Hi all, have a question regarding back up camera install. I have an AVIC-F90BT and quickly wired up a cheap ebay back up camera.

I likely did not wire this correctly as the camera is turns on only when I switch to rear camera on the head unit and in reverse gear.

I ideally would like to have the video camera turn on once I am in reverse without having to toggle to the camera button on the headunit.

Here are my connections:

I wired the (red) wire from the video camera to the reverse lamp power wire.

Grounded the black wire.

plugged video RCA cable into head unit.

Appreciate any advice.

Thanks.

I'm doing the same thing right now with the same unit.

There should be a Light Purple (mine has a tag) wire coming out of the back of the head unit for a Reverse Signal wire, you will have to connect that wire to which ever wire your car uses for a reverse signal.

You could use the reverse lamp power wire for this, or you can try to find a wire at the front of the car that is only powered when you're in reverse.

Are you able to use the Rear View button when the car's not in reverse? You can connect the camera power to a switched wire to where you can use it anytime the car is on and not only in reverse using the rear view button.

yup, your avic need the reverse wire (purple/white) connected so that it knows when the car is in reverse.

Thanks guys for pointing out this purple signal wire. Rear cam is connected to the reverse lamp power wire as I don't see any reason to have cam on when moving.

Works like a charm now.

for the average person or an install in a car, they usually wouldn't need the camera on while going forward, but it is useful to keep a closer eye on a load being towed.

great that you got it figured out!

This forum has been great.

Follow-up question after reading this post.

My backup camera (Sony) also has a clamp connector to piggy back onto the reverse lamp lead for 12+. Assumingly to only get power for when the car is in reverse. not constantly.

But.. As Stated above. The HU will allow me to toggle to my reverse camera for forward operation like towing. However if my camera PSU only turns on hooked to reverse lead, then forward operation won't get a signal with no power to camera AV.

I'd like any advice on my options:

1) run the camera to constant 12V (maybe distributed off my lower gauge subwoofer lead?)

- if I kept blowing fuses or the PSU can't handle continued use this might not be a good option to blow a capacitor in there.

2) keep camera on reverse lead (plus connected HU to this lead) and submit to F**ng Sony

Couple other random Questions befor I dart peeling panels off...

I understand you want the fuse to be as close to your power source, but in a camera mount, can't the trailer wiring location/harness be used to get the reverse lamp and/or constant power and other control signals.

The fuse is to protect your accessory, so if it's all in one place from a lead to other accessories factory ready, then is there any loss to hooking into that?

Like for instance to compromise maybe hook the camera PSU power into the taillamp/parking lamp lead on the trailer wiring so I could still power it up by the steering wheel without needing to be in reverse. Sucks at night, the camera will always be on.

Now if we can only record to an SD the camera in case of accident. That'd be a cool option. Mount camera front and back.

Have a great day if you read this post.

Thanks to all who contribute. I've learned a lot in the past week.

your solution is simple, do not connect your camera wire to the constant power because the camera will never shut off and it will drain your battery over night.

run the power wire for the camera up to the red ACC wire at the radio and hook the reverse wire from the radio up to the reverse light. this way the camera will only be on when the radio is turned on so it can be manually selected when ever you want, and also the radio will switch over to it when the car is in reverse automatically.

also, do not use the t-tap that comes on that wire, cut it off and tap into the wire correctly.

Thank you very much. That makes much more sense then constant power.

How does not using the clamp vs tapping into the red ACC wire via cutting it and patching in change things?

Or are you more aiming for the connection to be more rugged then the clamp connection?

Just curious as the desired result seems to the same.

Thanks again!

the way T-taps work is by cutting into wires with a metal blade to make the connection, this then weakens the OEM wire that you are tapping into by cutting through a lot of the strands (sometimes cutting 60-70% through the wire) so now you have weakened the wire to the point of normal vibrations or movement could sever the wire completely, or by adding enough resistance to either cause excessive heat or arcing and causing a fire.

if this is a wire that is exposed to the elements, a wire should be soldered, where a T-tap will allow the wire and the connection to corrode at a much faster pace than if the wire was inside the car.

