Maintenance/improvements - 4.3 Rear Camera Installation Part 1

[Hoovie]

.... Do you happen to know what the angle of view on your camera was quoted as? My head unit I think is not smart enough to reverse the image, so I might just have to shell out £20 for a camera from HK that does that. When I get round to installing it, I guess I will have to do a guide for the 4.3 for that exclusive club with a wheel on the back... B)

Sorry, don't know - I don't know if there is such a thing as "standard" or "typical" for these? It was just about the cheapest flush-mount camera I could find, so unlikely to be anything special (though no complaints about it :) )

What I would do if fitting again is to use the angled collars that came with the camera to point down more so as to get some part on the car to act as a point of reference. The cars I have had after selling my RAV4.2 have both had reversing cameras and have the lip of the bumper just visible, and this has meant I can reverse within mm's of the car behind with total confidence

It would be useful to have a guide for the 4.3 with spare

[Gav rav]

Hi all

I really want a reversing camera as I reversed into a bollard last week! I went to the dealer yesterday and they said my 06 t180 can't have the cam? I said about the wiring and they said it wouldn't be there? How can I check without ripping all the panelling off?

Cheers

[jedi134]

Invest in some xray specticles, these should see through the paneling to determine if the wire is there. :-)

[James..]

.... Do you happen to know what the angle of view on your camera was quoted as? My head unit I think is not smart enough to reverse the image, so I might just have to shell out £20 for a camera from HK that does that. When I get round to installing it, I guess I will have to do a guide for the 4.3 for that exclusive club with a wheel on the back... B)

Sorry, don't know - I don't know if there is such a thing as "standard" or "typical" for these? It was just about the cheapest flush-mount camera I could find, so unlikely to be anything special (though no complaints about it :) )

What I would do if fitting again is to use the angled collars that came with the camera to point down more so as to get some part on the car to act as a point of reference. The cars I have had after selling my RAV4.2 have both had reversing cameras and have the lip of the bumper just visible, and this has meant I can reverse within mm's of the car behind with total confidence

It would be useful to have a guide for the 4.3 with spare

So... the camera arrived this week. Now, after extensive browsing of posts on various forums as well as this one, it would appear that the best place to put the camera is as centrally as possible at waist height looking down with the bumper in view at the bottom (like this T180 install). Various US folk with 4.3s and wheels on the back have put cameras on their license plate lights (which is half way up the door on the left hand side (looking from the back)... but the view is then too offset to be really useful. I'd really like this to be more than a gimmick, although this car doesn't really need a reversing camera, it would be a shame not to have one if my head unit can handle it! So because of the wheel, the cam will have to go to the left/underneath it on the door. This will be lower than I would like but at least I should have a better view across the whole of the back of the car, with the bumper underneath and the towball right in front of it.

This camera is the one I went for on the basis that I needed a fair bit of adjust-ability to work with the rear door/wheel problem. I've powered it up and tested it on the TV and it reverses the image and has 'tramlines' imposed on the image, although they will be of little practical use in this application because the camera will be mounted too low. It is a cheap CMOS camera but I think with the addition of some silicon grease to waterproof it, it should do the job. Contrary to the listing it doesn't do very good night vision, but what do you expect for £16. In fact the optics are pretty poor but they should be good enough...

So, before I dive under the trim, I was curious to find out if anyone has actually run wires from the rear door to the head unit on a UK car?? All these installs seem to be using existing wiring which likely won't be present in my car. I was thinking that the shortest path would be down the side of the car past the driver. Any pointers gratefully accepted!

[Hoovie]

So, before I dive under the trim, I was curious to find out if anyone has actually run wires from the rear door to the head unit on a UK car?? All these installs seem to be using existing wiring which likely won't be present in my car. I was thinking that the shortest path would be down the side of the car past the driver. Any pointers gratefully accepted!

It probably won't surprise you that I have

Not on a RAV4.3, but I did on the RAV 4.2 and I cannot imagine the concept is much different. Simply run the camera signal from the rear door behind the various trim panels that will pull off from their clips and pull off the sill trims to run the cable underneath and over to one side a little. It really is very straightforwarard and just need basic tools and something to pull the wire though areas such as the door wiring grommet thingy

I used the power from the Reversing light to power the camera, but you could just as alternatively run the power wire alongside the signal wire and tap off the relevant point from the fuse box

[shcm]

So, before I dive under the trim, I was curious to find out if anyone has actually run wires from the rear door to the head unit on a UK car?? All these installs seem to be using existing wiring which likely won't be present in my car. I was thinking that the shortest path would be down the side of the car past the driver. Any pointers gratefully accepted!

No it probably won't be there on an XT4, but dunno, maybe worth a look. Might save some other work.

Yes, I have cables running from the front console to the storage space below the boot, but it's much the same thing. Instead of going into to storage area, just thread through the rubber wiring thingy between the door and the main body.

