How to run backup camera wiring?

[clowntrigger]

I'm installing a new head unit with a backup camera. What is the best way to run the wire for the backup camera?

I was going to go along the right side through the engine. How can I remove the right rear interior panel? Is this the best path?

[Loren]

I'm installing a new head unit with a backup camera. What is the best way to run the wire for the backup camera?

I was going to go along the right side through the engine. How can I remove the right rear interior panel? Is this the best path?

Might be easier to run it up the console tunnel.

You would likely have to use fish tape and a lot of patience to get it through the door sill area.

[clowntrigger]

Where is the entry and exit for the console tunnel?

[Loren]

Start at the right rear side panel - then go under the carpet.

rear side panel removal

[clowntrigger]

That's pretty much what I am trying to do. I'm having problems getting the panel off. I've undone all the screws. Does it require a lot of force to get the panel off?

[Loren]

:oops: my bad, your car is a Cab...

This should help...

[scottyb]

I'm considering doing this as well. Is there anything that makes the right side more preferrable than the left or doesn't it matter?

[Loren]

I'm considering doing this as well. Is there anything that makes the right side more preferrable than the left or doesn't it matter?

The main harness already comes through the body on the right rear side.

[clowntrigger]

I was able to muscle it apart. Thanks for the pic.

[scottyb]

I'm considering doing this as well. Is there anything that makes the right side more preferrable than the left or doesn't it matter?

The main harness already comes through the body on the right rear side.

Ok, thanks Loren.

[clowntrigger]

There is an access hole between the engine compartment and passenger area where the main harness goes through. From the engine area, you will see the big grommet the main harness goes through. On the grommet, just above the main harness, is another access hole. You can push the wires through it. I had to partially raise the top to get access. On a coupe, it may be a little easier.

The great thing about working on your car is find out where others have worked on the car. Looks like someone had pulled the drivers side rear panel at some point. I had to reseat it and get the rubber seal fitted around it to look nice.

Thanks for the help Loren.

[racesx]

Thinking about doing this as well, how are you mounting (and where) the actual camera?

[cmgleason]

I put a hardwired wired audiovox lisense plate camera in over the w/e in preparation for installing a Kenwood DNX 9140 nav unit. Probably because I have an 04' Targa it was somewwhat differant so here is my update. The large groment as seen from the engine did not have a visable gromet above the main harness. However when seen from the inside there is a tube above the the main wiring harness which also has a tube entering the car from which the main harness wiring enters . I almost gave up before I pulled the insulation away to see that there really is an access thru the tube & into the gromet. Use a screwdriver to punch thru the gromet by using the tube as a guide for the screwdriver. The front seat belt by the door has a hidden screw which can be seen with a flashlight just at the rear of the seat belt that exits the door panel. Be sure to use a mag tool as you remove or it will be lost forever. There are also two other screws on the rear seat belt. One is accessed thru the little perforated plastic screen which pops off easily if one first removes the light socket & is at the top of the seatbelt. The second hidden screw is accessed after one pulls off the carpet which is just below the targa glass. It is at the rear of the seat belt plastic cover. Then one needs to pull up on the door panel after releasing the panel from along the window & floor. There is also a clip that points upward at the top of the forward seat belt. This turned into a royal PITA & I would never have done it if there had not been quite a few negatives about wireless rear camera's. At least I am safe with this setup & won't have my neighbor's baby monitor showing his cute face on my Kenwood.!! One last point is that I picked up the reverse wire (black & blue) thru a drain hole below the right taillight after I removed the taillight. That was really easy.

[dbnichols]

Loren,

The diagram for the cab is great.

However, I have a coupe (2005 997). Do you have a diagram for pulling the panel to gain access to the wires for this model?

Also, I have another question, as I'm about to embark on changing out the head unit, etc. I have BOSE, and most of the information I see says the the subwoofer is located in the passenger footwell. However, I have what appears to be a BOSE sub box mounted (from factory) above the rear seats. This has two ports (L/R sides). Is this the subwoofer or something else?

Thanks in advance for any information,

Bryan

PS: I'm attaching a couple of images of the back speaker I'm talking about, back seats folded down.

Edited June 2, 2009 by dbnichols

[dbnichols]

Also, here is a doc I found regarding access to the Illumination / Reverse wire on the car. But, this doesn't seem to be quite right for my car. Note, the lack of the BOSE speakers in this diagram.