The H/U has the option to manually activate the camera input, but if the camera is powered by the reverse lights, it doesn't work. I did not want to have the camera always powered up when the car is on, but installing a switch to power the camera means that I have to turn it on when I shift into reverse, reducing the simplified convenience of having it automatically turn on.

I found my solution.

1. Cut the camera input trigger wire coming from the reverse light wire that runs from the kick panel.

2. Run the power wire for the camera to the front of the car.

3. Splice the H/U end of the trigger wire from step 1 and the camera power wire together and attach a female spade connector.

4. Put another space connector on the reverse light end of the wire from step 1.

5. Tap into a +12V accessory line - I used one of the cigarette plug wires

6. Cut a hole and mount a SPDT On/On rocker switch into it. I mounted mine just above the 12V outlet of the center console. It is completely out of the way but still very easy to access.

7. Connect the spliced H/U trigger wire and camera power wires ino the common terminal of the switch.

8. Connect the remaining wires with spade connectors on the two open terminals of the switch (doesn't really matter which).

Now you can have the switch on one side, which will activate the camera and H/U backup function only when the car is shifted into reverse.

When the switch is on the other side, it manually powers the camera and activates the H/U backup function.

It's really simple when you think about it, but quite handy and kind of neat to be able to do, especially without any relays or diodes.

No grounding. One side of the switch has the reverse light wire, the other has a steady 12v. The common or center goes to your head-unit (where your reverse wire used to go) spliced in with the camera power wire. That's it.

Hey guys, just a question, I have an OEM Camera for my Ford Escape already installed in my rear view mirror. My HU is an X930bt and I was wondering if this will work, I want to install another camera at the back so whenever im driving I can flip a switch and see on my HU screen for toeing purpose. Can I simply do this, plug the camera power source into my back rear lights (Always on) when the car is on using T-Tap, then running the video to the HU. If I want to switch into the camera mode while driving forward I will need to manually switch it on the HU so I can see the back or connect the reverse cable on the HU to my reverse cable in the car, can I simply add a switch, connect the HU reverse wire to a constant power source and whenever I want it to be turned on I hit the switch while driving forward and the HU screen will automatically change display? I know if I do it this way then the HU will not switch automatically when I put it in reverse which is fine because I have the rear view mirror already. If I go this way what switch should I get and what power source should I tap in for the reverse cable at the back of the HU? Should it be 12V?

Thanks

first off, never use "T taps" throw them in the trash right now, all they do is damage the factory wire.

if you want to have another camera just for towing, and make it easily activated. wire it like this,

plug the video cable into the AVICs BU camera input,

ground the camera somewhere in the back once inside the main body of the car,

then run a wire from ACC (red wire @ avic's harness) into a switch then to both the avics reverse wire (lt green) and the positive wire at the camera.

every time you flip the switch, both the camera will get turned on and the avic will switch over to the screen. super simple

now for extra credit,

hook it up the normal way, then just add a switched wire to the avics reverse wire (that is connected to the car properly) and use a pair of diodes to isolate the switch wire and the factory reverse wire from each other.

now your avic will show its camera also automatically on a bigger screen, AND you can flip a switch and see whats behind you also. WIN WIN

or you can just hook it up normally, and select the rear view any time you want to see whats behind you, without doing any extra work at all! WIN WIN WIN

Thanks loudls

One more question, does anybody know where the reverse wire would be on a ford escape 2011, not sure where to start

@ILOUDLS I JUST PURCHASED AN 03 LS V8 FULLY LOADED WITH NAV CAN I JUST ADD A REAR VIEW CAMERA TO THAT SCREEN

Thanks loudls

 

One more question, does anybody know where the reverse wire would be on a ford escape 2011, not sure where to start

at the reverse light at the back of the car would be the easiest place to find it, it might also be at the SJB (Smart Junction Box) inside the center console but i dont have my shop software here to check that right now

@ILOUDLS I JUST PURCHASED AN 03 LS V8 FULLY LOADED WITH NAV CAN I JUST ADD A REAR VIEW CAMERA TO THAT SCREEN

no,  since there was not an option for a factory camera, there is no input at the back of the THX unit to hook a camera into, also there is no trigger wire to show the camera automatically when the car is shifted into reverse...