only visible at night time.