I was called to a shop to calibrate a camera on a 2023 Acura Integra that just had a new windshield replaced (Figure 1). There were no codes on the vehicle scan report, and no warning lights were on the dash. But the shop wanted the calibration done because the camera was dismounted from the old windshield and put into a what I call a “hangman position.” This is a trick many glass guys use to prevent any dash lights from being triggered during their windshield replacement procedure. They simply remove the camera from the windshield mounting area and let it hang by its wiring without unplugging it so it’s ready to be remounted to the new windshield.
But when remounting the camera, there is no guarantee it will be in the proper position as it was before on the original windshield, especially if the windshield comes with a new mounting pad. If it is an aftermarket windshield, it may even have a slight difference in pitch than did the factory windshield. There are some shops that may just let the vehicle go because there are no lights on because nothing was disconnected, but it becomes a liability issue. The manufacturer recommends that if a windshield is replaced, the camera must be recalibrated. This could set up a liability issue if the camera system cannot track the roadway properly and deviates slightly to either the right or left of its intended course.
At each shop I go to, I usually have a dedicated bay I use, and many of these bays present different challenges for me. It becomes a personal relationship with these shop bays to know how to set up the vehicle with that particular bay and what precautions I need to take. This particular shop is a very old shop, and it has many windows throughout the building for good lighting. But that poses issues for me with sunlight that will create a glare on the windshield and compromise the camera’s ability to focus on the target in front of the vehicle. There is one window in this shop that has sunlight glaring into the bay from the right side of the building (Figure 2) but if I go there early enough in the morning, it doesn’t pose a problem. It’s like my “window of opportunity,” and if I don’t beat the positioning of the sun, the only solution would be to cover the window with cardboard.
Performing an integrity check
During my setup procedure, I always start by doing an integrity check behind the camera mounting cover (Figure 3). You need to make sure everything is properly plugged in, the camera is seated properly, and the camera heating element is not compromised in any way. I have come across quite a few windshield replacement jobs where cameras were not snapped in properly or the camera heater/camera mounting pad were compromised. The other issue is to make sure that the mounting cover is tightly sealed against the windshield so as not to allow “intruding light” to interfere with the camera’s viewing area. These quick checks will save you a lot of time if your calibration fails after you have followed all the setup procedures with your equipment to properly aim the camera.
When setting up your vehicle, it’s always best to use two laser devices to grid the floor to make sure your frame machine is properly placed in front of the vehicle. I use a low profile four-line laser that will shoot a laser under the vehicle to hit a laser target that I have placed on the floor in the rear center of the vehicle (Figure 4). The laser will direct a laser line toward the front of the vehicle at the same time to create a centerline on my frame machine.
Then with the second laser mounted to the top of my frame machine, I simply shoot a laser line back to the vehicle to overlap the laser line created by the floor laser (Figure 5). This procedure gives me a precise grid on the floor so that I know my frame machine is properly squared with the vehicle.
A low-tech fix
My second challenge was that the garage door I was facing has windows in it, which created another problem of light glare for the windshield camera. I could have easily turned the car to face the back of the shop, but you need to understand that from my experience I have found the garage door to be the best background for camera calibrations. Most shops usually have so much stuff in the building from vehicle teardowns or just cumulative hoarding that could confuse the camera during its calibration process. It’s very easy for a camera to pick up another black or white object in its path and have trouble focusing on the targets. The fix here was to get an assistant in the shop who was willing to help me by holding two very large cardboard pieces to create a backdrop behind my targets to block the garage door windows (Figure 6). Once the criteria were all met for the camera calibration and the frame was raised to its proper height, I used the scan tool to command the camera to look for the targets that I had placed at equidistant specs from the centerline of the frame machine, and the procedure was successful.
The ADAS network is a critical system of components
This whole procedure went very well, and as a post procedure I made sure to calibrate the steering angle sensor and the ABS yaw sensor. The ADAS network is a critical system of components, and each player plays a role in the driver assist operations. The ABS is the main arbitrator of the system because it makes the final decision to stop the vehicle. The electronic steering system has the role of steering the vehicle, and it crucial to make sure the sensors within the ADAS network of the vehicle are properly calibrated so that the radar and camera systems on the same network can monitor the vehicle dynamics based on the learned geometry of the vehicle. The engine control system is also on this same network and is the propeller of the system. If any individual system fails in this network due to an error, then the whole system will default to inoperable and then you will have the “Christmas tree” effect on the dash.
How ADAS will become more complex
The future of these ADAS systems will only get more complex as the auto industry pushes for Level 4 systems to be standard on vehicles, which means there will be no need for a driver in the driver’s seat. This means more locking down of vehicle networks which will require you to have a manufacturer subscription to allow your scan tool to perform bidirectional command procedures to work on ADAS systems and other body control systems on board. There will be more encryption of data flowing through these vehicles to prevent “cyber vehicle hacking.” There will also be more complex systems that will focus on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. This will be an industry that can only drive you to keep yourself updated with your equipment and invest in the educational courses associated with these systems. You will have to buckle up and remove yourself from your comfort zone, because those who play out of the sand box will be the true blazing technicians to carry the torch into the future.