Thanks,

Bryan

[dbnichols]

Hey,

I've got everything torn down to run the rear view camera and put it in place for my pending head unit installation. Now, I'm looking for the best 12V power & ground to use in the rear engine compartment.

Attached is a photo of the two plugs that appear to feed into the driver's side taillight, which I think would work to tap for power and ground. There are 2 connector's: one grey & one black.

Can I tap off of any of these wires?

Thanks,

Bryan

PS: 2005 997 (911) C2

Edited June 27, 2009 by dbnichols

[Orient Express]

Hey,

I've got everything torn down to run the rear view camera and put it in place for my pending head unit installation. Now, I'm looking for the best 12V power & ground to use in the rear engine compartment.

Attached is a photo of the two plugs that appear to feed into the driver's side taillight, which I think would work to tap for power and ground. There are 2 connector's: one grey & one black.

Can I tap off of any of these wires?

Thanks,

Bryan

PS: 2005 997 (911) C2

Those are the O2 sensors connectors. If you want 12V get it from the fuse block.

[Loren]

Backup camera = backup lights. Get power and ground there.

[dbnichols]

I tapped the reverse lights & ground. All is well, except for this one piece of batting...? 997.556.657.00, can't figure out where it goes, and don't want to seal up the panel and leave it out. Any ideas?

So, I've got a quick question for you all. I took pretty detailed pictures but, apparently I did not take one of an interior (grey in color, sort of like the stuff in the front trunk area, except smaller) piece that goes inside the panel. There was a piece that was glued / stuck to the wall, which was 997.556.656.00, and then a big batting (sound proofing piece), and then this piece:

997.556.657.00

It's about 18 inches tall, and 10 inches wide and is sort of form fitted. However, I' can't figure out where it goes back in the assembly. Once I get that I should be able to close everything back up and be done, in no small part to your advise and tips.

If anyone can help out, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks,

Bryan

Edited June 28, 2009 by dbnichols

[dbnichols]

Got everything fit back fine, except for the BOSE subwoofer. The bracket on that was slightly misaligned from the disassembly / reassembly, nothing a slight whack to the bracket with a rubber mallet wouldn't fix!! :clapping:

Then, it went in, and everything was sealed. I ran the Illumination / Reverse from the harness in the back (under the sub) and the rear camera RCA plug from the tail, and left them under the passenger seat until I start the next step of the head unit replacement.

So far so good!

Thanks,

Bryan

[dbnichols]

I had installed the rear camera several weeks in advance of getting the AVIC-X90BT, and ultimately the AVIC-Z110BT.

Here are some shots of the rear camera installation. Basically, you have to contort yourself to fit in the back seat area. I pushed the front passenger seat all the way forward, dropped the back seats down, and then sort of sat on the rear console lid while doing all of the initial interior work on pulling the back trim and getting to the engine compartment grommet.

One note for anyone who is going to pull the interior of covering the interior back wall of the car...make sure you take a picture or memorize where all the little soundproofing batting pieces go, and how they are arranged. They are like a jigsaw puzzle once you take them out, and figuring out how they were arranged is pretty **** tough all things considered. I had to sit there and figure out how one of the pieces was arranged, and it took longer than just about any other step.

At any rate, you'll see in the first couple of pictures, I dropped the back driver's side tail light, and tapped into the reverse light. I put all this in a small loom, to keep it neat (I don't like seeing wires hanging out) and ran it into the engine compartment, and over to the other side (passenger) to find the engine firewall grommet to the interior. I mounted the camera directly in the middle of the license plate area so it wouldn't appear offset in the image on screen. Since I didn't have the aftermarket head unit at this point, i hooked up an LCD monitor in the garage to make sure the signal was passing correctly, since I didn't want to run all these cables only to find out it didn't work! That would have sucked BIG TIME!!

From the next set of pictures, I've already pulled the passenger side rear panels, and I've pulled the BOSE subwoofer. After pulling the BOSE unit, you simply pry up the main carpet foam covering, and then pull out the two smaller pieces from either side of the BOSE mounting bracket. Next, unbolt the aluminum covering to get to the wiring harness, and tap the illumination and reverse signal cables for later connection to the head unit.

