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rear view camera installed

91K views 154 replies 43 participants last post by  2KGT206SRT 
#1 ·
After upgrading my headunit from the factory REC navigation unit to a Pioneer, I figured I'd add a backup camera, too. I didn't like the look of some of the add-on cameras you normally see and I didn't want to cut holes that I might later regret. This one goes where the license plate light normally is and has both a camera and light for the plate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260864374092
Very inexpensive ($26), ships from China but it's designed specifically to fit the Charger/Magnum/300.

Unpacked






Installation was fairly straightforward once I figured out how I wanted to wire it.

1. Remove the existing license plate light. It's held in with 2 screws.





2. The camera assembly has 3 connections: power for the camera, video from the camera, power for the license plate light. Using wire taps, I connected the power leads to the wires that feed the license plate light. I also removed the existing bulb from the socket and wrapped the socket in electrical tape to prevent water from getting in.



3. To get the camera wiring into the trunk, I did have to cut a hole from inside the trunk. Where the trunk latch is, there's a carpeted trim piece that is held in place with 4 retainers. The hole needs to be large enough to fit an RCA plug and the power cord so I used a hole saw. Since this is an externally exposed hole, I painted the cut edge with some touch-up paint to prevent rust. I know it's an ugly hole; my drill bit walked a little while I was cutting. I ended up putting some silicone in later after running the wires to help more with sealing it and prevent the wires from rubbing the sharp edges.




4. Fish the camera wiring through the hole where the light is and around through the hole you cut. Attach the power cable and the video extension cable then mount the camera in place.


5. Now on to the wiring. I chose to have the camera powered whenever the ignition is on. Fuse 18 is the front power outlet/cigarette lighter in the dash and mine's already configured to turn on with ignition (it's configurable to be always on or on with ignition). To tap into this circuit, I went to the cable bundle under the rear power distribution center. Fuse 18 is red/orange so I used a wire tap to connect there. The wire is already fused (20 amp) but I figured I'd put a small 5-amp in-line fuse on the camera. Ground for the camera power was easy to find; just add a wire to the ground bundle already there. NOTE: disconnect the battery when doing your wiring.

power


ground



6. Last step is getting the video to the head unit. The camera came with a video extension that was just long enough to go *straight* to the front of the car. Fortunately, it's not terribly difficult to run. Lift out the trunk floor panel and run the video cable along the bundle of cables already coming from the power distribution center. The back seat bottom just pops out (pull up on the front of the seat bottom, then pull forward). Remove the center console (http://www.custommagnums.com/forums/misc-mods/1282-how-remove-center-console.html). Now you have a direct path from the trunk to the head unit; you'll need to run the wire under the carpet across the "hump" to get from the back seat to the center console.

7. Before you reassemble everything, plug in and test! You don't want to have to disassemble everything again if there's a problem.

8. Now reassemble everything and you're done. Very discreet.






 
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#42 ·
Cool, I was looking at getting an REN unit, the lock pick, and the camera but found that I could buy the Pioneer unit, the camera, the install kit, the adapter wiring harness, and antenna adapter for about the price of the REN unit(about $360.00)
 
#43 ·
Not sure if I'll get an answer, given the age of the thread, but, here goes...

Can I get away with wiring the power to BOTH the lock pick power wire, and the reverse light, so that I would be able to have the camera come on automatically in reverse, but also be able to turn it on on demand? I was thinking that by wiring in a couple of diodes, each power feed should be protected from being back fed by the other...or am I mistaken?
 
#44 ·
I'm not sure about the diode's, maybe someone can chime in, but I know it can be done with a relay. I still have this camera in my drawer, haven't gotten around to install it yet. But I'm also going to do this with my halo's. They will come on when the car is on, but I will add a relay to be able to turn them on anytime I want to as well.
 
#45 ·
If you wire the power to the lockpick then you will be able to have the camera come on automatically when in reverse and you can turn it on when you want to. That is the beauty of the lockpick. No need to have two power supplies.
 
#46 ·
^^ Like sconnell80 said if you wire it to the Lockpick the camera will automatically come on when you put the car in reverse.

