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I have bought a twin lens reversing/rear view camera and am now plucking up the courage to fit it myself. I am not totally useless but is it wise to fit it myself or get a 'professional' to fit it. My main problem is the routing of the cables. I suppose that I could take the 12V supply from the accessory socket which might alleviate having holes drilled everywhere. The supply is supposed to be taken from the ignition switched supply.
Any suggestions would be very gratefully received.
Sorry to disagree BUT it is essential that you pick up the 12v supply from a switched ignition supply. That way your camera will operate only when the ignition is switched on. If you pick up a supply from the rear lights then it will only work when the lights are on !! I am not aware of any vehicle where an electrical component is switched on the return side, they are always switched on the feed side. Unless of course its a "canbus" system, they are a total can of worms when it comes to fitting any sort of electrical extra.
Go by the instructions that came with the kit, the makers know what they are talking about and have an interest in you being happy with what you have bought.
Fitting is not a difficult job but it is time consuming, especially feeding the necessary cables from the camera back to the cab. (its often much easier to actually route them along the underside of the floor (which is probably wood and easy to fix into) rather than trying to feed them through the back of all the cupboards etc!! just make sure that any cable joints are INSIDE so they dont get wet, corrode and then fail to work!
Good luck and if I can offer one bit of advise it is DONT RUSH the job, that will only lead to a mistake (personal experience !!)
Personally i would run a new feed via a switch on the dash to turn the camera on, you will already have to run your video cable back to the front so you might as well run power with it. this way you can use it when you are going forwards too - has it's uses.
if you do decide to get your power from the rear lights (namely the reverse light) there is usually little or no chance that the reverse light is part of the can bus or multiplex system (found on the x250) Please check this first though.
take your time, seal any holes you make very well, don't be scared to use a £10 tube of sealant to seal one 6mm hole, it's worth it!
also don't worry about it taking you three weekends, if you've not got the right tool, piece of equipment or a piece of mini trunking to make it look tidier or do the job properly, get the thing you need to do it right. There is no substitute for the correct tool for the job.
above all take pictures and show us how you get on!
I picked up the live feed from the 'always-on' radio connections. Then put in an isolating switch to totally disconnect the supply to the cameras when not needed.
I had never done this type of job before, but it went well.
I fitted a twin camera system that can be used for both reversing and rear view when driving.
Can also be used as a rear 'spy' cam when parked up, by switching the isolating switch to on.
______________________________________________________________ "On all the oceans white caps flow,
You see no crosses row on row
But those who sleep beneath the sea,
Rest in peace for your country is free".
I used a permanent supply from the cab but made sure it is through an illuminated isolating switch on the dash.
I wanted to be able to use the camera while driving and be able to view the rear of the van when parked e.g if I heard a noise at night.
The reason you need to be able to isolate them completely is because a lot of cameras leds will draw current all the time. And the reason I used an illuminated switch is so I dont forget to turn it off .
I had a fairly easy run from back to front inside the van and I have my camera mounted as high up as possible. I would have had to drill into my van behind the camera then get the cable down to the floor and back outside to run underneath. The fewer holes from outside the better in my opinion so plan carefully and dont rush anything.
What an excellent set of answers. I feel capable of doing it now. What sort of isolating switch would I need? I suppose that Maplins sell a suitable one. I wouldn't take a feed from the reversing lights because it is a dual camera which I would use as a rear view 'mirror' but can switch it to to the other camera to keep an eye on my Smart car on an A frame and for reversing of course.
What an excellent set of answers. I feel capable of doing it now. What sort of isolating switch would I need? I suppose that Maplins sell a suitable one. I wouldn't take a feed from the reversing lights because it is a dual camera which I would use as a rear view 'mirror' but can switch it to to the other camera to keep an eye on my Smart car on an A frame and for reversing of course.
Thanks again
Brian
Any car dash switch would do, I got a rocker switch from Halfords and labelled it with Dymo tape.
______________________________________________________________ "On all the oceans white caps flow,
You see no crosses row on row
But those who sleep beneath the sea,
Rest in peace for your country is free".
What an excellent set of answers. I feel capable of doing it now. What sort of isolating switch would I need? I suppose that Maplins sell a suitable one. I wouldn't take a feed from the reversing lights because it is a dual camera which I would use as a rear view 'mirror' but can switch it to to the other camera to keep an eye on my Smart car on an A frame and for reversing of course.
Be careful to solder a resistor in series with the led though to drop the voltage down to 2.2V. A 500 ohm (ish) resistor should do it.
It might be a faff to get a lit switch, but you are much less likely to leave it on and you are sure that you are completely isolating the camera from your battery.
If you take a feed from the ignition supply you will not need any other switch !! It will operate whilst the engine is running and once the ignitioon is switched off its also off. Nothing to forget!!
As its a dual lens camera you will probably find that there is provision to take a feed from the reverse light circuit which will automatically switch from "rear view" to "reversing" when you select reverse. I have a dual input monitor and two cameras on the back. One that is "always on" with the ignition to serve as a rear view camera and the other which picks up a feed from the reversing lights and serves as a reversing camera when reverse is engaged. Nothing to switch on or off, (or forget to switch on and off) it all just does what I need without having to do anything (other than selecting reverse to go backwards)
Dont over complicate matters with additional switches etc.
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