As promised a long time ago , a step by step guide with pictures to allow you to replace the battery pack in a Venture Cam solving the issues whereby the camera won’t switch on or switches on briefly then turns off.
When I got my Full Fat, it had this problem, I asked the dealers to investigate it and they checked the charging cradle etc, etc, finally stating that the problem is most likely to be the camera itself.
As it appeared to be a battery issue with the unit, it was excluded from the warranty, as it was general wear and tear. I was offered a good will gesture which I declined as the cost of a new Venture Cam was circa £400, I could not justify the cost for the amount of times I would use it.
Being the person I am, I could not have something on the car which did not work, I decided, I would have a go at fixing it myself. I found a lot of useful info on the forum, thanks to all the previous posts from other members. To avoid plagiarism claims, I am not the sole contributor to this fix, I have collated the wealth of knowledge on this subject from this very forum and added it into my own experience of doing the job.
I am not an electronics engineer; I have some very basic knowledge of ‘elastic-trickery’ and some mediocre soldering skills (as you will see from the pictures).
The cost is around an hour or two of your time, maybe a couple of burnt fingers from a soldering iron and less than £20 for parts.
Tool list: Soldering Iron, Flat screw-driver, Stanley knife or craft knife. Hammer
Sundries: Solder, Small length of copper cable (2.5mm Twin&Earth – House mains cable is fine), 6 X AAA 850mah rechargeable batteries, strong electrical tape (duct tape), Gasket sealant.
The Fix:
Look at the join line around the Venture Cam – starting at the end furthest from the lens, insert a flat blade screwdriver and gently prise open the case. Inside there is 3 plastic clips, one near this point and one each side near the shoulder in the casing. It is also sealed with gasket sealant all the way around the joint. Lift the top cover away from the cam, inside looks like this (Ignore the Red light):


Notice the 4 connections to the main circuit board – 1 at the bottom ( Red and black wire from charging pins, 1 top left side (mulitiple wires [battery pack]) and 1 top right (two brown wires) these are all plugs; carefully prise them out using the raised edges of the plug. The 4th connection is a ribbon cable, you need to slide the White part forwards towards the camera front, then carefully remove the ribbon cable from in the slot. Pay attention to how far it sits in the connector as you need to push it properly home on re-assembly.
Remove all connections and lift out the main circuit board, it may be held in place with a bit of gasket sealant this can be carefully removed with the knife.

You get this:

The light green block in the bottom is the battery pack, it is stuck into the bottom of the casing with double sided foam tape. Prise the battery pack out of the case.

Inside the bottom casing there are some splines, as the battery pack you’re going to make and due to my not so neat soldering, it ends up a millimetre or two wider than the original, trim back the splines with the knife so it looks like this:



Put all the parts aside and get ready to make your new battery pack…
Firstly remove the outer plastic sleeve from the original battery pack, a small cut at the edge will allow you to peel it off. Inside is the battery pack: consisting of 6 AAA rechargeable batteries. They are soldered in series to provide the correct voltage (7.2V). We’re going to replicate this, but use better 850mah batteries, which means the Venture Cam will last slightly longer than with the original battery pack.
I picked up 6 of these batteries from a local hardware store, they were £6 for a pack of four (you need six in total):


Lay the battery pack down wires uppermost, identify the battery terminals (flat is negative, the nipple is positive) lay out your 6 batteries in the correct orientation to match the original, I pushed them up to a straight edge (non-conductive [not metal]) to level them, then taped them together like this:




Next get your piece of wire – I used a single strand from 2.5 mm mains cable, I removed the insulation, placed it on a flat surface (top of vice) then hammered it until it was a thin flat bar (as above pic).

I then trimmed it to the correct length and began to solder the batteries together like this. I scored the top of the battery terminals to help the solder bond:


Once one edge is complete;

Turn the pack over and solder on the last two pieces:


The original battery connector is connected at the top and bottom edge Positive (red) and negative (black). Also within the wires is a small blue component, I am pretty sure this is a thermistor which stops the battery pack from charging if the batteries become too hot. The whole of the circuit should be retained for safety. Carefully cut the silver bar / tape connectors retaining as much length as possible from the positive and negative terminals of the original battery pack. Remove the small squares of insulating tape and replace on your new battery pack in the same location.
Solder the whole battery circuit onto your new battery pack, being careful not to allow the two ends to touch any of the batteries other than where they are supposed to be connected to. Like this:



Once all the connections were made I wrapped the whole pack in duct tape, any electrical tape will do. Be sure to leave the plug in the correct place as per the original battery pack:



I used, similar to the original, double sided foam tape and stuck the battery pack back into the bottom casing, making sure it sits flat in the bottom as it’s a tight fit when the main circuit board goes back on the top. This is why it’s important to be precise when soldering your battery pack together and aligning the batteries perfectly straight.
Once in place, fit the Main circuit board back into the casing re-connecting the three plugs and the ribbon cable remembering to push it fully home.
Once all connections are made and the circuit board is in place, I tested the Camera:
In the middle of the circuit board is a Red switch, a short press should result in the two green LED’s either side of the switch beginning to flash


a further short press should activate the torch mode lighting around the lens with Red coloured LED’s:



