Troubleshooting
One camera shows a black screen
A single black camera is almost always power or cable, not a failed camera. Check whether the channel shows a video-loss message or a black picture: video loss means the signal is not arriving, while a black picture with a timestamp usually means the camera has power but no light or a failed sensor.
Test the power first
Measure voltage at the camera end, not at the adaptor. A long thin run drops voltage, and a camera that gets 9 volts instead of 12 shows exactly this symptom while the adaptor tests fine.
Check the joint, not the cable
Cable rarely fails along its length. Joints corrode, especially outdoors where a connector was taped rather than housed. Re-terminating the joint fixes a large share of these calls.
Rule out the channel
Swap the camera onto a known-good channel at the recorder. If it works there, the recorder input has failed rather than the camera — a cheaper repair than replacement.
Why is one of my CCTV cameras showing black?
Does a black screen mean the camera is dead?
Usually not. Power supply, cable joint or recorder channel account for most cases. We test all three before recommending a replacement camera, because replacing it first is the expensive way to find out.
Why did it happen after rain?
Water in an outdoor joint is one of the most common causes here. It often works again once it dries, then fails at the next rain, which is the clue that the joint needs housing properly.
Need this doing?
Security camera repair covers cameras showing no image, recorders that stopped recording, footage you cannot retrieve, and systems that lost remote viewing. Most faults are power, cable or configuration rather than a failed camera. Diagnosis is free, and we quote a fixed price before doing any work.
Security camera repair — what it costsRelated pages
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