(Yet another) backup camera install

[gunbunny]

I read through everyone else's posts, but since I was looking for something that looked as factory as possible I took a slightly different route.

Parts list:
Stereo harness (either make your own or buy from JHP. I bought mine)
Wireless AV transmitter-receiver (There's lots to pick from on Amazon. All about the same, all under $20.)
A backup camera like this one (About $20).
A package of T-tap connectors (About $10)

Let's get busy!

1. Open the trunk and drop the carpet from the trunk lid.
2. Right above the license plate, there's a plastic plug right in the middle. Remove it
   IMG_5192.jpg
3. Check the size of the screw on your camera. If it's too big, you'll need to enlarge the hole in the trunk lid. I made a paper template, then masked the area off so I knew where my limits were. Spin up the Dremel and take your time. Lots of dry fitting, but it only took about 15 minutes to get the hole to the correct diameter. Deburr the edges and use automotive touch-up paint to cover all exposed metal.
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4. The camera came with a pre-cut double-sided foam tape piece. Make sure everything is clean, center it up, and press it into place. This is primarily to keep moisture out. The camera should also come with a nut to attach on the inside. Slide this over the camera wire and down onto the threaded piece on the camera, and tighten it down good. It should now look like this:
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5. Time to power it up. I went for the easy route: the license plate lights. Granted, they're not always on, but a quick flip to turn on the parking lights and it works fine. You'll need to remove some of the tape holding the wire pairs together. I took a super-sharp knife between the wires and carefully cut down about 2".
   IMG_5238.jpg
6. Now you're going to install the T-tap connectors. The wire gauge here is pretty small, so I used the smallest ones which in my package are red. You simply insert the wire into the groove and use a pair of pliers to clamp it shut. This slices through the insulation and the metal makes contact with the wires.
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7. Now take the spade connectors (part of the T-tap connectors) and crimp them onto the ends of the black and red wires of the camera transmitter. Attach the spade connector on the RED transmitter wire to the T-tap on the BROWN+WHITE wire. Attach the spade connector on the BLACK transmitter wire to the T-tap connector on the BLACK wire. Plug the RCA cable into the backup camera. Zip tie everything up nice and tight.
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8. Reinstall the carpet on the trunk lid. You're done here. Time to move to the front.

[gunbunny]

1. Drop the glove box and install the rear aux cables: http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=9696 Reinstall glove box.
2. Look for the wires going to the cigarette lighter. They're brown and black. Install T-taps on these wires as well. These wires are a larger gauge, so I used the blue T-taps. Attach the spade connectors to the wireless receiver's power wires. Again, attach the spade connector for the RED wire to the T-tap connector on the BROWN wire, and the spade connector for the BLACK wire to the T-tap on the BLACK wire. Attach the RCA connector from the wireless receiver to the video-in on the rear aux cable.
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3. Put all the panels back on and grab a beer. You're done! (Elapsed time: about an hour.)
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So long as the license plate lights are on, the transmitter gets power. For me and when I drive, this is 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time, I just turn on the parking lights. It's not as good as having a constant 12v power going to the transmitter, but I was looking for the fastest, easiest way of getting this done, with the least amount of pulling up carpet, fishing wire, and whatnot.

[george88gta]

Didnt see any reference as to the car model. Most of these write ups, that I have found , work on the GT and GXP. Does this work on the base V-6 model? Radio has the version 8 code in it.

[hflores3]

Great write up!!!


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[tchr49]

Great contribution! Going to do this while its in for it's long winter nap.

[JAFO]

Thanks for the great write up.

Does anyone have a source for the stereo harness rather then JHP. Not sure I'm technologically enriched enough to make one of my own and from what I've read about JHP...