Backup Camera as Ongoing Rear Traffic Cam?

[notout86]

“First off, My parking brake pin is shorted to ground. The backup camera harness does that. The H/U recognizes this if I go into the settings menu.

I was powering the video from another video source so that I'd be sure to have a solid video output connection. I'm not sure how I know if my H/U has this capability. My car has the standard 2013 BRZ Fujitsu Ten unit, so it may not be active.

I did get the reverse camera to work. I just can't get rid of the navigation lines.

Thanks for the links. I'll check them out later.

I'm a bit confused as to what harness you are looking for. Do you need the 28-pin connector/harness?
Also, If I understand correctly, this is what you would like the switch to do:

Pole 1-Camera 1 active. Reverse wire has +12V signal.
Off-Reverse wire only active in reverse. Camera 1 active.
Pole 2-Camera 2 active. Reverse wire has +12V signal.

Is this correct?”
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Brilliant prompt replies thanks.
Once you have checked the links I think you will know your h/u capabilities.

I believe from my reading that (and I quote) “no-one has found how to get rid of the navigation lines” and “in some countries the lines can be adjusted” and “some countries do not show them” like here in Australia. If you have DOUBLE lines, one set will be coming from the camera itself. My cameras have small wire loops. One is for the lines and the other reverses the image for use as a front camera. Cut or join them to enable/disable. Some people without the loops have opened up the camera and cut a wire inside. You may be able to get details from the seller or maker … good luck. Personally I have measured distances to objects on the lines in the view to calibrate like range-finders and get a better idea of how close I am. I can accurately give next door’s cat a dose of carbon monoxide from an exhaust pipe. I would not be without them.
If you open a camera, take the opportunity to check the seal and if necessary, ensure a waterproof seal e.g. with silicone rubber when closing.
I wonder too that if you could get your camera video via pin 13 or an AV pin you would not see the lines. They should not appear there or they would pollute pics or video from other inputs like via USB, DivX etc.

As for what harness I was looking for, I did not really know and simply ordered whichever one SVXdc the guru recommended and made it clear I wanted to add a front cam to an existing system with a rear. Perhaps the holdup from him is because he is experimenting with different methods. I have only read thankyous to him so I am confident whatever he suggests. I did gather along the way that he was going with the 28pin socket but believe he was thinking of one of the AV pins rather than pin 13. Perhaps he sees merit in the Y-video to 16pin method.

Sorry I cannot understand your switching description and what poles you mean. I would express the switching as:
We do not want either camera powered on permanently. 6V or 12V suits many and my cameras.
In reverse the REVERSE Camera is powered with 6V from pin 7. Reverse wire has +12V signal.
Off-Reverse wire only active in reverse. Neither camera is active.
When FRONT Camera is desired as powered, the switch in your post #26 supplies 6V . Reverse wire has +12V signal by switch or some method other than selecting reverse gear.

Do not fear responding as if to a 7-year-old child

[greencounty]

As far as my H/U is concerned, I'm not to worried about adding a second camera to mine but those links are helpful for other endeavors.

I understand what you are trying to obtain and I have mentally drawn some ideas. Just so I understand, here are some questions that will give a better idea of what your thinking:

Which input do you want to use(Rear camera or Aux)? The Rear camera input will allow music/whatever to continue playing with the camera engaged.

I know you are powering the cameras with the 16-pin +6V. My guess is that you want 3 positions with off being the spot where the rear camera works normally. Correct?

Have you spliced into the reverse wire yet(on the 28-pin harness)? you will need to trick the H/U into thinking that the car is in reverse. I suggest you do this with a splice harness so you don't butcher the factory wiring. If you don't have one, you can find them on ebay or on www.autoharnesshouse.com.

I'm no guru, but I hope that I can be some help. An Electrical Engineering degree has gotta be worth something and I've done a good bit tinkering.

[greencounty]

I think this may do what you are looking to do. It uses 2 relays and one of them is a DPDT which will be harder to source. You could also use 2 SPST relays in the place of the DPDT(3 relays total).

