Just got my Reverse Camera in the mail. I'm happy with what I received. Took From Mon-Thurs to arrive,.. not bad. I purposely found a US based seller in California to order from for the same price so I wouldn't have to wait on a boat from Asia.

Now still waiting on the brighter LED lights you guys told me to buy, but I will go ahead and install this before I get the lights in.

Anyhow,.. The Cord that came with the camera was what I was most curious about.

It's perfect.

It has The 12v end coming out of the Video RCA that goes into the headunit so I only have to run the one wire.. and just splice that 12v into the reverse wire on the Kenwood wiring harness!

Also,.. I measured the cable .. I was hoping it was super long, and it is.

It's about 20 Feet long. Which should be amply long enough to run it anyway I want to with slack in it.

Took some pictures of MY camera (with my Cell Phone) and cord just for reference of others who were looking at buying one.. as the stock photos you sometimes wonder about.

*Click on any picture for large version*

Here's the actual Camera:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12112217093/
One question about the Camera -- Would you mount it On the Driver or Passenger Light area? Given the Camera is on the "outside" of the Tag light assembly, it would make more sense to me to mount it on the Driver side light to make it more in the "center". But I see most put theirs on the Passenger. Any reason you guys put yours on the passenger side vs. Driver side?

Here's the Cord to show length: (Also labeled it)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12112312474/
And.. here are the connectors up close, again I labeled them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12112576356/
Looks solid to me. As others have mentioned the power from the power and ground wires that go to your reverse light wire(s) may be a little short, but no worries on soldering new wire onto them to extend them. I just wanted the 12v to actually run in the RCA cable that goes to headunit,.. and it does like the picture showed.

I may make a detailed "DIY" for this install.. we will see.. if so you'll see it done up like I did the Hatch Shock DIY I recently did.

Thanks for the advice on this little guy.

 

The lens provides a very wide-angle view, so driver or passenger side mounting makes little difference. Mine's on the passenger side because I tried it there first and was happy with it. Looking at the screen image, I probably couldn't tell you which side it's mounted on, if I didn't already know.

 

I drilled a hole in the bottom back corner of my flip-up compartment and the USB cable has plenty of length to reach. I leave a USB stick plugged in all the time. I would suggest doing something similar if you want to swap in/out USB stick/202 cord.

Thanks for keeping this thread going. Someday, I may decide to install a camera. By time I remembered I might want a rear camera, I was very close to completing my build. I didn't want to wait another week or so before reinstalling all the trim.

 

Gotcha.. I'll probably throw it on both sides as a mock up and just see if there is any difference.. then go with the passenger side if neither look any different than the other.

I already have a hole in the flip compartment above head unit.. Just was checking it a usb extension still allowed this KCA-202 cord to work or if this cable had to be the 'first' and only one into the headunits USB port.

I'm thinking of going ahead and grabbing a switch and relay and mounting if flush in the that compartment and wiring a 12v wire to it and then from it to the camera 12v so I can switch it on and off at any time.. May do it if the wiring is easy enough,.. which it should be.. just needs a 12v to turn on,.. although that may require running another power supply wire to the camera in the back..

 

Wiring the iPhone cable thru the cubby seems a bit sloppy. What about all the extra length of the cable? I ran mine under the center console, and out thru the handbrake opening. The phone tucks nicely between the console and the handbrake boot. If I need to access the USB connector, I can just pull back the shifter surround and it's right there. Here's a pic:



The end of the cable is white because that's the Apple Lightning convertor attached to the Kenwood cable, so I can plug in my iPhone 5. Also, no one's posted any pics of how they mounted the mic, so here's one of mine:



Tried a few locations, but this seemed to look and work best.

 

If you do this, you need to isolate the backup light circuit using a diode, otherwise the backup lights will come on whenever you manually switch on the camera. Not something you want to have happen when driving in a forward direction with other cars behind you.

 

All that sticks out into my cubby is the rectangular female USB connector. The cable is all zip tied together and behind the cubby. I have an S3, so no real need for the iPhone cable/adapters.

