Installing the Wireless Reversing Camera

[Mr Edd]

Wireless Reversing Camera Installation

Before I installed the 2 Din audio unit I fitted the reversing camera. This is how I did it. Your model may differ in some respects but the principle will be much the same.

First thing I notices was that the camera is supposed to fit over the number plate bulb. I decided that I would put it over the off side one. But once it was fitted I think I may move it so that it fits in the middle. (more on this later)

First take a look at this image and you will see that there is quite a distance from the location the camera is fitted and where it gets it's power; from the reversing lights.

By connecting to the reversing light it comes on when the driver selects reverse gear. Mine is an Automatic if yours is a manual it will not be a problem. To see how it is connected to the gear selector I'll do that in another thread

I had to thread the cables through the boot skin and then through the boot and into the off side lights. This is how I did it...

First remove the boot lid liner. It is held in place by these small plastic studs. I loosened them first by levering them up slightly with a flat blade screwdriver...

And then I got long nose pliers and pulled them out completely.

I took them all out and removed the felt liner as I had never done this before and I wasn't sure what I was going to find. Also there was less chance of damaging the liner. It went back after I had finished quiet easy and looked like it had never been off.

Now I had to decide how I was going to get the cable from the camera fitted in front of the number plate light to the reversing light. So I decided to take the chrome R O V E R boot handle and badge off. To be honest in hindsight this wasn't necessary as I'll explain soon.

To take it off there are 4 nuts that have to be removed.

The two end ones are the self locking type that are really only a shell. I dunno what they are called but I say they are a nut you are having when your haven't got a nut. The middle two are also self locking with a collar but are a bit more substantial. I found that the bolt or screw section was too long to be able to put a socket on them so I had to use my ratchet spanner.

after they were undone and put safely away the chrome handle came off quite easy revealing this.

.

I was looking for where I could route the wire but after removing this I realised that it wasn't necessary. I drilled a hole just below the light bulb big enough to pass the jacks through. (Note:- I drilled a small pilot hole first and then enlarged it to the same size as the jack) However I soon realised that once one jack had gone through the hole it's cable prevented the second one from going through so I drilled a secondary hole just through the bottom edge so it looked like a keyhole only rounder and quite small.

Once the jacks were through the hole I cut a grommet I had laying around to the correct size and then once the camera was screwed in I used silicone to seal it into place.

(Note:- I know the camera is upside down in this picture, I was just holding it there while I took the photo. I didn't realise until much later after I had finished fitting it and I wasn't going to take it off again just to take another photo.)

The finished project looks like this in daylight.

and this at night.

Now, I am not so sure about the camera's position. One of the bulbs is partially cover by the camera and if I was to be stopped by the fuzz would they say anything about this? If I was doing the job again I would have screwed the camera into the underside of the chrome handle in the middle so not impeding the light from the bulb onto the number plate. I may also have drilled the hole for the cables into the underside of the handle as well. if you are following this "How To" you may have to decide what you will do.

Now I had to route the cable through the boot lid and down to the off side reversing light.

After plugging all the jacks into each other according to this picture from the 2 Din unit suppliers. (Please note:- that the camera I have is different to the one in their picture.)

I used insulation tape to fasten them together because as I was pulling the cable through the boot skin they kept separating and I would have to pull them all out and start again;

you have been warned. I also used some double sided tape to fix the transmitter to the underside of the boot lid.

Once I was convinced that they would hold I then threaded the cables through the skin to the rubber concertina conduit. I threaded it through using a wire and taping them together and pulled it through...

I used insulation tape but anything will do this even a plaster (band aid) will do the job.

Once I got it through I put the conduit back in place and then ran the power cable behind the felt walls of the boot lining. It just tucks in to the top edge without having to remove any of the lining. Then I removed the plastic cover of the rear light inside the boot. The fitting unclips quite easy. I located the reversing light and soldered the power cables to the plate; power to the smaller line and earth to the broad one that runs all around the fitting.

Sorry about the quality of some of the pictures but I was intent on doing the job and it is not until I have finished and then checked the photos that I realise some are not the best.

The finished product... Note this picture of the screen was taken at night in the dark with no lights except for the reversing lights. What you can see is the top of my drive with the wheelie bin which has to be put out on a Sunday night. It looks a lot better than what this picture portrays and the daylight picture is superb.

