Boo yah it's update time!
Hey guys! So, finally got the reverse camera / rear view mirror combo installed this weekend past. Here are the pics of the process, and a bit of extra info for y'all!
This here is the camera I chose to use. Make sure you get a camera that has a CCD sensor, not CMOS. Why you ask? I won't go into the tech details, but essentially CCD sensors are better quality, and can receive much more light, even when it's dark. If you get a real CCD sensor it won't require an nightvision IR or anything like that. Ebay is your best bet for getting a camera at a decent price (this one cost me $18 AUD). This particular model is a Sony CCD camera manufactured for a BMW X5- the quality has been superb!
Pro-tip (from other people's mistakes): use some clear silicon to fill any gaps or joints in your camera. Given the cheapish nature of ebay reverse cams, they may say they are waterproof, but go the extra mile and protect your investment (your hard work that is). If you get a small tube of bathroom wet area silicon, you fill, sand, and paint over it relatively quickly. You can see my quick job in the picture above; I also went on to fill the gaps around the top of the camera unit.
Get a can of touch up paint specific to your car colour, and you can paint the camera. If you want to be super proper, you can do a primer coat, but many cans of touch up say you don't need to. I did 3 coats of paint on this one, allowing 20 minutes for drying in between.
This is the rearview mirror kit in its totality, this kit is kick-ass! Normally it retails for around $200 USD, but I managed to get it direct from the manufacturer in China for $85 + postage!
features:
- bluetooth handsfree
- 4.3 inch screen (behind the mirror) that activates when signal is received from reverse cam
- handsfree allows you to use siri / android voice dialling
- has a secondary video input channel which means you could plug a dvd / gps unit into it if you really wanted to
But what really makes this particular kit so awesome? OEM rearview mirror bracket mount!!!! It comes with a stock bracket specific to your vehicle so that you can switch it out with your original mirror, rather than using a universal clip-on mount (which totally bites).
So to get this all installed, a little auto electronics work is required. You'll need to to splice the mirror's power into a wire that powers on ignition, and find a grounding point to complete the circuit.
Your under dash area is the best place to look. I removed the driver's door trim (note I'm in a RHD vehicle) and the plastic trim from under the steering wheel.
Now, unless you are a pro at wiring diagrams, (and even then) get yourself one of these bad boys; it's a circuit tester specific for vehicles. It has a 4 foot cable with a bulldog clip attached to it for attaching to ground points, and then you touch somewhere with power and the handle will light up. You could use a voltmeter, but this way is pretty foolproof and you don't need to spend time learning how to use a voltmeter.
As I mentioned, the key here was to find a wire that powered only after ignition (that way we don't drain the battery down). So, pick a wire and see if the handle lights up without the ignition being on. If it does, find another wire. Here you can see I found my wire, spliced into it, and sealed it up (I've since changed the wrapping from electrical tape to heat shrink tubing- make sure you seal your splices properly!).
I then used a preexisting ground point under the dash to connect my ground wire.
Finally, I connected the handsfree mic, positioned it (just above your rearview mirror is the best place to get full sound coverage of your car), and then cleaned up the cables behind the headliner and plastic trim.
Pro-tip- make sure you tape up (or heat shrink) any connection points in your cables so they don't shake loose when your driving!
mirror install complete!
On to the camera install!
Okay, this part requires a bit of care as you will be drilling a hole through your trunk! caution yeah?
What you will need is a multi-step drill bit (irwin make some good ones) so that you can gradually increase your hole size without making it too big straight up.
First thing first, mark where you are going to drill! Because we are drilling in to a difficult location, use a nail punch to dent the point in your metal, then use a smaller drill bit to drill through. This way we have created a good catch point for the larger multi-step drill bit to create a hole without slipping all over our beautiful paint work.
success! I had to file this a little bit to smooth it out, but I breathed a sigh of relief when the camera screwed in firmly and had no excess play.
Once you've got the camera in place, you need to wire it up. What you'll do is splice the power wires (power and ground) into your reverse light wires. This way, the camera will only receive power (and send a signal) when you switch into reverse. Note that I did actually run a video cable through the car from the boot to the mirror, however I was excited and forgot to take photos. Once again, use heat shrink to seal off your splices.
Camera install complete!
Shot of the mirror for you all
Thanks for stopping by guys, more to come! I'm going to take some better shots of the camera in action (day and night). I also installed cold cathodes in the trunk as a replacement light- they look hot! I'll post a shot of them as well.