My mic is in the exact same spot. Seems to work well from what others have told me.

 

That's different, and I can see how that would work well enough with a USB phone. Also, I've got a separate GPS in my cubby:

 

I am running to cubby because I like my USB stick in there and for it to be "out of site" basically as it will be plugged in 99% of the time (and the outlet behind the seat and the one in front of the passenger seat easily charge the phone if it's not hooked in the USB.

Did you purchase the KCA cable to make your Iphone work 100% with the Kenwood? Or do you just run a USB and the phone works on some things but not everything? The MAIN thing I got this cable for was so my $50 Iphone Garmin GPS app will come through the video/screen and be controllable by the DDX470 Kenwood. With a regular Iphone cable it just doesn't pick up the Video (something proprietary about the KCA cable allowing Video to go to the Headunit.) -- Audio does come through the 3.5mm jack though. Shrug.

I have my mic in that exact location.. identical! It's the best spot and neatest looking (clean wise) imho.

 

I've decided I'm just going to run it without a switch.. I don't see the need in turning it on for any other reason.. to be honest.

 

I have the Kenwood cable and always have my iPhone plugged in. I listen to SiriusXM and Pandora using the iPhone as a source, just about all the time. Everything works as intended, and I basically never have to touch the phone. Never cared about the iPhone/Garmin GPS app because I prefer to have the GPS as a stand-alone. Not sure how all those things would work at the same time if all sourced on the iPhone, and the reviews I read about the Garmin app didn't seem too encouraging, at least to me.

I've never tried to send any video to the DDX470 from the iPhone, so I can't speak to that issue. I can tell you, since we were talking about wiring the other day, to ground the handbrake wire from the DDX470, which will allow you to watch DVD's with the handbrake off. My wife will occasionally watch a movie if we're on a long trip together.

What do you use the USB input for? Why not just keep all your music on the phone and be able to control song selection on the headunit?

BTW, I noticed something odd about Pandora since I got the DDX470. Previously, I had the DDX516, which didn't have Pandora controls (why I upgraded), so I listened to Pandora on the iPhone and fed it thru the USB. I'd get a commercial break about every 4th or 5th song (which is expected). Same happens with the DDX470, if I use the Pandora app on the phone and select USB on the DDX470. But, if I select Pandora on the DDX470, still using the iPhone as the source, I never get a commercial, ever. Does that make sense? Not that I'm complaining.

 

I have a Sirius XM box that came with the car and hooked into my old Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD -- But the plug doesn't match up for the DDX470 -- So I guess I'm just going to rip the Sirius box out?

Unless I can cut the connector off and somehow splice it into the headunit?

Or is there an adapter?

I looked online and some sales rep told me that I could not use the Aftermarket Sirius Box I had and had to order a whole new unit so it would fit the different plug on the Kenwood DDX470. Sounds odd to me, why couldn't there be an adapter to make it fit?

If you know of an adapter or some way to manually splice it in.. I'll certainly give it a try.. cause otherwise this Sirius Box is just coming out of the car.

As for the Garmin.. wellll.. I'm "testing it".. basically I have my phone rooted and jail broken.. so I have the $50-$60 Garmin GPS app on the phone for free right now,.. wasn't going to pay that money until it WORKED with my headunit. If it does, I'll go ahead and buy it.

Point is,.. I'll use the Garmin App like once in a blue moon for trips, or places I'm unfamiliar with. So the phone will be hooked into this KCA cable fully very rarely to be honest. But, the DDX470 has FULL integration with the Garmin application and with it running essentially turns the DDX470 into a navigation unit while the app is running. Shows everything on the screen, touch is enabled to control the Garmin Navigation.. Voice controls work,.. it's really a "cheap" and novel way to basically add Navigation to the headunit, and it functions just like a pure Garmin GPS unit you would buy, by itself.

Which, honestly, is the main reason I bought the KCA cable.

Here's another link that says the KCA 202 cable is absolutely needed to run the Garmin app among other things..

http://www.parts-express.com/kenwood...ooth--267-4107

So I really think that KCA 202 cable I'm installing tomorrow should make all this stuff work properly.