[notout86]

OOOOKAAAAAY…. your degree should come in handy ;-) and thanks for letting me know. I can converse on a different level, but I still need to be treated as a 7-year-old please.
Here’s another link of fundamental information, although I imagine you have found it previously.

http://ae64.com/Rear-camera-16p-operation.htm
and
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...28&postcount=9

I would prefer using the Rear camera input for sure as I hope operation can be done by just pressing a button added to the dash and without having to change screen modes etc.

The 3 positions idea is correct. I envisage 2 of the positions with a dash button where pushing it once ensures the rear cam is off and turns on the front cam and pushing it again turns it off. Position 3 would be simply selecting reverse gear to turn the rear cam on or off. If the front cam had been left on I suppose you might notice double video and know to press the button off to just show the rear camera, thus simplifying the wiring. I sense you know that is not feasible for some reason that I have yet to grasp.

Introducing a second switch would just be less than ideal but fine if necessary.

I have yet to splice into the reverse wire but doing so would not bother me and by the time I got a harness I expect I would be $40 poorer. If I had to access pin 13 on the 28pin CN6 socket and the shield pin for video then I would not hesitate getting a harness as there is no wire in the plug now.

WOOPS..... I just noticed your hand drawn info which you must have been doing while I was composing the above. Please take a break while I digest it and I will be back, but probably not until tomorrow. THANKS HEAPS. Are you an insomniac? It is getting towards noon here.

[greencounty]

The drawing I made above uses a 3 position switch and does pretty much what you describe.

1st position - Front Camera On
2nd position - Rear Camera operates in reverse
3rd position - Rear Camera On

If you want to simplify the wiring, you best bet would be to get a crazier switch. I think you could eliminate a relay by getting a 4P3T switch(I say 'I think' because I haven't drawn it)

What do you mean by "If I had to access pin 13 and the shield pin for video then I would not hesitate getting a harness as there is no wire in the plug now." Which connector do you need pin 13 for?

[notout86]

Sorry, by THAT pin 13 I meant on socket CN6 28pin

I've gone over your diagram and think I have a good understanding, but here are a couple of questions:

on the SPDT lower r/h corner is "30" ... what is that? .. I found the label conventions for 85,86,87 & 87a and,
if using an RCA-Y to pin 8 of CN4800 and only one cam is powered at a time from the DPDT relay to pin 7, then is switching of video in the DPDT needed as video would only come from the powered cam?

Our car has seat warmers turned on by two neat 3-way rocker? switches on the console near the gear lever. I think one would lend itself nicely to camera switching by pushing down the forward part for the front cam, leaving off for rear-cam-by-reverse gear and pushing down the rear for rear-cam-on-anytime. It is not so cold here that we even think to turn on the warmers and I wouldn't miss mine.
I see you have a Mustang. My wife needs a bucket of water thrown over her whenever she sees one, by which I mean she gets all hot.

[greencounty]

Have you pulled the seat heater switch out? From the BRZ wiring diagram(see below), it looks like the switch has a bunch of terminals. I'm just not sure what all the outputs do.

The White wire(IG) on the top is the +12V from the ignition relay.
The Black wire(E) goes to ground.
If you plan on using those switches, we will need to test them to see what the RV and SW wires give in each switch position.



Another option is to buy your own switch and mount it to a plate like this:
[ame]http://smile.amazon.com/2013-Scion-Console-Plate-Black/dp/B00CXAPVEK/ref=pd_sim_auto_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZMGP32GET6DGBSZZ PDK[/ame]

I guess decide which you want to do and we'll work from there.

Your questions:
How can I get access to pin 13?
Autoharnesshouse.com sells them. others will probably sell them too.

What is "30" - 30 is the common of the relay. When the relay coil is on, 30 is connected to NO(87) contact. when the relay coil is off, it will be connected to the NC(87a) contact.