If this works, you’re in business, if not re-check all your connections.
Last bit:
Get your gasket sealant and run a small bead of sealant around the raised joint of the bottom casing, you will be able to see where the join is, as it will have remnants of the old sealant still there. Try to be neat as this will save it squeezing out of the edge of the casing, it can be removed once dry.
Push the two pieces of casing together, you can hear the plastic clips click into place.
I then place the camera on a flat surface and place a couple of heavy-ish books on top of it, this allows time for the gasket sealant to cure and will ensure a water tight seal.
Leave it to set completely no, matter how tempting it is to go outside and pair it with your car.
Once its cured, take your Venture Cam outside and follow the pairing procedure from your handbook, if the Cam is the original one from your Full Fat it may have retained its pairing.
Switch on with a short press of the switch, ensure it all works correctly.
Celebrate with a beer or two and ponder what on earth you will actually use your Venture Cam for…
But bask in the glory of saving yourself circa £380 and revel in the knowledge that everything fitted in your car actually works!
Hope this is helpful for someone as its took me ages to type with one burnt finger.

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  
Had it, loved it!
2007 Vogue SE TDV8
Stornoway Grey / Ivory
Climatic Seats, RSE, AFS, Deployable steps, iPod kit.

Great write up  2007 Zermatt Silver TDV8 Vogue SE - now sold but was a great car!

wiki'fied...  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

hehe cool

So really, I should have done this before I sold you the venture cam then?!
Good write up..  Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

To be honest I bought yours as I was missing the mounting kit.
I have repaired my own, one for a family friend and just finished repairing the one you sold me this morning.
My intention was (after consulting you) to repair it and offer it back for sale on the forum to recover the price I paid you plus the £9 it cost me for the batteries. My payment was hopefully going to be the mounting kit for free!
What do you think Mr Contraband? 
Had it, loved it!
2007 Vogue SE TDV8
Stornoway Grey / Ivory
Climatic Seats, RSE, AFS, Deployable steps, iPod kit.

As it is yours.. Feel free to do as you please..  Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

Some people get a bit 'touchy' over things like this, hence the enquiry. 
Had it, loved it!
2007 Vogue SE TDV8
Stornoway Grey / Ivory
Climatic Seats, RSE, AFS, Deployable steps, iPod kit.

i repaired a cam in this way last year, using ordinary rechargeable batteries and doing a bit of soldering.

when it was all stuck back together, i put it in the dock in the car and after a few mins it recognised the cam and started charging as normal.

the only problem is it doesnt actually produce a picture!!! as i said everything else including the red lights work perfectly.

anyone any ideas as to why i have everything but a picture?? Current: TDV8 (3.6) RRS HSE



Past: TDV8(4.4) Vogue
Discovery 3 Commercial
TDV8(3.6) Vogue
TD6 Vogue
D2 V8 ES
D1 V8 ES
RR Vogue Classic

It might be that the car itself isn't "finding" the venturecam. I'm sure that there are instructions in the cars handbook for tuning the venturecams for the car to find.

Good luck...Robert. The reason women's minds are cleaner than a mans mind is that women change their minds more often!
When women say fine a mans in deep doodoo as fine has so many meanings.

Stu, I'm not too far away, I'm sure we could sort out a convenient time / place. You can try my camera in your car, which should identify if its your camera or the receiver in the car. 
Had it, loved it!
2007 Vogue SE TDV8
Stornoway Grey / Ivory
Climatic Seats, RSE, AFS, Deployable steps, iPod kit.

Have you tried first deleting all cameras from the system then re-pairing it? 
Had it, loved it!
2007 Vogue SE TDV8
Stornoway Grey / Ivory
Climatic Seats, RSE, AFS, Deployable steps, iPod kit.

hi, yes i have tried everything!! it is just a nuicance when you have gone through all the stripping and repairing to fall at the final hurdle.

it's not the end of the world as it is a spare cam. i know that the car is ok as the other cams work fine, thanks for the offer of help though. Current: TDV8 (3.6) RRS HSE



Past: TDV8(4.4) Vogue
Discovery 3 Commercial
TDV8(3.6) Vogue
TD6 Vogue
D2 V8 ES
D1 V8 ES
RR Vogue Classic

Followed your instructions, car now pairs etc, info comes up that the camera is docked and charging, put new batteries in and it works fine.
Many thanks for the info etc.
Nic

No problem Nic, glad the info was useful for you  
Had it, loved it!
2007 Vogue SE TDV8
Stornoway Grey / Ivory
Climatic Seats, RSE, AFS, Deployable steps, iPod kit.