*Again, if it works.. I'll be buying the App.. if it doesn't, it get's deleted because it's 1.5 Gig.
Well,.. the cable allows Video from the Garmin app -- As the DDX470 supports this application exclusively,.. so that's the primary "video" I'm talking about for the Iphone in this KCA cable.

If you click this kenwood link.. and scroll down just a little you'll see it's native support for the Garmin app.

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entert...e_Video/DDX470

Any other video is just for a "What if" I want to hook something else into the headunit in the future.. who knows what.. but it has AV1 and AV2 which has video and audio RCA inputs.. so why not run cables to them so I can utilize that input with something if it ever comes up. (I'm all about maximizing the functions.)

I already did the Ground for the parking brake.. first thing I did --

The USB Input I use 99.9% for a 16-32GB Flash drive with tons of music. That's what I listen to 90%+ of the time over CD's, Radio, etc.. So it's my primary source of music. So it's absolutely imperative I have the USB able to be freed to have a USB stick in most of the time, and for a trip or something I can throw the Iphone in the USB slot and plug in the 3.5mm jack for the Garmin to work. Make sense?


That's sweet.. yes it makes sense.

My Pandora doesn't work right -- One,.. it doesn't connect at ALL through Bluetooth (and the phone is synched and works with bluetooth via the telephone calls, and when I select "bluetooth" source .. anything playing on the phone will come through my speakers. However, when I select the Pandora App on the headunit.. and then press Bluetooth for the connection to the phone,.. it doesn't do anything.

I've only gotten anything out of the phone by hooking the 3.5mm jack to it and trying to plug a regular iphone white cable to the USB jack.. then pressing "wired" on the Pandora app. This makes Pandora "sort of" work. It connects sometimes.. but it's really sketchy and the controls don't work right.

I updated Pandora on the Iphone 4,.. so it's not the phone.. So it MUST be that I didn't have the KCA specific cable hooked up. I'm hoping that's the case anyways.

That still doesn't solve why Pandora won't connect through Bluetooth on my Iphone 4 though.

Also,.. I LOVE Pandora -- but the audio quality is quite poor.. has some distortion in it, and sounds muffled.. So I doubt I"ll be using it much.. It's a shame I was looking forward to using it too.. I like it a lot.

If you have any tips to get Pandora to produce a higher quality audio let me know.

I have an Iphone 4 with I think 4GB of memory (may be 8).. but it's not much. So no music is stored on it,.. just doesn't have the space.. My music is slapped on my 32GB flash drive.. and a couple 4GB ones (and of course my old CD collection).

My Iphone is through Verizon and it runs through 3G,.. but that speed is fairly fast.. I've tested it through a computer at home.. it has plenty of speed to play the audio at higher quality than it does. So maybe you can give me an idea on how to improve the quality through Pandora and this Iphone 4.

I mean, I even have it running through my WiFi when working on it in the garage (which is 100Mbps connection).. and Pandora still sounds like a cassette tape, or worse.

So,.. essentially USB drive 90% of the time,.. If I could get Pandora quality higher, then Pandora would be used maybe 25% of the time. Umm.. Garmin for the rare occasion I need a GPS. CD's for the 100 or so CD's I have from back in the day,... and some I burn with MP3's, etc.. DVD's rarely, but I have watched a movie in the car, and with the System movies are really fun to watch.. nice sub action etc.

But today I had to do some other work,.. and got on the car late -- So I got the hatch taken apart.. (little more than I expected to pull out panel wise back there.. spare tire, and so on..) -- I managed to run the cable through the rubber seal/boot from Camera.. I mounted the Camera and put tag light in it (I mounted on the Passenger side cause it makes the camera be almost dead center of the car.. ) -- I put the license plate back on and it looks good.

So the car is sitting now with the hatch open and the Camera wires in the hatch area.. That was the only part I was "unsure" about .. the rest are panels I"ve removed half a dozen times,.. so no big deal -- I want to be rested and fresh tomorrow when I run those cables and really pull the headunit out to do all that wiring I have to do to it.. So tired now, I can't think straight and don't want to make any stupid mistakes with wiring.

