What reversing camera setup do you have guys (and girls)

[STP]

Hi all, I want get a reversing camera up as I've now fitted bulkhead covers and blacked out the van windows at the rear.

Tried to use my AutoVox numberplate camera but the bloody thing obscures the numberplate letters (it's way too big). Thought about a 3rd brake light camera unit, but does the led brake light play nice with the BCM? Also sellers on the bay say "caddy Life / van" so maybe they only got the tailgate model one and the sellers don't know it's different - don't want to waste time and money on one to find it doesn't fit. The pictures show both tailgate and barn doors and claim it's one model of light. I'm certain they aren't compatible with each other but get stupid responses from Chinese sellers.

Show me what you have peeps?

[PJD]

First of all the OEM 3rd brake light is LED, at least on the 2017 MK4. So a brake light camera should not upset the BCM. You could easily check yours. They are easy to remove.
I suspect a brake light camera will also auto detect the brake lights coming on avoiding extra wiring.
So not a bad choice of camera IMO.

I did consider one myself but was being cheap and bought a rear view mirror kit for £36 on eBay. My head unit won't display a camera feed so need a separate screen anyway and this one has a front camera, so records in case of an accident. This is powered by a 5V supply connected on pin 28 of the fuse box, that is a switched live. It works fine but can be a pain to see in bright light. Though if you have a bulkhead might not be such an issue.

The camera itself has a little bracket for adjusting the angle. I hated the look at first and was going to change it but not bothered now. It's small and my van is not a show van.

[Nicklouse]

I have a cheap eBay one in the top of one of my doors to work as a rear view one and one in my door handle trim to work as a reversing camera. That cost more but has a better image.

The how’s, why’s and what’s depend on your van and your head unit.

[Rob.]

I love AliExpress, but I tried an integrated brake light camera from a seller and it was complete crap. Wrong shape, wrong size bolts. Sent it back for a refund. Would love to find something similar that isn't complete trash though!

[STP]

Thanks all, for the excellent replies. I'm going for the VW brake light camera from Dynamic Sounds, as theirs is the moulded camera and looks the best. It's £90 but damn does it look good. It's moulded into the brake light, unlike the Chinese stuff which is screwed and glued on..

And yeah I see now, the original brake light is LED already.

Cheers!

[STP]

Would love to find something similar that isn't complete trash though!

Hi Rob, the one I'm going for looks OEM and is from a reputable audio and accessories company. It's actually a Connects2 unit, and looks superb. Here's a link:

https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/connect ... amera.html

[STP]

I have a cheap eBay one in the top of one of my doors to work as a rear view one and one in my door handle trim to work as a reversing camera.

I'd love to see how you mounted them Nick as I couldn't find a good place to put my AutoVox one anywhere as it was just too large. Any obvious outside places I could just stick it wouldn't be how I wanted to fit it and some little toerag would boot it off the van so it had to be secure and discreet, or high up.

I had my handle trim off but there's no good area on the for it to mount. If it was smaller and the bracket was too, maybe.

I do have a little waterproof one that would be neat under the handle trim, but need to make up an adapter for the remote camera transmitter so I could still use the autovox monitor I have.

[Paul B.]

I just fitted one of these in read door grab handle easy to fit and displays on head unit no problem

https://imgbox.com/k5iXNu43

[STP]

Thanks Paul, I have one of those too. For some reason it does t send a picture via the autovox wireless transmitter which I suspect is due to differences in the seemingly identical tiny 4 way plug used on all Chinese cameras. I got the wiring colours from AutoVox by email so I'm going to use the multitude of other camera cables and bits I have already, to make an adaptor for this purpose and see if it works.

My chosen monitor being wireless only, needs to get a video signal from the matching transmitter which has a socket to plug the camera into but I think the pin out is different so have to strip the extension cable outer insulation off and see which colours are inside. Then I can make a cable converter and should be able to put any camera into it (not just the original one which works but as said, is way too big)

Did you wire the camera supply directly to the blue/black wire for reversing lights or did you use an isolation relay?