You can also turn the camera on while driving at anytime by double pressing the uconnect button on the Mygig head unit. The camera will stay on. You turn it off by double pressing uconnect again.
 
#47 ·
Definitely, these product is awesome and unexpensive.

But I've heard there are bluetooth rear cameras available.
Has anybody installed one of them?
 
#48 ·
SUCCESS STORY:

My kids gave me the "Dodge Charger REAR VIEW BACK UP CAMERA, OEM Mopar" for Christmas. I have a 2013 Dodge Charger R/T Plus - AWD.

Installation was fast and easy. While the kit comes with the complete wiring harness, all I needed to do was replace the existing center brake light with the new one with the integrated camera. Upon removing the padding on the underside of the trunk door I saw that the vehicle was already wired for the back up camera.

After installing the camera I took the car to my dealer's service center and they re-flashed the car's on-board electronics to recognize the camera. The dealer charged me $46.50 to do the work (one-half hour of labor).
 
#49 ·
Good thread Mnunes! I've been pondering switching my factory NAV unit for the Pioneer for a while. It chaps my @zz that a 2007 Jeep can have a backup camera but a 2007 SRT8 Charger can't......until now! Thanks to the lockpick, I can keep my OEM NAV unit and have a backup camera.
 
#50 ·
Damn just great! The link no longer works and I cant seem to find another one like it on ebay lol.
 
#55 ·
power

I just purchased the camera and I am looking to install it today, my question might already have been answered but I couldn't seem to find it in this thread. I am curious if there would be a issue getting power from my reverse lights. Wouldn't that mean the camera will always be on ? I know when you go in reverse the lights kick on but isn't all controlled by ACC power, so wouldn't there still be current running to it ? I just don't want to burn out my camera by having it "always on". I feel that might take life off of it. Maybe I'm over thinking it, I was just curious what some other members have done. I am not using lockpick or anything, just a camera off ebay to my aftermarket double din.
 
#56 ·
If you wire it to your reverse lights the camera will only come on when you put it in reverse. There is no power to the reverse lights until you put it in reverse. If there was power all the time then your lights will be on all the time right? Get it hooked up and enjoy it.
 
#57 ·
Yeah, ur right 100%. I thought I read here somewhere something about the back having ACC power, maybe near the rear distribution center, i dunno. I probably just confused myself. (Ha). Thanks.


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#58 ·
I wired mine to ACC power so it's on all the time when the ignition is on. My head unit (Pioneer) lets me view the camera even if I'm not in reverse - it's designed to let you keep an eye on a trailer you're towing. I haven't seen any problem with the camera always having power.
 
#66 ·
If you have a lock pick then why don't you run your power off the lock pick for the camera instead of the acc? That's what the wires as there for so you can turn the camera on when ever you want using the head unit and not having the camera on whenever your car is on. The cameras life is shortened by having it on all the time.


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#64 ·
I think that it's a pretty safe assumption that the life expectancy of any camera (unless it's a $3 Chinese camera off of ebay) is going to be a lot higher than the life expectancy of the car!

It's probably more likely that any failure over time would be the physical degradation of the camera assembly itself, regardless of its powered hours. A solder joint is going to go bad before the CCD wears out.

This has been my experience, based on cheap security cameras that run 24/7.
 
#96 ·
This may have just bit me. Yesterday (just about 1 year from installation of the Subaru-style camera) by camera started going out. The picture is full of static, rolls vertically, and is very dim. I'm planning to buy another one and will very likely wire into the reverse lights this time. I've never really used the camera for a reverse image while driving forward anyway. :)
 
#67 · (Edited)
The camera's wiring harness was already present, so I just used the one that came with the car.

The OEM camera came with a a wiring harness, and per the instructions, you are told to use an ACC power tap for power. The OEM cameras are definitely engineered to be powered whenever the car is on, but I wouldn't expect that they're any higher quality than aftermarket ones.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I'm sure that modern cameras have many thousands of hours of expected lifetime. I'm sure that before you could ever wear out the camera, the plastic lens would haze over, you'd sell or wreck the car, or it would otherwise be a non-issue.