But considering I have the camera mounted and the cables all in the car.. there's no guess work left on the install. Can't believe someone actually removed their bumper to mount that!

Any ideas you can provide would be appreciated,

Thanks

 

Trash the Pioneer/SiriusXM box - you'll never get that proprietary connector to work. The smart move is to get the SiriusXM app on your phone and get a subscription for it - that way you can have SiriusXM wherever you are.

I think you're missing the whole point of the Kenwood iPhone cable. Yes, it's required for the Garmin app, but it also sends a digital music stream to the headunit, so you'll get the best sound quality from iTunes, Pandora, SiriusXM, etc. If you use that 3.5mm cable you're sending an analog signal, which will have noise/distortion, as you've found, and you can't use the thumbs up/down on Pandora unless you do it on the phone. The Kenwood cable also allows the headunit to fully control the phone (even Siri works), so you really don't have to touch the phone once it's plugged in, whether you're using iTunes or Pandora. But, if you're using the SiriusXM app on your phone, you need to touch the phone to change channels. Or, if you buy a SiriusXM subscription specific to the headunit, you can't listen to it on your phone.

As for all that USB music, there is a limit to how large a drive the headunit will manage, but I don't know what it is. 32gb may be too large, and I know it was with my older DDX516. Also, outside of iTunes, it's more difficult to select songs, and there are no playlists and other handy iTunes features. You can't have everything, so you may have to make a compromise, or two.

 

Well.. everything is worth something.. So I'll sell it on ebay or something. Only thing is the magenetic antenna is on the roof near the front window. I have NO idea who the installer got that thing in that area. Any ideas on how to remove that magnet without cutting it?

Good idea on the phone app.

Well I was missing the point that the USB connections makes the audio quality that much better (cause pandora on my phone has always been lower quality because it's streaming at a lower bitrate by default... and I"m picky about what I listen to in regards to "quality).

But I'm glad to hear all these things with the KCA 202 cable.. as I wasn't sure if it would solve anything, but it sounds like it will make everything work on my Iphone integration with headunit finally.

Also,.. I don't use Itunes much at all really.. So, our uses are different, I'm more of a high quality mass collection on several USB sticks.. and you are more integrated with Itunes , Pandora etc.

Plus, Sirirus has never been my cup of tea.. I'd never pay the monthly fee for it.. Plus it's not super "clear" with this unit that came in the car (not that it works anymore anyway).

Yeah.. I know the filesystem size they recognize varies on how recent, even what firmware is on them. This one does pick up the 32GB. It's fast enough scanning through music for me.. and I often just throw say 10,000 songs on random.. and let it go.. skipping through any song I'm not in the mood for, once I get everything done being tweaked.

My phone is a NON siri Iphone 4 (non S) 4GB. Nice phone,.. but low memory. Voice commands do work with it.. so I can text , call, etc with the headunit holding the button (TEL)..

That Garmin app is seriously impressive.. Essentially it is no different than a dedicated Garmin GPS you buy.. but even better on the big screen of the headunit. That said, again, I won't be using it often.

My Iphone hasn't been my music source in a car really.. Except with my last car I'd plug in the Aux and play pandora (and it sounded 10 times better than this one does with the Aux.. But with that KCA cable, I hope you are right and the quality becomes MUCH better and I'll be using Pandora much more.

I don't suppose you know if when you go to settings and save your , well, settings.. if when you take out the headunit, and plug it back in later if you can restore them... or if when power is lost the headunit loses everything, even saved settings?

Thanks

 

My Pandora has the same sound quality as iTunes, SiriusXM, etc. thru the Kenwood cable.

here is a way to save settings on the headunit, somewhere on one of the setup screens. Not sure if it keeps settings if all power is disconnected, but I think it does. A few months ago I had my alternator replaced under the warranty, and I'd have to guess the dealer disconnected the battery during that job. IIRC, I was able to restore the settings easily.