Trim below driver and passenger door comes off fairly easily, just pull carefully. The worst (it's not that bad) is if you have to get the side boot panel trims off to thread the wiring. You'll need to remove the lower boot storage box and everything first, to allow the side panel to be removed.

[dkbkl]

Hi guys, I got another camera from autodvdgps.com, the problem was that all my cables were under the back bumper, so I had to remove it. I`ve put everything back, the camera works perfectly, but now the lights from the back of my car are not working (except for signal lights and reverse lights). Also the fog lights in front of the car are not working, but the light on the bord is ok. It is possible to break a ground or something, because I remember that everything was ok.

Thanks again for all the help, removing and mounting everything was pretty easy with all this information!

[James..]

Yes, I have cables running from the front console to the storage space below the boot, but it's much the same thing. Instead of going into to storage area, just thread through the rubber wiring thingy between the door and the main body.

Trim below driver and passenger door comes off fairly easily, just pull carefully. The worst (it's not that bad) is if you have to get the side boot panel trims off to thread the wiring. You'll need to remove the lower boot storage box and everything first, to allow the side panel to be removed.

Well, it has taken ages but I have finally got the whole thing together today. It took me a long time because I cooked up some electronics so that I could have a push button on/off switch next to the gearlever ... but then had second thoughts about that approach after testing how the head until functioned and reading up the UK law on this topic. So, decided to go for an 'automatic' one as per normal with an override 'test' button. This uses some very simple switchgear: a fuse, a schottky diode, a small resistor and an illuminated led pushbutton (The diode just prevents the reverse light coming on when you are testing the camera). The camera is currently sitting directly under the spare wheel on a velcro mount. Now I admit thats not the most secure location/mounting option, but of all the locations I have tried this seems to give the best picture. The velcro is just to make it easy to get the cam off should you need to get the spare out. So, I'm going to run it under there for a while. In the meantime I am going to try and locate a small transparent perspex dome which I can embed in the spare wheel cover. Then I should be able to mount the camera inside the spare wheel between the spokes and looking out through the dome. It will be more conspicous but a bit more secure.

Anyway, I have a raft of pictures from this install, and for the head unit (JVC double din stereo with multimedia) so once I have the 'final solution' for the cam, and have done some more road testing I will post it all up. As schm points out, if you want to remove the boot side panels you need to remove everything.... including the seats. Luckily you don't have to do that with a bit of judicious plastic bending and wire threading ;) ... and you don't need infra red, as even with my cheapy CMOS camera, it works just fine with the RAVs reversing lights...

[Big_Stu]

Quick and Simple - Reversing Camera Installation for 4.3 T180

This takes less an hour with stunning results.

I bought a £12 NTSC reversing camera for a Toyota Highlander (what ever that is) from eBay it is a direct replacement for the Rav T180 rear door license plate lamp.

From the outside of the car I removed both the rear door license plate lamps

With the rear door open and I used my fingers to prise off the rear door internal trim panel from the bottom right hand corner - checking that all the plastic clips had come away with the trim.

I gently eased the clear plastic membrane from the adhesive holding it to the door and placed to one side for re-use later.

Inside the door metal work I used a 10mm spanner to release the three rear door license plate lamp trim panel nuts.

My camera was supplied with a separate video cable and a power cable. I cut both to ~300mm (do not cut the leads attached to the camera). With the connectors outside the car I pushed the cut ends of cables through the grommet.

Inside the car I found the camera connector on the rear door wiring loom as described elsewhere in this thread.

I cut the four wires from the connector and joined them to the camera cables;

Pin 2 (white wire) v+ camera signal to the yellow core on the video cable

Pin 1 (black with gold dots) v- camera signal to the black core on the video cable

Pin 4 (black with blue dots) +ve to the black core of the camera power cable (nb camera is advertised as 12v but this supply works fine)

Pin 3 (red wire) -ve to the red core of the camera power cable

I joined the wires by soldering them together and insulated them with heat shrink but in-line crimps would work just as well.

Outside the car I refitted the left hand side license plate lamp and fitted the camera to the right hand license plate lamp slot - perfect fit. My camera has an LED license plate lamp (I see that some don't) so I cut off the original lamp holder and connected the wires to the LED. I refitted the license plate trim panel.

Inside the car I replaced the license plate trim panel nuts, refitted the membrane and pushed the interior rear door trim panel fully back into place.

-------

When reverse gear is selected the amazingly sharp image is displayed on the sat nav screen.

The camera housing is angled and tilted so it provides a central view right back to the rear bumper with distance graduations.

The system looks totally original and is more like a £250 option than £12 and an hours DIY

[kanulondon]

Great work Stu. Can you please PM me a link to the actual item you bought from eBay?

I really want to do this upgrade by summer

[Hoovie]

Neat install.

I would be lost without my reversing camera nowadays. Makes manouvering so much easier and exact

[paulmel]

Great work Stu. Can you please PM me a link to the actual item you bought from eBay?