[Paul B.]

Luckily I could just wire straight into head unit was quite easy to route signal wire. To begin with took live from reverse lamp positive worked just fine when engine wasn't running but didn't work when turned on. Then read on here about using relay due to canbus causing problems taking live from reverse wire. Wired in with relay that I positioned up near interior light in my swb van as it has constant live needed using positive from reversing lamp to switch relay. I suspect I could have used the earth and live located behind rear passenger small cover that houses side door lock mechanism but I didn't realise it was there until I removed inner ply to fit sound deadening sheets last week...

[STP]

Good, that's what I suspected. I have a diode equipped relay to use for this, also didn't know about the side door lock unit and am about to also fit sound deadening to my swb once I take the wood panels off.

The myth about canbus and bulbs (it is a myth but not for the reason you might think) - I've no idea how this came about with every bulb maker in china quoting canbus compliant bulbs. Doc, if he was on, would know this too.

Canbus is an industrial communication protocol, used in machinery and cars (even your modern home boiler uses it) over two wires in a twisted pair, to allow communication between various modules like the stereo, engine ECU, BCM or body controller, trailer ECU etc. the BCM is the network master and bridge for all other modules. If the Bluetooth phone module wants to tell the radio to switch to call audio when a call comes in, it has to do so via the BCM (over canbus wires) which routes messages between the correct modules at various speeds and priority levels. The ABS and SRS systems for the airbags have the highest priority and highest speed network bus, and their messages override all other controllers trying to use the network for comms.

The bulb circuits like the reversing bulbs, are driven by outputs from the BCM directly, and because the BCM has direct access to all bulbs, it can send continuous pulses to them in order to check if they are blown or missing. It can also repurpose them to do other jobs when important ones like brake lights fail. Other bulbs can be turned on to simulate brake lights if required, by the BCM.

These pulses upset things like cameras, and also LEDs don't have a resistance like a standard bulb, they are diodes. So the BCM can't detect them and throws a bulb failed error, unless the led has a resistor strapped across it, so that it looks like a bulb and no warning is issued. "Canbus compliant" bulbs just have a resistor across them, which actually gets hot like a bulb would. It has to draw the same current or the BCM would suspect a problem. This causes early failures in cheap Chinese led sidelight bulbs for example, due to the heat of the resistors cooking the LEDs. Catch-22.

The relay only draws a small DC current to operate it, has a diode across it in reverse, to protect the BCM output from coil backlash or back-emf to use the school textbook term when the relay is switched off. That way, the clean supply with no pulses from the permanent 12v at the relay output contacts, can power the camera or other devices with no issues.

Canbus rant over lol.

[STP]

Small update, I had a brake light camera and mirror monitor for the last van which was a Berlingo so I removed the camera from that brake light and fitted it to my rear left door grab trim to the right of the lock barrel underneath, and used the ignition live and ground from the now redundant rear wiper plug (wires 1 and 5) to provide main 12v power for the camera (and wireless video transmitter) via a relay (switched the relay from the reverse light wire and same ground as wiper plug) so now I can see my towbar plus a couple of metres behind me when in reverse.

[XBLster]

I'm using a RCD360 from Aliexpress with a T6 reverse cam. It even said Bentley on it.




Had to cut a hole in the trunk and used some Sikaflex to seal it but it look OEM so i'm happy.

Not to advertise but here is the link https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005003973402699.html

[jakemcc97]

Canbus rant over lol.

Ha, nice to see this - it's what goes through my head every time I see "CAN bus compatible bulb"

On topic - I use a Wolfbox G850 rear view camera and have been really pleased with it. I also have the OEM camera on my head unit but like having a rear view "mirror" too.

[STP]

Thanks mate, good to see a sensible like minded person! I have the bulkhead in and the grille covers on, plus rear windows vinyl wrapped inside so seeing out is not an option from the rearview mirror.