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Do I need to Tap into the reverse lights for the backup cam if..
Hey guys! I have a backup cam and I tested it out on my pc, by connecting it to a converter I have that takes rca cables and relays the video to the pc moniter. This way, I confirmed the cam is fully functional. For power source, the back up cam I connected to a small 12v testing battery I have, with just the back up cam's plus and negative wires. The other wires of the camera are 2 rca's, each with a red wire sticking out.
My question is when I install the cam in my car and connect it to my pioneer avh-2400bt touchscreen, can I skip the red wires on the ends of the 2 rca inputs (THE ONES WITH THE "X" ON THEM IN THE PIC)? I believe it should work since the pc test was setup with just the power and ground connected (CIRCLED ON PIC IN RED). The reason behind this is I want to be able to switch the back up camera on and off manually, from the touchscreen, vs. it going on automatically, every time I put it in reverse.
Sincerely,
BelarusesZ
Last edited by BelarusesZ; 01-29-2017 at 07:37 PM.
when I install the cam in my car and connect it to my pioneer avh-2400bt touchscreen, can I skip the red wires on the ends of the 2 rca inputs (THE ONES WITH THE "X" ON THEM IN THE PIC)?
Yes provided you connect the reverse trigger wire from the head to 12v+ power via some kind of physical switch. I would check the manual for your head unit, but I don't think you can switch to this video feed directly from the touchscreen itself. Normally the red wire (with the "X") tells the head unit the car is in reverse so it shows the cam video on the head unit monitor. So you need to replace this with another 12v+ source via a switch.
I know this is an old thread but the problem is currently new to me. I recently purchased a backup camera with slightly similar wiring in the OP and need some guidance on installing on my Base model 350Z. I have the JVC KW-AVX810 head unit that has a plug for "camera" and I also see a "purple" Reverse" wire that I have no idea of which wire to splice into it. I've heard that there is another "Reverse" wire in the trunk of the car that also requires tapping into and again, I'm clueless. I purchase the backup camera off of Amazon.com (
The purple reverse wire gets tapped into the 12v+ wire for your reverse lights (in the trunk) so it automatically tells the head unit to switch views to the camera.
As far as the other wiring, in your second pic, the wire with the red plug - on the other end there are two wires. One black (ground) and one red (power). Ground the black wire and connect the red wire to a 12v+ positive source that is energized whenever the car is 'on' or in 'acc.'
If your head unit has the capability, you can view the rear camera on the screen without being in reverse.
The other method (if your head unit does not have the capacity to view the camera while not in reverse), you can connect both the red wire and the reverse trigger wire from your head unit to the + positive reverse trigger wire. This way, the camera is only on when you put your car in reverse.
Last edited by Heel Til I Die; 05-18-2017 at 10:27 AM.
If you wire the cam to automatically come on with the reverse lights, and you also have another parallel circuit to manually switch the camera on, don't you think the reverse lights will also come on when you manually switch the camera on? Not what you want, right?
If you're going with the second method that I posted, then the purple reverse wire needs to be spliced into the red power wire in your pic and then those two wires need to be tapped into the positive reverse light wire in the trunk.
In the below pic, you would need to splice the purple reverse wire into the 12+ (Red) TO REVERSE LAMP POWER wire with the purple arrow by running a separate "trigger" wire all the way back from your head unit to the trunk area.
If you wire the cam to automatically come on with the reverse lights, and you also have another parallel circuit to manually switch the camera on, don't you think the reverse lights will also come on when you manually switch the camera on? Not what you want, right?
Some (not all) newer head units don't require a manual switch to trigger the head unit into thinking it's in reverse to view the rear cam. My last two head units had the feature where you could go into the "view" settings and see the rear camera view while driving without the reverse lamps being illuminated. I'm thinking it's probably a feature if you're towing something and you want to keep an eye on what's behind you.
But that's otherwise correct - if you wired up a manual switch with a 12v+ source to trigger the head unit into thinking the car is in reverse and you spliced all three wires together, then the rear lamp would light up when you hit the switch.
Heel Til I Die, that is the exact diagram that I'm looking for and that makes so much sense to me now! Sir, I can't thank you enough for your time and effort.
All you need to do is add a diode in the red 12V+ power lead from the reverse lights. That way, current can flow to the camera, but will not flow the other way if you install a manual switch.
No worries. A little bored at work today so I checked out the manual for your JVC. It appears to not have the function of viewing the rear camera when not in reverse so you'll be fine using the connections I previously posted and splicing the three wires together to only view in reverse.
If you can't figure out which of the two wires from the reverse light is 12v+, you can check the FSM for your year. IIRC, the ground wire is black so it should be the other one.
01-29-2017, 07:35 PM
Do I need to Tap into the reverse lights for the backup cam if..