I really want to do this upgrade by summer

Me too please, my second camera has just suffered the same fate as the first, that being water ingress after washing the car.

So am now after a third. Been looking for this type for ages with no success. I bought one a while ago but didn't fit. It was for a Rav with a rear mounted wheel, number plate lights are in a different location (on the bumper) and number plate lights are bigger so the thing wouldn't fit into the hole.

Thanks in advance for the ebay item number,

Paul.

[paulmel]

Stu, is there a noticeable difference in light output/brightness between the remaining number plate light and the new LED light on the camera ?

[Tony Barnsley]

Can you please PM me a link to the actual item you bought from eBay?

Me too :D These may not Be Stu's but Takes your pick ;) . . . I like the look of the Sony 1/4" one

[paulmel]

Tony , these are the ones that ONLY fit the Rav with the rear mounted wheel.

If your car doesn't have a wheel on the back, then the hole you are left with after you pop out the number plate light is too small.

Believe me I know as I bought one a while ago (read my previous post's)

[Tony Barnsley]

Tony , these are the ones that ONLY fit the Rav with the rear mounted wheel.

If your car doesn't have a wheel on the back, then the hole you are left with after you pop out the number plate light is too small.

Well thats a bummer :( . . . At least I found out before I bought one . . .although I have just been told that I've just had a new car and I should be satisfied . . . . They don't understand do they ?

[webleymk3]

Tony , these are the ones that ONLY fit the Rav with the rear mounted wheel.

If your car doesn't have a wheel on the back, then the hole you are left with after you pop out the number plate light is too small.

Believe me I know as I bought one a while ago (read my previous post's)

I'll take it off your hands I you like....

[Big_Stu]

Stu, is there a noticeable difference in light output/brightness between the remaining number plate light and the new LED light on the camera ?

Yes the LED lamp on the camera is a lot brighter and clearer - it sharpens up the rear of the car at night & is an upgrade in itself. The original lamp is a dull orange in comparison. To balance up the lighting I bought a capless LED rear no plate lamp from eBay (£3.47 delivered) which plugs straight into the left hand lamp holder.

I have sent you all a PM as requested with the camera I used together with the item number for a similar camera that I considered but didn't buy which appears to accept the existing lamp - worth considering if you prefer to keep the original lamp holder.

[Mechman]

Hi all.

I am trying to fit a reverseing camera to my 2007 TX5. I have located the "S7" supply and connected 1 and 2 to an yellow input lead supplied with the camera. I am running a temporary feed for the camera 12v. When connected to a TV set I get a good picture on an analogue channel. However I cannot get any response on the B9004 HU in the dashboard. I have checked behind the HU and all wires seem present and correct. I have spoken to Preston Toyota and Preston Radio and they do not have an instant answer to the problem. The camera is a basic unit bought on eBay.

My abilities do not go as far as messing about or rerouting wiring at the HU. Has anyone encountered or cured this problem with enough information to allow me to fix or employ someone to get the system to work.

Thanks to the guys who have supplied excellent information todate.

This is the link to the camera.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280791900801?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

Regards

Brian

[anchorman]

Shcm will advise if nobody else does in the meantime but he is busy at the moment so you will have to sit tight until he looks in.

[Gav rav]

Hi all, please can someone send my a link to the camera for the T180?

Cheers,

[kanulondon]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230632848830

[shcm]

However I cannot get any response on the B9004 HU in the dashboard.

Well obviously you need to select reverse , but also there's an input that needs to tell the headunit that the camera is present. I'm guessing that's your problem. It's achieved by:

"V- should also be connected to CGND". i.e. both those connections should be grounded.

It's not enough just to connect the video signal, which it appears is what you've done I think?

[Mechman]

Hi shcm.

Thanks for responding.

I took the 12v from the auxilary socket provided at the rear of the TX5. I tried all combinations and selecting reverse.

As you have said, I have not used a common ground on the video output and the 12v supply. Tomorrow I will connect the two and hopefully we may get the required response. I will of course feed the camera from the reversing circuit. The TX5 has a rear bleeper overide switch fitted as standard. As I do tow I will make sure that I switch off the bleepers and leave the camera so that I can see the trailer when trying to reverse. I cannot see it in the mirrors.

Fingers crossed.

Regards

Brian

[webleymk3]

Hi shcm.

Thanks for responding.

I took the 12v from the auxilary socket provided at the rear of the TX5. I tried all combinations and selecting reverse.

As you have said, I have not used a common ground on the video output and the 12v supply. Tomorrow I will connect the two and hopefully we may get the required response. I will of course feed the camera from the reversing circuit. The TX5 has a rear bleeper overide switch fitted as standard. As I do tow I will make sure that I switch off the bleepers and leave the camera so that I can see the trailer when trying to reverse. I cannot see it in the mirrors.

Fingers crossed.

Regards

Brian

Where are you mounting the camera? Would you be good enough to take a photos of the screen with the camera operating so we can see the view?