I'd like to see a pic of that external antenna, and hopefully no holes were drilled.

 

No holes drilled.. It's just a 2x2 magnetic box that says Sirius XM and obviously sticks to the roof via magnet. It has a black cord running from it that seems to be going through where the A piller on the OUTSIDE (painted surface) meets the windshield. This is the part I'm unsure of.. obviously I'll have to pull it out with cord pulling through where it was fished through.. but it looks so incredibly tight with that outside panel that I have no idea how it was done. I guess I'll pull the inside Apillar panel and just trace the cord and see what it looks like.. if I can squeeze it through I get an intact antenna to sell with the XM box.. if not, I'll cut it and the antenna goes in the trash (or I can splice it back together I suppose.) This will all be an Ebay sale, or forum sale for the Aftermarket Sirirus XM box + antenna.

 

Done!

Put the Reverse Camera on the Driver side -- It's super "stealth" ... I like it, really no need for brighter tag lights, but I have them on the way anyways.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12148949215/
Then here's the image from the $24 Camera -- (Keep in mind it's at night)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12149197123/

Only thing I really noticed was it doesn't have any numbers.. But it's very accurate and super center from the start. Personally I don't "need" the numbers whether they are in Meters, Feet, etc..

I did test the "zones" Red, Yellow and Green. When I get up the "red" edge.. I got out and looked and I have about 5-6 inches till I am about to hit what is showing on that Red edge,.. I like a little room for error.

Did a TON of wire work,..

I completely and utterly gutted out the Pioneer Sirius XM system in the car.. and it was two boxes one on each side (Driver and Passenger side) -- I pulled all wires, and I even figured out how to get the Magnetic Antenna off without cutting anything. So now I have a Pioneer Sirius XM system that's 100% complete (and I think the original owner never turned off his subscription.. doh) that I can sell for something.

I GROUNDED the headunit,.. man was that needed. I decided to run a slightly larger ground wire down to the floor where some large bolts were,.. and it was a super solid ground (be good enough for any wattage amp).

When I hooked the headunit back up ,.. I left the antenna out,.. and it fired right up,.. so I know the "lack" of a ground was an issue for the car.

Plus no more SHOCKS.. that lack of a ground was causing the shock, I knew it wasn't normal.

I wired in the Illumination wire (although it doesn't do anything with this headunit that I've found out yet,.. maybe a setting I need to adjust.)

I wired in the Power to the Power Antenna Amplifier (FM Radio now is clear, yay.. that wasn't wired in on the old headunit.)

Obviously wired in the Reverse wire, and plugged in the Video In RCA I ran from the Tag.

Pulled out two USB cables I had piggybacked -- And "wired"/plugged in the Kenwood KCA iP-202 cable,.. One into the Ipod/Aux line on back of headunit,.. and run the USB female connector up into the cubby above headunit.

Ran a Male to Male 3.5mm to another 3.5m Jack (I think it might be an output,.. meh.) But it's in the Cubby just in case.

I did an unbelievable amount of "cleanup" wiring. I had it all apart and was looking at previous installs and where every wire actually went, and there was all sorts of wires tapped in going nowhere, wires that were spliced together for whatever reason with like 1-2" pieces of wire, etc. So I cut a ton of wire out and Soldered new single connections in just for peace of mind.

Cleaned up the Reverse Camera wiring from back to front last. Took a little longer than I thought, but not bad. Really took my time Zip tieing and using a little tape where necessary, Runs all along factory wiring that's grommeted.

Took me some hours doing this.. Near the end (the whole time I had the Headunit on listening to music.. ) The Music stopped, then would come back on.. I was like, hrmm CD? Then I started to hear a click off.. click back on.. and eventually it just clicked again and stayed off.

I was like,.. oh no, what now! I better not have to pull that damn headunit out again. Looked at amp and sure enough it was in protect mode (but protect light was sort of flickering).

I was like, maybe it's just a low battery (I had no idea amps went into Protect when Voltage dropped low enough).

