Im using the avic-F90bt. I have a backup camera installed and it works perfectly while in reverse. While driving my device has a feature to use the backup camera. The option is on the top of certain menus and i think says rear view. I press it to see the caution message up top when the backup camera is on but the screen is all black, no picture. I dont believe its the wiring since the camera works just fine in "R" as it should, just this feature is not working. For the backup camera i have only found 2 settings, one to turn it on or off and two to run on battery or some other option i have no idea what it is. I have my backup camera options set to "On" and "Battery". Any ideas? Thank you.

The camera is wired wrong. A lot of shops will wire it wrong to eliminate a step during install. Basically, they connected the cameras power wire directly to the reverse wire of the car which means it only gets power to the cam when the car is in reverse. It will need to be wired properly in order to work while not in reverse.

^^^^true^^^^ the camera needs to get power from an ACC circuit and be grounded all the time (just in case it has constant power and a negitive reverse trigger)

The camera is wired wrong. A lot of shops will wire it wrong to eliminate a step during install. Basically, they connected the cameras power wire directly to the reverse wire of the car which means it only gets power to the cam when the car is in reverse. It will need to be wired properly in order to work while not in reverse.

Figures! Im actually going back to the shop tomorrow morning to get my viper alarm system installed, same shop and guy that installed my avic-f90bt. What should i tell him? Thanks guys, figured it had something to do with the wiring/install. I would really like this feature to work, works great in reverse.

^^^^true^^^^ the camera needs to get power from an ACC circuit and be grounded all the time (just in case it has constant power and a negitive reverse trigger)

So tell the install guy the camera needs power from the acc curcuit and be grounded all the time? Sorry, i know nothing but install stuff or wiring.

Tell him the camera power and ground wires need to wired as any power and ground wire would be and that the reverse wire from the unit needs to be wired to the reverse wire on the car. He will probably try to charge you an extra install charge for it to work as it should. Tell him that is like charging you to install the wiring harness or the satellite antenna for extra. That you expected it to be done during the initial install. And that you knew the unit supported rear view capabilities and should be installed as such.

Tell him the camera power and ground wires need to wired as any power and ground wire would be and that the reverse wire from the unit needs to be wired to the reverse wire on the car. He will probably try to charge you an extra install charge for it to work as it should. Tell him that is like charging you to install the wiring harness or the satellite antenna for extra. That you expected it to be done during the initial install. And that you knew the unit supported rear view capabilities and should be installed as such.

Thanks! Its already wired to the reverse on the car so thats done already. Sounds like he just needs to wire the other wires to a power and ground? Im sure he'll know when i explain the backup camera working without the car being in reverse, just didnt know how to word it to him. Thanks! Lazy installers!

just show him exactly how its NOT working fully(in rear veiw mode) and ask him to fix it. and if he tries to charge you extra, tell him its not your fault the he didn't do it right the first time

Very interesting thread. The company where I bought my back up camera stated not to tie into the battery (duh!) but clearly recommended tapping into the reverse light circuit. I thought I'd have to add a separate switch and diode isolate to be able to use the manual rear view feature of the F90BT.

Can a back up camera handle being powered all the time that the vehicle is running without causing damage to the camera? It would be much easier to tap into accessory power than to do it the other way I mentioned.

Most of the cameras I have seen support wiring it that way in their installation manuals. I wouldn't worry about it.

Got it fixed for free. Guy did it in like 10minutes, just had to run or change a wire or something. Either way he fixed it quick and for free, works perfect now in reverse and by tapping the option while driving. Thanks guys!

my camera is on the whole time my car is on, some times i want to see what im towing, if the camera wears out, then it is not a good camera, and i will just buy another one

Thanks for the professional input. I'm going to change the wiring so that I can make use of that feature.

ahhh, search and ye shall recieve!! lol

Was wondering if the rear camera could be made to be on whenever I want.

this thread delivers!!!!

FYI, im planning on installing a cam on the front of my truck (facing forward angled down) so I can see the road on the other side of hills I climb lol

Tell him the camera power and ground wires need to wired as any power and ground wire would be and that the reverse wire from the unit needs to be wired to the reverse wire on the car.

Huh?? Maybe I'm just tired...

Could be tired.....

Camera power and ground to switched 12v and ground.

Reverse wire from Pioneer unit to reverse wire of car.

Obviously camera rca plug into reverse video input on Pioneer unit.

Result: camera powered up anytime car is on and Pioneer unit switches to reverse view when vehicle is put in reverse.

Just like VBLUE42 wrote

Thanks all I have this exact same problem.... I'm going to take my vehicle back today and hopefully get it fixed.

Took mine back to the shop, had them fix it as directed on this forum.... now it works perfectly.

Thanks All

Recently I wired up my camera to a switch, in addition to the normal rearview function, and I have to say that I like this way better.

Many here hook up their cameras to switched ign 12v+ and their reverse lights to the AVIC input. Thus the camera is always on when the vehicle is running and automatically switches to rear view when it's put in reverse. Also, when selecting rear view from the touch screen you can monitor whatever is going on behind you.

What I did was to ground the camera and connect the 12v+ of the camera to the AVIC reverse wire input and tie them both into the reverse lights. This makes the camera only active when the reverse lights are on--and the camera manufacturer recommends this. Then I installed another toggle switch which gets its feed from a 12v+ ign source. I cut the wire from the reverse lights to the camera and the AVIC and installed one diode in the reverse wire and another in the cold side of the switch, both pointing to the AVIC. Then I tied both diodes to the camera/AVIC connection.

I know that this has been covered before, but I really like this way for 2 reasons:

1.) The camera is only on when it's being used. Theoretically it should last longer.

2.) When I toggle my camera on the AVIC unit switches for me--I don't have to hunt through multiple screens to

get to the one that turns the camera on and off, while my reverse lights don't come on.

In my case, the camera only pulls 400 milliamps, so 2 simple 1N4002 diodes rated at 1 amp each worked fine.

Both ways work and the 'always on' way is easier, but IMHO this way is preferrable.