OleStraightStick

Ok so I did the whole sound deadening/audio upgrade/backup camera etc.. well I wired up the backup camera (RCA with built in trigger wire) and tapped the trigger wire and camera power wire into the green reverse light wire in the rear, and the camera ground to the black wire.. the camera functions normally (headunit switches in and out of video mode automatically when shifting into and from reverse) with the key turned to ACC.. now my problem starts when I crank the car.. it switches to the video mode when not in reverse and won’t switch back to the audio functions (just says no video signal).. I’ve tried searching the Internet and found a post on another forum of a c5 owner who had this problem and said he measured current at the reverse wire/s when not in reverse, but nobody ever really had a solid solution.. I know there’s hundreds of y’all that have successfully wired backup cameras so what do I need to do to fix this? I’m almost certain it has something to do with how it’s tapped into the reverse bulb wires.. should I not tap the black camera wire into the black reverse wire and ground it somewhere else instead? It seems that the h/u is receiving a constant signal preventing it from switching away from the reverse input

BRAVO1

Same here without a fix......pisses me off when I'm driving it keeps switching with the same message you have. I touch the screen it goes back to HU then will switch to no video.

Jim

My HU is the JVC KW-130BT. The HU works just fine it's only when you are driving that the issue of the video screen comes on. I have looked at many videos and forum posts just can't seem to understand how others have installed their HUs without this issue. Looking forward to some answers on this.

OleStraightStick

Mine won’t even allow me to switch it from the no video screen.. it’s just stuck there when the car is running.. but if I just turn the key to ACC everything works perfectly.. stuff like this is why I could never be an electrician lol

sirdano

Which head unit is this?

GCG

Have you tried to disconnect the trigger wire to verify if things behave normally up to that step of the process?

joezr2

I'm trying to boil this down- the camera can't power up and tell the HU "hey, I'm on!" unless that green wire is supplying power.

Not sure the HU you have but if it functions like my Kenwood, that power wire goes up to the HU and tells it "I'm in reverse" and switched the rear vid display to on.

You don't seem to have the camera powering up but you DO have it telling the HU to switch to the reverse camera. That's weird because both 12V sources come from the exact same wire.

I think GCG has the right idea as a starting point- make sure everythign works independent of the backup camera trigger first. Make sure something else isn't telling it to switch display.

If all of that works then checking not only power/ground from the green/black wires but also WHEN the green gets power. On, Acc, reverse, not reverse, etc. Have someone go through all combinations while you check the source with a tester.

That's where I would start anyway but I'm no expert. I had no issues with the backup camera and wired to the same wires as you.

OleStraightStick

Sony XAV AX100
Not yet but I will
That one paragraph is exactly where I think my issue lies.. gonna go into the headunit settings first and see if there’s any backup camera settings to mess with first (I read that some have polarity & battery power settings).. if that fails, I’ll start checking wires.. frustrating because it seems like it should be working correctly

OleStraightStick

I checked the settings and there’s only a normal & reverse setting for the camera (polarity, I’m assuming).. that didn’t help.. so it’s gotta be the wiring

GCG

Careful with reversing wire polarities. That's not how these things usually work.

I checked the specs of your new headunit to have a better idea, and I found this in Amazon:

That means that this headunit can be switched to show the rear camera "manually" by direct selection through the screen AND "automatically" by means of the trigger wire connected to the backup lights, for example.

Again, what I would do at this point is disconnect the trigger wire and make sure everything is as it is supposed to be, and then take it from there.

OleStraightStick

Yea I would still think the camera would need to be wired into the ACC in order to be able to manually switch it without it being in reverse.. which honestly I don’t really care to be able to do that.. I’ll be quite content with it just automatically switching when shifted into reverse.. definitely gonna pull the tag frame/backup lights off again and see if I didn’t accidentally screw up the wiring when I soldered it, then pull the headunit back out if needed

GCG

Camera to ACC and trigger to backup lights.

OleStraightStick

So I figured out the problem today.. everything was wired correctly.. it was the LED backup bulbs I had just installed.. with the ignition on, and the trans in neutral, I noticed several of the outmost LEDs slightly light up then turn off.. put the incandescent bulbs back in and viola.. kinda sucks though cause I wanted to run brighter LED bulbs in there.. I’d hate to keep buying bulbs that I can’t use.. anybody have any suggestions on LEDs that won’t somehow draw current when not in reverse?

BRAVO1

I have LED bulbs in the backup sockets....I like them and want to keep them. Should we put a resistor inline on the positive side???? If you need a resistor I have some......

Jim

OleStraightStick

Hmm I wonder if that would work? Maybe wire them between the bulb & connection point where we tapped into the wire?

OleStraightStick

I ordered some 50W 6 Ohm load resistors.. reckon we’ll see if it helps.. just gotta figure out the proper way to wire it lol

I’m assuming I’ll just tap into the positive & negative wire.. just unsure if it should be tapped in before or after the backup camera splices, or if that even matters at all.. I’d prefer not to booger up the wires too much lol

Tsumi

Electricity doesn't care where you are making connections as long as the wires are thick enough to handle the current, which they should.

BRAVO1

Sent you a PM.........

Jim

OleStraightStick

So I wired up a resistor into the reverse bulb and so far it works perfectly.. Jim (Bravo1) had an awesome idea and it worked I will provide a few pics Incase it helps anybody in the future.. can’t stand when folks don’t follow up on threads..

BRAVO1

DAMN THAT'S GREAT........I bet no stereo shop would have considered this fix because of the LEDs...Excellent work OleStraightStick.

BRAVO1

Did mine today worked great...THIS NEEDS TO BE A STICKY