Sure enough the Battery was 11.xx volts.. Just to test I tried to start the car, and clickkkkkk.. I actually breathed a sigh of relief lol. -- Hooked up my Battery Charger on 6amps @ 12v DC,.. let it charge for 30 minutes or so, had a meter on it, and it got up to about 13 volts'ish.. and I pulled charged off, and it fired right up.

Turned music back on with car running and everything was fine! Yay, for once I finish up and everything is koscher, lol.

I'm glad to have the reverse Camera,.. but I'm really happier to be honest about the headunit being Grounded now. Damn car doesn't shock me anymore, and I know that shock couldn't have been "Good" for the electrical system and equipment in there.

I think I've just about exhausted everything "Electrical/Stereo" wise now..

Sooooo.. Time to shift to Performance mods haha..

Thanks for all you guys help and advice,..

 

Took forever to get here.. But my LED Reverse Lights and Tag Lights arrived.

The Reverse lights weren't the best design.. I had to dissassemble them and pull all the pins and resolder them.. as when I plugged them in they would only work when you "jiggled them".. and with a light in a moving car that's not gonna fly lol. Wasn't a big deal though, took maybe 3-4 minutes .. after the solder fix they are great! The tag lights just plugged right in no issues.

I always try to take at least one or two pictures for the heck of it if anyone is interested in these lights you linked to me, and I have now linked again and bought (hey there are only a few dollars)..

Pictures don't do it justice, especially on lights.. but they look much "cooler" something I didn't really expect .. but they are 10 times brighter.

Here's a picture where I left the Driver side reverse light in with the normal OEM bulb. You can tell how much different the color/shades of the lights are.

*The Tag LED's are in of course in this picture as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12233298703/
And one final shot of them all in.. Again, they are much brighter than the old bulbs,.. I highly recommend installing these bulbs even if you aren't putting in a Reverse Camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111739693@N04/12233528414/

 

Those "bulbs" must have changed a bit in the few years since I bought mine, but I'm glad you figured out a way to make them work. Mine plugged right in with no issues, and the color is a more neutral white. Either way, the extra brightness is very nice, and I've got similar bulbs (except amber) in the signals front and rear, too. Those require resistors to make the flasher work properly, but again, well worth the effort.

 

The bulbs are great -- It's just on those Reverse bulbs the construction where the leads from the LED inside come out of the socket (very similar to a light off a christmas tree..) are poorly put together.. (ie: Loose sockets on both bulbs).. and the ends that come out were way too short to keep a solid connection. With my electrical experience I was easily able to not be "afraid" to properly take them apart (from socket) and resolder those connections to make the sockets of the bulbs tight and moreover the metal connectors considerably longer so when I plugged them in they would stay lit up and weren't "loose" where a jiggle would make them go off.

What was happening with the way those were.. is you could touch them to the end of the top of the connector and they would light up.. but once you actually pushed them into the connector the leads weren't long enough and they would go off. They are cheap in price, so maybe the manufacturing has gone down? Shrug. But certainly nothing to worry about if you can essentially operate a soldering gun and have 3 minutes of time.

I'm very happy with them. They look very BLUE in those pics.. They are a blue "tint'.. but in real life they are more of a bright white LED -- Quite similar to the xxxx K rating of the HR headlights I have. I'd recommend them to anyone,.. but I can see many people getting those reverse bulbs if they were like mine.. and trashing them because they didn't know they could easily make them work fine with some slight adjustment.

I hope for others sake I just got two separate bulbs that were for some reason both "faulty" in their construction at the bulb/socket entrance.

The blinkers themselves need to be Amber to me. I know some people put clear lights in them.. But to me a blinker needs to be Amber to properly signify to others the turn signal with the contrast.

I would be interested in them though.. have a link for the exact parts for the bulbs you use for your rear and front blinkers? I'll probably buy them and throw them in.. as I like LED's for lights, especially in places that aren't exactly super fast to get to .. like those reverse lights, while not hard.. do take a little time to remove the tail-light and then get the tail light off without breaking those two very fragile clips.

Thanks