Now Lets Fit The Receiver

To fit the receiver requires the dash to be dismantled - well almost. The radio has to come out. I will assume that you know how to do that so lets get on with it. Note to make things easy I also took the Climate Control panel out as well. It unplugs quite easy but don't forget to plug it in again when you put everything back together.

Once you get to the point where all the cables are exposed take your time and try to identify what their colours are and what they do. Then try and find this particular plug/socket number 5 in the picture below (Courtesy of Mister Tomez). There are wires attached to it that can be very useful...

The above is the loom in later vehicles and below is the loom in the earlier cars but all should have this plug number 5 above.

Note I had the BMW plug/socket thingy (above) and had to buy the adapter off eBay for 99p plus 99p postage to make all the connections I needed (More later). I believe you can also buy these adaptors from Halfords for about £15 - The choice is yours.

You will also need to use this connector (below) that comes with the unit to piggyback the new adaptor... It plugs into the unit and then the adaptor.

This is needed because we need the PINK cable labelled "Back" to plug into the Green/Brown cable in this connector below...

Which has 6 connections with wires in this configuration according to the wiring diagram...
Pin – 6 Black Earth

Pin – 5 Blue Purple Steering Wheel

Pin – 4 Not used

Pin – 3 K Bus W/R/Y

Pin – 2 Blue Orange Steering Wheel

Pin – 1 Light Green/White (?)

Green/Brown Reversing Lights

Slate Grey/Green Speed Sensor

The above courtesy of Terry from TS Autos.
When I checked mine there was only 3 wires into this plug/socket thingy. So I think mine has had some modifications at some time in the past. As you can see from above list, number 4 was not supposed to be used yet I had one of these three cables plugged into this section (I have forgotten now which one but as there was nothing connected into this plug/socket it didn't matter. If you have something that this plugs into (sorry I don't know what) you will have to take note of what each is and compare it to the list above.

The one wire we are interested in for this exorcise is the Green and Brown one. To this you have to attach the pink cable that is part of the loom of cables coming out of the 2 Din unit.

These two (Green/Brown and Pink cables) need to be connected together as above. (I used a very small connector which I taped up once I was sure it worked). Then when you move the gear stick (Manual or Automatic) into reverse the camera gets switched on from the power from the reversing lights and the 2 Din Screen will show the view from the camera. I am assuming the same will apply whether you have the cable camera or the wireless one. The Green and Brown cable sends a signal via the pink cable to the unit that reverse has been selected. As I don't have or I have not seen the cable reversing camera I have assumed that they will operate the same way.

According to the connector diagram on the back of the unit...

The pink wire is for the "Back Draft Radar Testing Line"... Shrugs???... I dunno either??? But it automatically turns the reversing camera on in the unit when reverse gear is selected.

As for the plug/socket thingy you can see between my finger and thumb below I eventually cut the plug/socket off as I think (not confirmed yet) that these remaining two wires are for the steering wheel paddles. More on these in another thread.

The receiver is wired up like this...

According to this picture (above) sent by the suppliers. Below is how I connected mine.

The connector near my little finger is the power source for all my little toys. In this electrical connector are the power cables for the Reversing Camera Receiver, the DVB-T TV box and the power source for the amplified aerial. These cables came from the main loom and are Red for power and Black for neutral. As these were already spliced into the main loom it was simple to use them as the power source for all my toys. You may have to get your power from another source. Perhaps run them back to the fuse array behind the glove box. Hopefully an auto electrician reading this maybe able to help with where to get the power from.

Test it all to see if it works and if so replace everything and go for a drive. Reverse up your drive to test the reversing camera installation.

Hope it works for you as it does for me.

And that is it.

The usual thing... If you are going to quote anything from this thread please just quote the relevant bit and not the whole thing including all the pictures as this puts a strain on my server and my host gets a bit stroppy and cuts it off so none of the pictures will be visible.

If anyone wants to add anything or correct any of the stupid things I have said then please do. if anyone wants to use any of my pictures to illustrate something in another thread that is okay too.

Hope it is useful to any one contemplating fitting one of these.

What I have done works for me, your situation maybe different. I hope it works for you but if not I am sorry but I can't be held responsible for any damage.

