# Emblem camera Vw cc rear backup Problems!!



## d0n (Jan 5, 2015)

Hi,

So I bought this Chinese flip up emblem backup camera and it worked fine for a few months. Now all of a sudden the camera won't retract back in and is stuck in the "camera out" position and it looks very odd. 
Any ideas on how to fix that? Could it be an electrical issues?

Also, one of the major problems I've had with this camera was that after backing up I would have to always wait about 10 seconds until it closed and then take the key out of the ignition . If I were to do it earlier the camera would just stay in the "emblem flipped up" position with the camera sticking out. Looks really awkward. Any ideas on why that was happening?
The place where I had the camera installed had a hard time figuring the installation out and almost didn't make it after several hours, but then one guy figured it out and other than the delay it worked well. (Well another downside was that they switched some cables and the light that lights up the inside of the trunk wouldn't work. 

Well now if I can't fix this I'm probably going to lean towards buying a new camera and not the flip up anymore as that was quite a pain. 

Would you guys recommend getting the OEM that they're selling on eBay or Amazon for about $200 Or is a Chinese one ok for about $90?

How are those installed?? As the regular (non-emblem flip up) have that little piece on which the camera is located, I guess as a replacement for the handle to pull down the trunk is up?

I have a 2012 VW cc

Thanks for the help!


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## d0n (Jan 5, 2015)

out of a sudden this problem stopped after a while, then it was retracting again, but now it won't retract again and just sticks out in the open position.. any tips on how to fix that??


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## GodSquadMandrake (Feb 17, 2004)

d0n said:


> out of a sudden this problem stopped after a while, then it was retracting again, but now it won't retract again and just sticks out in the open position.. any tips on how to fix that??


These kinds of mechanisms are notoriously unreliable. If you really want it to work, I'd guess that you'll probably have to over-engineer it by putting on a really strong spring and solenoid. Some of the door popper solenoids do a twist motion for instance but a regular push/pull solenoid can be hooked up to a cam to rotate the emblem. You can buy them in almost any strength you need. Then you just need a return spring to make it return to the closed position. I'd just get a license plate camera.


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## d0n (Jan 5, 2015)

you know what, you are spot on my friend.. 'm actually impressed that you nailed it

I took the whole camera setup apart today up to the bare bones and it looks like the "track" that the camera slides in an out with the little lever in it, just isn't smooth enough (or the motor isn't strong enough) so I would indeed have to somehow prep it up in there with a spring of some sort.. not quite sure how I would put it in there though.. 

do you have any more specific suggestions by any chance?

the issue is that the system is already so well set up with only this thing being a problem, that it kinda sucks to have to have it all go to waste and start fresh with a license plate cam (but if I had known this were the case I had definitely gone with one like that from the start).

I am having two more issues though.. with this chinese camera, the switch between the tail lights and trunk lights got mixed up and now my taillights are on when the trunk lid is open and the trunk lights are off, when it's supposed to be vice versa.. any ideas on what to do about that?

EDIT:

wow, WHAT A DAY. this took me way too many hours, but it looks like I ended up figuring it out and got it fixed!!!

basically you were right, the mechanism isn't done properly and I had to "over-engineer" it.. i thought outside of the box and figured out a way to (double) wrap around a rubber band that helps pull the camera back in easier.. so far it works great, hoping this will last, but I have a good feeling about it!

as far as the problematic lights go, it looks like my trunk harness is having issues.. I'm going to the dealership today (I still have CPO warranty) and they will be looking at several things (two recalls - steering wheel spring and some other upgrade) and my car was stalling the other day with the ECP light on, I will tell them to check the trunk harness as well.


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## GodSquadMandrake (Feb 17, 2004)

Glad to hear you got it worked out Don. My only other suggestion is the type of lubricant you're using. You probably don't deal with cold weather but you might deal with dust. You might want to try a Teflon based lubricant on that track like DuPont Chain Saver. I know the rear of the car tends to get dirtier than the rest. I don't know what this camera looks like but a lubricant of that type won't pick up dirt as much.


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