Dahua IPC-T5442T-ZEB stops transmitting data

[Perimeter]

I bought and mounted this T5442 in 2023 (from EmpireTek2022, aka Andy). It has been working trouble free and unattended since, up until now.
The camera is now suddenly reported as offline when being accessed via Smartpss, NVR or browser.
It is connected to a Dahua POE switch. It obviously receives power, as the IR-LEDs go on and off if I plug and unplug the cable at the switch.
The switch shows a green light once the plug is in, but the orange one for data never goes on. Changing the socket on the switch doesn't change things.
The other cameras work concurrently on that switch.

I wonder what to do next and if the camera is still covered by warranty, if it turns out to be defective.
From my naive understanding, the switch is ok, as the other cams still work.
The switch still powers the cam, as the IR-LEDs are on.
The problem should be either camera or cable, as the switch shows no data link but works OK otherwise.

Did I miss something?

What other steps could I take before taking it from the mount and moving it to the desk for closer inspection?

Should I disconnect it? LEDs would be visibly off.

Thanks for help.

 

[wittaj]

Do you have an SD card in the camera? When they fail they an cause a whole bunch of issues.

If not, try a factory reset in the event the firmware corrupted.

 

[Perimeter]

Do you have an SD card in the camera? When they fail they an cause a whole bunch of issues.

If not, try a factory reset in the event the firmware corrupted.

There is an SD card in the camera. It was not on 24/7 but only on human detection recording. I suppose you want me to take it out and then reconnect the cam at the switch?

Factory reset had a button near the card slot?

 

[wittaj]

Yes, give that a try first by removing the SD card.

Yes, there is a reset button next to the SD card if you go that route.

 

[Perimeter]

Yes, give that a try first by removing the SD card.

Yes, there is a reset button next to the SD card if you go that route.

So I get a ladder and see if I can get the card out with the cam disconnected at the switch. For that I likely don't have to disconnect the cam locally. Then repower and see if I get a data light and a picture again. PW etc should still be good, right?

If I have to reset, I will have the cam back at .1.108 again? I can still access it through the switch on that subnet if I use a nic set to .1.x? (switch has no settings)
What is the default pw with andy? admin/admin?

In any case: many thanks for your speedy assistance!

 

[wittaj]

That would be correct for both.

 

[Perimeter]

OK, now that the sun is up, I followed plan A.
And indeed, the camera comes back to life after I turned the ball and removed the card.

Oddly though, my computer can read the card. The card even has yesterdays date to some files.
So the cam must have performed read/write operations on the card.
But the cam has been missing from the NVR recordings for days.

According to windows, the card is almost empty. IIRC the actual footage wasn't visible in Windows OS, right?

 

[wittaj]

Strange. Yes, the video isn't visible in windows.

 

[Perimeter]

It was a Samsung Pro Endurance 64GB. 2.5 years old. If that is their endurance, I am in for more cam failures in the near future.

I just checked, the other cam with a crossing fov goes back to august. So basically the 64GB hold 3 months of human detects. That would mean the card has been rewritten about 10 times only.
I am not sure if it is broken really.

And indeed: The camera (now without card) did go offline again... Damn!

 

[bigredfish]

I had a 4K-T intermittently quit recording Friday.. Then went dead.
Fortunately I had a spare and it was easily accessible (7ft high) so I was able to swap it out with a new one.

I bright the “bad” camera back to my office and plugged it into the NVR with a 3ft pre-made cable. It’s run continuously since for 3 days now no problems.

Sure enough the new camera started acting up. Last night while I slept it died.

30 minute ago I get on the small step ladder to examine it and see the cable going into the camera mount is pinched and slightly cut between it and the aluminum porch frame..

Fortunately this camera is connected to a splitter in a small junction box very close by. I replaced that very short cable (2ft) and it is working again.

Check your cables

 

[Perimeter]

I took the camera down and connected it to the switch directly. Worked.
Put the SD card back in. Worked.
Checked the SD card. Human detects present from the time the recorder wasn't seeing the card up until I disconnected it. The cam seems to have worked.
So POE worked.