Do I need to switch the video pin for the cameras?
You don't need to, but it is best to avoid cross-talk between the cameras. I did that because I'm thinking that the camera may not turn off as soon the power is removed and you could get some crazy things if both are trying to output video.

One thought I had:
If you decide to power both cameras together(provide power to both any time either camera is needed), this would simplify the wiring some. Is this ok? You would then be just switching the video.

btw, Mustang pictures are added to my profile album

[hypercarfanatic]

I don't know the specifics of the wiring, but I know that if you connect the power wires of the backup camera to the battery, and make it operated by a switch, you can flip the switch whenever you want it to come on. Normally, the power source is the reverse lights; when they are on, so is the camera.

Hope it helps!

[greencounty]

Hyper, the Camera/stock headunit on the BRZ/FRS doesn't really work that way. The headunit powers the camera from the 16-pin connector on the back. It won't work to simply power the backup camera from the reverse lights because the headunit does a check upon power-up to test for a connected camera. In the configuration you describe, the camera will not be on for that check.

Also, just powering the camera will not display the image on the screen. The headunit must be tricked into thinking that the car is in reverse. This signal is pin 13 on the 28-pin connector discussed above.

[notout86]

Excellent stuff GC. Sorry about the communication pause "issues happened".

Let's forget the heater switch idea. I am fine with adding my own switch and have a couple of positions on the dash for it.

Re video switching: I am with you with the crosstalk possibility. Also I once managed to get a monochrome pic after I tried similar where I pulled the power connection and reconnected it.

Re simplified wiring: I am all for that. I gather too that neither camera will be permanently on and running hot which shortens life. People following this thread should keep that caveat in mind.

Some time ago I read that a diode across the relay coil is a good idea to prolong its life. Do you have that in mind too or will it cause other problems?

I showed "The Dreaded" the 'Stang photos and out came the bucket of water

[hypercarfanatic]

Originally Posted by greencounty

Hyper, the Camera/stock headunit on the BRZ/FRS doesn't really work that way. The headunit powers the camera from the 16-pin connector on the back. It won't work to simply power the backup camera from the reverse lights because the headunit does a check upon power-up to test for a connected camera. In the configuration you describe, the camera will not be on for that check.

Also, just powering the camera will not display the image on the screen. The headunit must be tricked into thinking that the car is in reverse. This signal is pin 13 on the 28-pin connector discussed above.

Thanks for the information! As I am sure you can tell, wiring/electrics is not my speciality :P

[greencounty]

The diode across the coil is primarily for semiconductor circuits. When the coil is turned off, it is still charged(it's basically an inductor). You can get spikes in the circuit driving the coil.

In this case, you are using a switch to drive the coil, so you don't really need to worry about higher voltage across the switch. It doesn't hurt to have it if you want it. My opinion is that it complicates things.

I redrew the circuit to power both cameras at the same time. This will not power the cameras all the time; only when the switch is not in off or when the reverse wire is energized.


There are a couple ways that you can solder up this circuit. If you want 2 relays with a bunch of wire hanging off of them, you can buy 12 Volt relays cheap and get crimp connectors or whatever to attach.

You can also solder all of this to a PC board if you want a smaller circuit. I'm working on a project to use the cruise control lever to mute my radar detector. I am using this layout because I have other components to solder in and I want it to look clean.

Let me know when you've chosen a switch/layout. I should be able to add something if necessary.

I'm glad you/your wife appreciates my car. So many toys...not enough time.

[notout86]

That looks simple enough for me

The DPDT switch here http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=SK0967 looks ok.

For the 12V relays http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=SY4066 SPDT

For layout I was thinking of hotgluing the relays to a piece of PC board with a diagram on the board and soldering to the pins .

re the paint on your 'stang, have you seen the latest Mazdas with a toffee apply paint job? The paint looks to be the same thickness as the toffee.

[greencounty]

That looks like it should work. For my project, I just got a solderable perf board and soldered the relay to it. The solder holds the relay to the board so I don't need to glue the relay on.

I don't disagree with your method though...should do the trick.