Tackling a 360-camera system issue on a 2018 Mercedes

July 30, 2019
I recently had a call on a 2018 Mercedes GLE 350 that was involved in a front-end collision. The grille was damaged, along with the front camera housed below the emblem.

Growing up I always knew about the phrase “doing a 360,” and what it meant to me was that someone was doing a total change in their life or simply doing a full circle on a skateboard. Times are changing so fast in the automotive arena and now we’re applying this terminology to working on advanced camera technology in cars today that incorporate front, rear and side cameras.

Figure 1

These new systems give a driver a full bird’s eye view of the conditions around the vehicle from the convenience of an onboard screen in the center dash panel. This is accomplished in most systems by an onboard controller that is wired to each camera with a video or Ethernet cable. The controller then sends the images by use of Ethernet technology to a main gateway controller that will transfer these images to a display panel wired by a MOST or Ethernet connection. The goal is to have the images display close to real time, and this can only be possible by having faster networks on board.

Figure 2

I recently had a call on a 2018 Mercedes GLE 350 (Figure 1) that was involved in a front-end collision. The grille was damaged, along with the front camera housed below the emblem (Figure 2). This front camera is used for the 360-camera system onboard and should not be confused with the forward-facing camera up in the windshield, which is used for the Lane Departure Systems on most vehicles. Onboard cameras are not always plug-and-play and must be initialized to pair with the camera control module. There is no software needed, but a scan tool that supports camera functions should have the ability to start the camera initialization process. After the initialization process, a calibration of the replaced camera must be followed to finish the procedure.

Figure 3

When I arrived at the shop, I noticed the onboard screen displayed the message “Camera not Calibrated” (Figure 3). I went ahead and performed a full scan on the vehicle just to make sure there were no other underlying issues I could not see. It is vitally important to let my shop be aware if there is anything else that would need to be addressed while I was still there. Sure enough, I came across a Code B127B14 for a problem with the Center Left Rear Parking Aid Sensor, but this would have to be addressed with the insurance company because this vehicle was a front-hit only and this code was unrelated to the accident. I was more concerned with the Code B1FBD54 that read “Control Module for 360 is faulty/Calibration is Absent” (Figure 4). This code was related to the accident, but was a little deceiving because it was pointing me in a direction of a faulty camera control module and the code was not specific to which camera had the calibration issue. I basically knew one new camera was changed, and that was the front one, so my next move was to start the initialization process and see if this code would be gone.

Figure 4

Scan tools basically are laid out with the same main menu features such as Codes & Data, Bi-Directional Controls, System Tests and Functional Procedures/Adaptations. When you go into the Adaptations menu, you should see a selection for the 360 Camera. You need to choose the correct camera you are servicing. Don’t choose to do all the cameras at the same time because that would take you a longer period of time, and it is not necessary since only one camera was replaced. Some manufactures will give you the option to perform the calibration “dynamically” on the road by viewing the real world or “statically” with targets laid around the entire perimeter of the vehicle. In my experience, the high cost of camera targets can lead to a never-ending expense to cover all manufacturers, and different models within the same manufacturer may not always use the same targets.

Figure 5

Lucky for me this Mercedes had the dynamic feature available to calibrate the camera because I don’t have all the available targets yet. The scan tool was merely used to initialize the front camera system and command the onboard camera system to default into a learn procedure using the vehicle onboard screen (Figure 5). This screen displays a speedometer icon that will be red when the vehicle is not moving or if you are going above the desired speed necessary for the calibration process. The right side of the screen has a steering wheel icon that will display red if the steering wheel is not kept straight while driving. There is also a four-arrow cursor on the left side of the screen to display which camera you are calibrating by lightning up the proper arrow in green. Lastly there is a green progress bar on the bottom of the screen that will move as the camera is learning and reflects not time but conditions met.

Figure 6

The conditions for a Dynamic Camera Calibration have to meet certain criteria. The first thing is safety so you need to make sure you keep your eyes on the road and momentarily glance at the onboard screen to view the drive calibration progress. You also need to know that this particular drive is for low speed driving and not for highway driving. It’s best to drive during a non-rush hour condition and with straight pathways because the calibration process will not continue if you are stopped or the steering wheel is off center. You will have either side of the screen turn red once these issues are present (Figure 6) and the progress bar will stop moving. The total drive around town took about 15 minutes, and it was quicker than I thought. Once the system was done learning the environment in front of the vehicle, the progress bar was completed and a green check mark was present to alert me that the calibration was successful (Figure 7). I next cycled the key to come out of the Calibration process the vehicle now had the 360 cameras up and running. By putting the screen into a dual-view mode you are able to see the front of the vehicle along with a virtual bird’s eye view created by images from each camera.

Figure 7

This was the first Mercedes I have tackled, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I actually prefer manufacturers allowing the option for every car to have a choice between dynamic and static calibrations. There are pros and cons for each method. Dynamic calibrations are more real world and use the environment to perform the task giving a better learn process but if weather or road conditions don’t permit you will not be able to perform the task. Static calibrations are more precise in their own way and obviously weather conditions and road access are eliminated but you still need a very large area to work in, good lighting and the added expense of collecting many targets and your time is increased because to set up the targets is a huge task. I can tell you that since this article I have done two more Mercedes camera calibrations, and I find that with each camera system it will be a very long learning curve, but in the end the time you have invested will pay off because you are only putting yourself ahead of the curve. Keeping yourself on cutting edge is what it is all about so just embrace the technology as it arrives in your bay. My only hopes are that this article has inspired you to keep in the game of automotive technology because it is only going to get more interesting.

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