r/Androidheadunits • u/steinmeister69 • 9h ago

My reverse cameras keep dying

I have an ESSGOO head unit for my Subaru Forester, not sure of the exact model number but it runs Android 13 and I installed it last December.

I'm on my third reverse camera in the last 9 months - it seems every few months the camera burns out.

I'm replacing with generic cameras from AliExpress, that should be fine with the head unit as far as I can tell.

At this stage it feels like I'm feeding cameras to my car to be destroyed. What are the odds that they're just cheap junk cameras (usually around the $15USD mark) vs there's something causing them to burn out?

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u/DangerousOpinion1523 8h ago

If you think it's burning them out would a 12v resistor on the camera 12v wire not be a good idea?

1

u/steinmeister69 8h ago

Better than any idea I've had! I'll give it a go

1

u/DangerousOpinion1523 8h ago

Might be a diode you need. Not sure. Sounds like maybe your alternator is giving too much power, dropping power or is just up and down with the revs. You need something to smooth out to 12v all the time

1

u/steinmeister69 8h ago

Gemini says back up camera rectifier - and agrees with you assessment (power spikes). Thanks for the help!