spartikus1975

Hey guys I have done extensive searching for this answer but have not been able to come up with anything conclusive. I am trying to install a rear view camera on my 350z with my kenwood ddx770 head unit. What i want to do is wire the camera to my reverse lights but also have the ability to turn on the camera whenever i want to via the dedicated button on my head unit. It has a rear camera button. I have heard people saying they wire the power of the camera to the reverse lights and then connect the reverse signal wire from the head unit to the same area, this so far makes sense to me. i have also read that people who wanted to have the camera come on "manually" wire the camera to a constant on lets say the cig lighter. this also makes sense as the reverse signal wire will be wired to the reverse wire on the head unit but by wiring it this way it seems to me that the camera would be on all the time and i have read this can burn out the camera. so the obvious solution is to put a switch between the camera and the power wire which would be to the constant on which in this case would be the cig lighter. what i don't get about this set up is that if you wire it this way and have the switch to off when you put the car in reverse the camera won't come on as you will have to manually flip the switch on first which seems a little annoying. my thought is this could i wire the reverse lights to the head unit reverse wire so it will get the signal to turn camera on. then wire the power of the camera to the reverse lights and also to the cig lighter and put a switch between these so i would have the option to power the camera on and off with the switch but it would also still get power when the car goes into reverse. can anyone tell me if this makes sense? sorry for the extremely long post.

Spike100

Train A leaves Chicago headed to Boston, and Train B leaves Boston at the same time headed to Chicago. Train A is going 45 mph and Train B is going 65 mph. In what city will the two trains meet one another?

Wow… One big paragraph with long run-on sentences. (Just kidding)

You mention powering with a constant power supply. You don’t want that because it could drain the battery. Use an IGN switched power line.

I’m not familiar with the Kenwood ddx770 operation of a rearview camera, but here’s a basic solution you can refine.

Use a two way switch that controls power from (1) an ignition switched power lines, (2) and the backup light or reverse switch or whatever is powered when shifting into reverse.

When you go to position 1 in the switch, the camera has power no matter what (as long as the IGN is ON). Position 2 powers the camera only when reverse is engaged.

There is probably an “always on” feature in the H/U that might facilitate this setup. "Always on" means the camera will be ON whenever it is receiving power. A more sophisticated setup might use resistors to detect power from different sources.

People using rearview cameras often want the feature you describe. One good use is monitoring a boat trailer on the highway. Hopefully others here can provide other solutions.

--Spike

spartikus1975

Hey spike thank you for the reply I didn't think about the multi switch option. Sorry for the incredibly long uninterrupted paragraph.

spartikus1975

Okay so this is what I have come up with can someone chime in and let me know if I am on the right track. I am going to take the reverese light wire and send it to the reverse sensing wire of my kenwood headunit which is the DDX 770 model.

I am going to also take the reverse light wire and attach it to a single pole double throw switch on like in the picture I am attaching.

I am also going to take a wire from the positive side of the cig lighter to the switch.

Lastly I am going to take the a lead from the switch to the camera and ground the camera to chassis.

What I am hoping to accomplish is that with the switch in one position will allow rear camera to come on in reverse. Flipping the switch to the other position will allow the rear camera to be on all the time thus being able to access it with the manual headunit control.

By doing this I am hoping to avoid having camera getting power all the time but at the same time being able to see whats behind me while driving and also having camera accessed in reverse.

What do you guys think?