Boot hatch wiring and reverse camera

[al212]

I've just recently bought a second hand S212 2015 eclass estate - car seems to be in pretty good order, apart from some electrical issues.

The reverse camera doesn't work at all - no change to command screen when in reverse - I also can't see any reference to the camera under system settings - From what i've read there should be a way to confirm that the camera is on when reverse gear is selected? All the sensors seem to work.

I've also just today noticed two cut wires next to the RH hinge of the boot hatch (see pics) one goes to a USB mini connector of some sort the other thinner one, I can't tell. I also noticed that one of the soldered connectors to the heated rear screen has apparently been cut.

I'm completely new to these cars and not particularly hot on any of this - I'll likely take it to a specialist, but does any one have any idea what these cut wires could be and also does the cut wire to the rear screen mean that is not working? Is there a way to test this?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated the car is still under warranty with the garage i bought it from - not impressed that none of this was disclosed so will be going after them!

 

[FiveAlive]

The cut wires aren't original equipment. It looks like the previous owner had a rear dashcam installed and has partially removed it. As for the soldered connection on the rear screen, it looks like it might be an antenna rather than the heated window element, especially given that it on part of the screen that you can't see through anyway, but I'm happy to be corrected on that. My guess is that the dashcam and antenna were interfering with one another electrically and it was disconnected to try to eliminate the interference.

 

[al212]

The cut wires aren't original equipment. It looks like the previous owner had a rear dashcam installed and has partially removed it. As for the soldered connection on the rear screen, it looks like it might be an antenna rather than the heated window element, especially given that it on part of the screen that you can't see through anyway, but I'm happy to be corrected on that. My guess is that the dashcam and antenna were interfering with one another electrically and it was disconnected to try to eliminate the interference.

Thanks. I hadn't really considered that the soldered connection might be an antenna. There is another soldered connection on the other side (to the left of this) that does seem to be connected, so perhaps that's power to the heated screen? - I have no idea how to test without a frosty day! I figured the other cut wires must have been some third-party bit of kit, can't really see where the thinner of the two wires goes without removing the whole boot lining panel - I did wonder if this was anything to do with the reverse camera issue.

 

[FiveAlive]

Depending on your electrical skills and knowledge, one way to test the heated rear window would be to take out the appropriate fuse and measure the resistance between there and ground.

Are you sure your car did have a factory-fitted reverse camera? Given the effort to retrofit a dash cam it is not inconceivable that the previous owner fitted an aftermarket reverse camera, maybe to a separate display that has subsequently been removed. It might explain the other cut cable.

 

[al212]

Depending on your electrical skills and knowledge, one way to test the heated rear window would be to take out the appropriate fuse and measure the resistance between there and ground.

Are you sure your car did have a factory-fitted reverse camera? Given the effort to retrofit a dash cam it is not inconceivable that the previous owner fitted an aftermarket reverse camera, maybe to a separate display that has subsequently been removed. It might explain the other cut cable.

Thanks again. I think that might be a bit above my pay grade, I think I’ll take it in to a pro to find out on the heated screen.

It hadn’t occurred to me that the camera might be an aftermarket thing. The car has the Active Park Assist so I’d assumed a camera would have been standard?. I’ll do some digging. Thanks for your help.