70mai Dash Cam A510 - help identifying connector on camera module

[m1ch43lzm]

Hi everyone
I have a 70mai Dash Cam A510 which failed after about 3 months of being installed in my car, likely due to heat, i got it from aliexpress so no point in trying to return it for warranty (and shipping it back would cost me almost the same as a new one from ali)
The camera would boot loop showing 70mai logo on the screen, sometimes it would boot fine then the live view would freeze or display purple lines

I already took it apart, and found out that the camera boots fine if i unplug the camera module from the main PCB, sometimes "playing" with the connector on the camera module side, or adding pressure with a piece of tape on the flex cable and fitting the camera module into its housing would make it work, but it's unreliable, it would work for few seconds (i once got it to work for hours) then the image would freeze, sometimes the image gets back but when that happens, the recording on the micro SD stops at the point where the video froze

I need help identifying this connector, pin pitch is 0.4mm, 30 contacts, likely Hirose or another manufacturer
Maybe it's similar to one used in cell phones, but i can't find an exact part
I already tried resoldering the connector, the residue is flux
Added pictures of the connector at the camera module, and the flex cable

Not sure if it belongs in this forum section (as it says "weird devices"), or on the TV/video sources

Any help is appreciated

[CapLeaker]

Some sort of a 30 pin FPC / FFC connector for flex cables and small main boards like phones, etc.
I suppose you could get rid of the connector and solder small wires between the board and flex.

[m1ch43lzm]

Hi, I'm trying to find a similar connector so I don't end up soldering 30 wires...
Maybe someone else knows of the same connector used in another device, so I could search on AliExpress for "fpc connector for xxxx"

[CapLeaker]

Just search Ali and go through the suggestions.

[m1ch43lzm]

I think i found it after looking a lot of pictures on ali

YXT-BB10-30S-02 for the female socket (on flex), YXT-BB10-30P-02 for the male plug (on the board)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005571026167.html

Or this one OK-23GM030-04 and OK-23GF030-04
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008342022492.html

I measured the connector with a vernier caliper and these ones are the closest match

Actually the flex cable has both male and female ends, attached picture for reference, now to find a source for that gray conductive cloth tape, the glue doesn't stick anymore (maybe it's not critical, used for grounding)

Datasheet attached for the connectors
2409302203_YXT-YXT-BB10-30P-02_C2763974.pdf
Spec_Draw_OK-23.pdf

[stj]

did you try cleaning it with IPA and a toothbrush?

[m1ch43lzm]

stj yes, several times, also with contact cleaner and WD-40, no change, even tried scratching the inside of the connector with tweezers

I tested diode mode (red probe on GND) on what looks like the data lines with the flex plugged in, and I get OL on the pin of the flex corresponding to the rightmost pin of the bottom row on the camera module, and also on the 6th pin counting from the left, bottom row, from the first picture of post #1 (on the rest of the data pairs is fine, and on the GND pins)

On the corresponding pin on the camera module, it's 0.310, on the pin to the left of it is 0.309, on the rest of the data pairs is around the same (from 0.310 to 0.350)

So yes, that connector is intermittent, not mating properly, the dashcam wouldn't fully boot if even one of the data lines from the camera module is faulty
But if the camera module is fully unplugged, the dashcam boots fine and starts "recording", the menus work
Only if the connection manages to get stable enough for about 20 seconds while the dashcam boots, then you get an image, but then the image freezes if by chance the connection gets broken afterwards (and the recording gets cut at that point), but the REC indicator and the time/date are updated on the screen as if nothing happened, so even if it manages to "work" fine for a while then the connection glitches for a split second (and the image gets moving again), the recording gets cut at the first moment when it glitched

So you think everything is fine, then you find out you got missing footage, talk about bad firmware design that cannot handle an intermittent connection with the camera module, and it requires the micro SD to be inserted at all times to get a live image, otherwise you get a message on the screen with black background, that asks you to insert memory card

It's like they use the micro SD card as a buffer/temp file for playing back the live view

[stj]

wd40 will destroy the boards- clean it with ipa again fast!

[CapLeaker]

wd40 will destroy the boards- clean it with ipa again fast!

Plus it stinks like a cow had a bad sh*t inside.

[m1ch43lzm]

I already cleaned it with isopropyl and contact cleaner spray using a qtip before posting the pictures, what you see in the first pictures is the actual state of the board and connector
Don't worry about it, it was used to try to clean the contacts, afterwards cleaned with isopropyl and contact cleaner, but that couldn't remove the traces of flux you see between the pins

The flux I used was "mechanic 559", a Chinese knockoff of Amtech 559, it's more white in color than the real stuff (at least from the videos i saw), and if you heat it for a long time it easily turns into a black goo that's difficult to clean, isopropyl alone doesn't do anything to it, you have to keep scrubbing it with a toothbrush

Not easy to get the real amtech or any well known brand of flux in my country, the phone repair tools shops here (shops which sell supplies to the phone repair shops) sell Chinese tools/soldering supplies, they also sell a fake amtech RMA-223 like the one found on AliExpress

And it wasn't exactly WD-40, but some multipurpose spray from a local brand that's similar, i figured you all are more familiar with WD-40

It doesn't smell that bad compared to the real WD-40 (I have some leftover cans of it, where the propellent ran out but there's some liquid inside)

What it says on the can
ingredients:
Rust removal oil 42.5%
Engine oil 22%
Anti-rust oil 10.5%
Dimethyl ether 25%

Attached a picture of the spray I used if you're interested

[m1ch43lzm]

Anyway, I ordered 5 each of OK-23GM030-04 and OK-23GF030-04 connectors from AliExpress
Have to wait around 3 weeks for them to arrive