It's kind of like worrying about using your cell phone too much since the internal flash memory has a finite number of write cycles.

Personally, I'd rather that the camera only powers up once per trip, instead of toggling on and off multiple times.
 
#68 ·
I just figured since you had a lock pick that's what you would use. He newer cars must be wired up differently then my 06 SRT. On my phone I can't see the year of your ride. As long as it works that's all that matters!


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#69 ·
When I get around to installing the front camera, I'll use the Lockpick harness for power, for sure.

The newer models have the rear camera integrated in the third brake light, and if you've got the 8.4 screen, the cable is already run and tucked away under the trunk lid liner. Just buy a new brake light with a camera and swap it out, then plug the extra connector into the camera. The Lockpick enables the OEM camera, or you can go to a dealership to have the sales code added to enable it natively.
 
#70 ·
Are you 100% sure that the lockPick activates the camera? The guy at CoastalETech (Carlos...the only tech there) swore up and down that the cam needed to be plugged into the yellow RCA reverse video jack of the Lockpick harness. I didn't see a male RCA cable laying around hanging from any harness that would plug into it. I'm about to get a cam within the next few weeks and am not sure if I need to run the full wiring harness from the trunk to the back of the 8.4. I have a 2014 charger R/T.

If the wiring is indeed already there, then the connection at the interior end would have to be integrated into the factory harness. Interesting to know how the Lockpick would turn on/off the cam if it was factory wired/dealer activated and nothing plugged into their RCA jack.

I'm guessing Carlos might be thinking of the other cars etc.
 
#71 ·
I'm 100% positive.

I think Carlos may be thinking of another car. There is a female yellow RCA jack, but it's not needed if you use the factory wiring.

Most of the wires in the Lockpick harness just pass straight through the harness from one side to the other untouched, but the CAN wires, the factory rear camera, and the AUX device detect wires are routed to the Lockpick to do its thing before going to the radio.

Basically, all of the Lockpick video is sent down the reverse camera wires to the radio, and the Lockpick selects which video source to use while spoofing the CAN bus data to make the car think it's in reverse.
 
#72 ·
I just got my OEM camera ( 3rd brake light) and it was very easy to install. The hardest part is taking those annoying plastic pins off without breaking them. Took all of 15- 20 minutes. Wiring was all there on my 2014 Charger. Interesting to see the rear video while driving (with the LockPick). It actually exposes the blind spots a bit. :beerchug:
 
#73 ·
07

i actually just installed my camera on my 07 charger, fairly easy job. I tapped into the reverse lights in the back. I had to manually touch my camera icon on the double din to get the camera on, I was totally confused. Come to find out I forgot to connect the "reverse wire" coming out from the unit. Totally blanked out there and felt like a real ass when I realized what I done.

Anyway, does anybody know where exactly in the front I can tape into the reverse wire (white with light green). I don't want to explore my whole front dash, if somebody knew the location, that would be great.

Thanks.
 
#75 ·
mnunes I appreciate the response, I know it's been a while. I still can't seem to find the white with light green wire in the front. I've also read somewhere that in the front it might turn to violet with black.

I actually took the bottom dash (under my steering wheel) off and found two major bundles of wires, none of the wires match the white with light that is in the rear of my vehicle.

Is it possible it's something else.

For anyone else, I'm looking for the reverse wire in the front of my car to connect my radio too.
 
#76 ·
I know there were several variations of how the A-pillar harness was populated (some had fewer wires than others).

Just to be clear, it's the driver's side harness I'm referring to:


In the picture above, the connector on the bottom ought to have a white wire with a green stripe


In the picture above, it's the middle wire of the three on top. Sorry about the numbering, it's actually pin 5 not pin 20. On the mated connector that goes up the A-pillar to the rearview mirror, the color changes to black with a tan stripe. If you have an auto-dimming rear view mirror, the straight 7-pin connector on the mirror itself has a black/tan wire on pin 3 that is the backup signal.

I can't find any evidence that there's a connector under the driver's side kick panel (although I've read that there's supposed to be one) but I did find it behind the passenger side kick panel.



In this diagram, look for connector C200. It's pin 20 on this connector.
 
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