I was called to a shop for a complaint of a camera issue on a 2016 Honda Accord (Figure 1). The vehicle was recently involved in a motor vehicle accident and sustained damage to the front of the vehicle. The air bags and seat belts were deployed due to the impact. The shop had done all the final repairs to the vehicle but noticed that the rear camera grid was not in the proper location when the vehicle tires and steering wheel were straight (Figure 2).
This vehicle is built with a rear camera system that turns on when the vehicle is placed in reverse. It is designed to give the driver a better view to what is behind them when attempting to back up. Most of these cameras are usually located near the license plate and are centrally placed in a spot to provide a full panorama view of the rear of the vehicle. Most manufacturers will place a grid on the screen that can be turned on or off. The grid may work in conjunction with the steering angle sensor and provide a curved view of the grid as the steering wheel is turned. Some manufacturers may even place a color code within the grid to determine the distance the vehicle is away from an object. Green would be 20 feet, yellow 10 feet and red 5 feet.
By simply turning the steering wheel 180 degrees clockwise I was able to get the grid to be straight on the rear image of the vehicle (Figure 3). This was an indication that the steering angle sensor was either electronically out of calibration or mechanically out of alignment. I hooked up the factory Honda HDS scan tool to verify my findings and you can see with the steering wheel straight that the Steering Angle sensor PID was reading 181 degrees negative (Figure 4). The fix on most manufactures is to go into the Functional Procedures of the scan tool and calibrate the steering angle sensor back to 0 degrees. I tried to calibrate the sensor multiple times but the sensor still read 180 degrees out of specification. Some of the steering angle sensors used in the industry can be repositioned in any spot during assembly while other designs would need to be indexed back to center. This sensor was not self-indexing so there was no other choice but to pull the steering wheel to inspect the steering angle sensor.
Prior to removing the air bag I made sure that the key was in the off position as a safety precaution. I then aligned the front tires in a straight ahead position and making sure the steering wheel was properly centered. I then removed the air bad and marked the orientation of the steering wheel to the steering shaft with a punch so that the steering wheel would be aligned to the same position during reassembly. With the steering wheel and upper shroud removed you can see the front of the clockspring (Figure 5). At this point you need to be careful not to allow the clockspring to spin out of centered position because this could lead to damage to the coilspring if it is not returned to its proper position.
I next removed the clockspring and positioned it forward to expose the steering angle sensor located on its backside (Figure 6). The 2 orange lugs of the steering angle sensor are secured to the clockspring and spin with it when the steering wheel is turned. I removed the steering angle sensor from the clockspring and re indexed it 180 degrees counter clockwise (Figure 7). I secured it back into place and reassembled everything in reverse order. Now with the steering wheel straight the Steering Angle sensor read 0 degrees and the grid was properly centered.
The garage most likely misaligned the steering angle sensor by not indexing it properly during the clockspring replacement. This is a common error I have seen in the field and it is so important to mark the orientation of components during disassembly to make sure they go back to their original position. These back up cameras are a common feature that is showing up on many newer makes and models. Some of these cameras are plug & play while others may require an initialization and calibration process.
Cameras may be used for side view as well as front view. There are some manufactures such as BMW or Infiniti that will use 4 cameras on board to give the vehicle a "Bird's Eye View". The most common places to find these cameras would be in the front grill, side view mirrors and the rear license plate. These systems will usually require calibration processes if these cameras have been disturbed or replaced and will require the use of specific target boards that you will have to purchase from the manufactures. I actually made my own target board using a foam board & easel stand from Staples and then had a printing company print a required image on the board and lamented it for protection (Figure 8). There are so many targets that different manufactures use and it can get very costly so I'm trying to test my own skills to make that universal one to keep operating costs down. These target boards may require different positioning for each Make & Model so it is vital to find factory specific information to direct you where to place them. The other key thing to know is that many aftermarket scan tools may not support the camera adjustment procedures so you may have to invest in a factory scan tool to perform the task. Camera calibration are not yet a high priority on the scan tool functionality spectrum so you may only see support for Codes or limited Data and not necessarily Functional Procedures such as the many procedures Infiniti provides using their Consult 3+ factory scan tool (Figure 9).
If a camera is replaced due to damage from an accident they are usually not a plug & play item. The internal Identification of the camera will have to be initialized into the camera control module. If this is not done most manufactures such as Infiniti will bring it to your attention by making the camera inoperative and placing an X on the screen (Figure 10). There are other manufactures such as BMW that will go as far as flipping the image upside down (Figure 11). This could be confusing especially if the shop owner is questioning his worker if there was a possibility that the camera was installed upside down.
There are front facing cameras mounted inside at the top center of the windshield and are combined with the rear view mirror. These cameras may not provide any image at all but are solely used for Lane Keep Assist systems that will actually read the white markers in the road to determine if the vehicle it staying within its lane of traffic. These camera systems do not use a target board for a calibration procedure but rather an extensive drive procedure to learn the white lines in the road using a laptop. Once a windshield is replaced from an accident and the front facing camera is disturbed there may be a need to recalibrate the camera for liability issues or for a camera fault icon appearing on the dash.
So as you can see these vehicles of today have added such sophistication to our need to keep up on technology and constantly upgrading our equipment. I learn to just embrace it all as it comes my way and find the time to crash course each system. I have even toyed around with the aftermarket systems by completely removing my radio from my service truck and installing an iPad mini in its place. Then I wired all my speakers to a Bluetooth amplifier that I also installed onboard so I can port music, phone calls and navigation directions to my speakers from my iPad or iPhone. As an added feature I purchased a Wi-Fi camera for the back of my vehicle that will work with my iPad. This camera system works with an App on my iPad and gives me an option to take still pictures or video clips if needed. It's just so mind boggling of how the integration of technology and the motor vehicle has advanced and this is only the beginning of what is to come. I hope this article has really opened your mind and enhanced what you did or didn't know.