Thanks

Edd

[Dragrad]

Nice How to there

Looking forward to the next

[radi8or]

Exxxcellent how to Edd, as usual , just what I need when I do mine.

"I will add another thread on how to wire up the receiver under the dash at a later date".

Hurry up.

[lathbury]

Hi Edd, I have fitted my wireless reverse camera which works but the picture has a horizontal line moving from top to bottom just like the old tv's with poor horizontal hold. Is your picture clear and steady?. John.

[Mr Edd]

Originally Posted by lathbury

Hi Edd, I have fitted my wireless reverse camera which works but the picture has a horizontal line moving from top to bottom just like the old tv's with poor horizontal hold. Is your picture clear and steady?. John.

Actually yes it is. I was quite surprised at the quality of the picture. I do notice that it tends to break up when I start to change gear. That is just as I grab the Auto Gear Stick and start to move it the picture goes a bit fuzzy and very grainy but otherwise it's perfect.

I now have it working automatically when I select reverse. I have the picture now for the connections for the receiver which I will add to the post above rather than a separate how to. There is only a couple of extra pictures. Try and get it done tomorrow.

Edd

[Mr Edd]

I am bumping this to the top as I have now added the "How to connect the receiver" under the dash to the original post.

I thought that would make it all in one rather than have two threads covering it.

Anyone who has a go at doing this and has any problems or successes then please leave a massage here and I am sure someone will either sort it out for you or confirm that it works for them too.

Thanks

Edd

[Radioguy]

The word WOW Comes to mind.........

[Dragrad]

Updated in the "How To..." forum also I've also pdf'd the post for posterity

As discussed - Thank you

[richardsms]

Hi, I have got the wireless reversing camera and have tried to follw the excellent guide attached, however i have failed to meet my objectives (failed in other words). So i need to ask some questions and I wonder if anyone who has fitted one can help?

1. The rear camera has up to 2 power sources, when I fitted mine, I just took one power source from the reverse lights. Do i also need to take power from the numberplate light or will the sole power off the reversing lights work?
2. once I get to the front end my problems really start. From my understanding all I need to do is run power to the wireless aerial and then plug the yellow cable into the back off the head unit, this I have done but nothing has happened and no picture appears. Therefore I have done something wrong and i think it may relate to the "pink cable" but simply cannot understand what part that plays (if any).
3. Any noddy/idiot guide or assistance would be really appreciated.
4. Sorry to be a pain

[Mr Edd]

Originally Posted by richardsms

Hi, I have got the wireless reversing camera and have tried to follw the excellent guide attached, however i have failed to meet my objectives (failed in other words). So i need to ask some questions and I wonder if anyone who has fitted one can help?

Don't worry we all have problems trying to figure this out...

1. The rear camera has up to 2 power sources, when I fitted mine, I just took one power source from the reverse lights. Do i also need to take power from the numberplate light or will the sole power off the reversing lights work?

There are two power supplies with different types of connectors so use the appropriate one. I taped the spare one up to make sure it didn't short out on anything. You don't need to connect it to anything else. It's a generic unit so the power supply depends on which car it is plugged into either one does the same thing just insulate the one you don't use.

1. once I get to the front end my problems really start. From my understanding all I need to do is run power to the wireless aerial and then plug the yellow cable into the back off the head unit, this I have done but nothing has happened and no picture appears. Therefore I have done something wrong and i think it may relate to the "pink cable" but simply cannot understand what part that plays (if any).

The pink cable has to be connected to the brown/green one. Mine was in this connector



which I cut and then connected to the pink cable.




This activates the unit when reverse is selected. Even works when the head unit is turned off. Very clever in my books. I extended mine by using a bit of old household cable from an old appliance. It gave me a bit more room to pull the unit out so I could work on it.



I have since been back in and replaced all the large chocolate-box connectors with smaller ones I got from B&Q. Looks a lot neater now.

1. Any noddy/idiot guide or assistance would be really appreciated.
2. Sorry to be a pain

Nope not a pain; everyone struggles with understanding something at some time. I still haven't got the DVB-T box working and I still have a whistling on Am Radio and fuzziness on FM. Problems with aerial signals. Hopefully one day at a meet someone can fix it for me.

The only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.


Edd