It does look like a cable issue. If the cam works until tomorrow, I start to debug the cable. My first bet is "near the plug" because turning the ball brought the cam on again for a short time.
I could extend the cable full circle and use a multimeter to check the resistance on the lines.

 

[Perimeter]

Camera worked all night directly at the POE switch with a short cable. NVR shows continuous recording record without a gap for the night

I have now extended the regular cable from the camera position back indoors for easy access.

When connected, the camera booted, exchanged data with the switch and generated a picture at my computer. Seemes to work ok.
While I was watching the picture, the camera stopped transmitting data as before. IR LEDs were still on, picture was gone.
I went to the camera and moved the LAN cable plug in the socket back and forth a few times (still has some anti corrosion jelly in from before).
Picture came back within seconds (imho too fast for a reboot). I suspect the camera is indeed running but there is a transmission problem somewhere.

I could not see broken cables, just very bend. I tried bending back and forth the cable but it didn't seem to interrupt transmission.

The thing is, the unit has been in place for over 2 years. Untouched. The cable goes from the mount into a cable channel into the roof. There is no sharp cutting edge around.

Options? Broken cable fibre in the camera cord? A LAN plug that did lose some contact in the socket just from time and/or temperature?

 

[bigredfish]

Options? Broken cable fibre in the camera cord? A LAN plug that did lose some contact in the socket just from time and/or temperature?

Yes to any of those unfortunately

I had a friend pulled his own cable to a barn 250ft away. Over 2-3 years each of the 4 cameras out by the barn quit sending video. Issues started within months, dropped signals, then just night when IR was on and the most power was required, then stopped altogether.
Same as you, when brought inside to the bench all worked fine

At some point on a bend in the conduit he had pulled to hard and kinked/damaged the cable.

I'm no networking or cabling expert, but I find cable/connection issues to be the #1 issue with cameras that 'quit working"

 

[Perimeter]

I have taken the cam out of the serarch for the time being. If I plug it into the switch, it simply works.

After I have lost the cam again on the extended line without recovering so far, I had the idea to change the direction: Instead of looking for the camera from my desk, I will look for the network through the camera cable, using a notebook at the end. Imho, the notebook should be able to connect (and find the vcr). It doesn't. But it frequently tries to connect to some net, then gives up again. So I will see if bending the main cable will change things. Or if pushing pulling on the plug will.

It would be nice to reach a demonstrable or convincing result, so that repair can be initiated.

I think I got it nailed down:
The cam cable leads to an attic. There is a coupling. From that coupling, I can reach the home net. From the cam end, I can't.

 

[wittaj]

Was dielectric grease used on connections in attic or at camera?

If not, then likely corrosion you cannot see. Deoxit works wonders in that situation.

 

[Perimeter]

Was dielectric grease used on connections in attic or at camera?

If not, then likely corrosion you cannot see. Deoxit works wonders in that situation.

With the camera, grease was used as well as vulcanizing tape. Camera plug works fine with regular short patch cable atm.

I didn't cable the attic, so I don't know if the guy used the grease there. The two long cables up there have female connectors, which are joined by a short patch cable (don't ask me why that config was chosen). I opened the coupling towards the camera to get the male plug and plugged it in my notebook. Notebook connects right away to the house network, plug looked shiny like new. As I had no trouble connecting from there, I don't think the attic is the problem, but I will check the far female plug too. I probably apply some grease there too, after I reconnect the camera successfully.

The fact that the camera came back on when I turned the turret to get the SDcard out seems to point to the camera connector or the cable. So perhaps I try deoxit on the patch cable plug there. I'd check it with the notebook, which isn't corroded.

But I have to admit that the patch cable at the camera end seems pretty bend. As there is spare length in the attic, it might be possible to slide more cable down under the roof, cut off the bad part, attach a new plug and be done. Or use the backup cable present.