You can see from a couple of the pictures, the actual grommet from which I passed through the RCA cable of the reverse camera. This thing is tough to get a hand into, unless you have small arms. I managed to run a snake through there, and then commenced pulling the RCA cable through. I made the mistake of not making the puncture in the grommet big enough, so as a pulled it, it pulled the grommet off, and through! NICE!! :rolleyes:

So, now I had to stuff my friggin' arm in there and shove on this stupid grommet until it popped back in place. Not a big deal, but something I could have avoided if I'd just make the initial puncture a little larger. So, now I pulled the RCA and my illumination and reverse lead together and coiled them up (after testing again!) under the carpet until the head unit came in.

The main reason I took these pictures was to help out anyone who is having problems visualizing how this grommet deal works. It's not a huge deal, and most of the time was spent dealing with unknowns. It took me about 3 hours to do all of this from start to finish. If I was doing it again tomorrow, we'd be talking 2 hours. Definitely a time savings, knowing what you're getting into and where the stuff is at, but it is still a small space and you need to take your time, especially making sure the wiring is clean and in pulling the interior trim.

It is VERY easy to break some tabs on the interior trim if you don't do it right. There are a few articles / post on pulling the back plastic trim, so I'm not going to go into that again, but definitely take your time, and it should go just fine.

-B-

[996noob]

I had installed the rear camera several weeks in advance of getting the AVIC-X90BT, and ultimately the AVIC-Z110BT.

Here are some shots of the rear camera installation. Basically, you have to contort yourself to fit in the back seat area. I pushed the front passenger seat all the way forward, dropped the back seats down, and then sort of sat on the rear console lid while doing all of the initial interior work on pulling the back trim and getting to the engine compartment grommet.

One note for anyone who is going to pull the interior of covering the interior back wall of the car...make sure you take a picture or memorize where all the little soundproofing batting pieces go, and how they are arranged. They are like a jigsaw puzzle once you take them out, and figuring out how they were arranged is pretty **** tough all things considered. I had to sit there and figure out how one of the pieces was arranged, and it took longer than just about any other step.

At any rate, you'll see in the first couple of pictures, I dropped the back driver's side tail light, and tapped into the reverse light. I put all this in a small loom, to keep it neat (I don't like seeing wires hanging out) and ran it into the engine compartment, and over to the other side (passenger) to find the engine firewall grommet to the interior. I mounted the camera directly in the middle of the license plate area so it wouldn't appear offset in the image on screen. Since I didn't have the aftermarket head unit at this point, i hooked up an LCD monitor in the garage to make sure the signal was passing correctly, since I didn't want to run all these cables only to find out it didn't work! That would have sucked BIG TIME!!

From the next set of pictures, I've already pulled the passenger side rear panels, and I've pulled the BOSE subwoofer. After pulling the BOSE unit, you simply pry up the main carpet foam covering, and then pull out the two smaller pieces from either side of the BOSE mounting bracket. Next, unbolt the aluminum covering to get to the wiring harness, and tap the illumination and reverse signal cables for later connection to the head unit.

You can see from a couple of the pictures, the actual grommet from which I passed through the RCA cable of the reverse camera. This thing is tough to get a hand into, unless you have small arms. I managed to run a snake through there, and then commenced pulling the RCA cable through. I made the mistake of not making the puncture in the grommet big enough, so as a pulled it, it pulled the grommet off, and through! NICE!! :rolleyes:

So, now I had to stuff my friggin' arm in there and shove on this stupid grommet until it popped back in place. Not a big deal, but something I could have avoided if I'd just make the initial puncture a little larger. So, now I pulled the RCA and my illumination and reverse lead together and coiled them up (after testing again!) under the carpet until the head unit came in.

The main reason I took these pictures was to help out anyone who is having problems visualizing how this grommet deal works. It's not a huge deal, and most of the time was spent dealing with unknowns. It took me about 3 hours to do all of this from start to finish. If I was doing it again tomorrow, we'd be talking 2 hours. Definitely a time savings, knowing what you're getting into and where the stuff is at, but it is still a small space and you need to take your time, especially making sure the wiring is clean and in pulling the interior trim.

It is VERY easy to break some tabs on the interior trim if you don't do it right. There are a few articles / post on pulling the back plastic trim, so I'm not going to go into that again, but definitely take your time, and it should go just fine.

-B-

Just a question for you regarding the install. Why do you tap both the rear light wires and the wires in the car? You needed reverse signal and ground, and lights on (illumination). Which would be tapped from the light alone. I think I am missing something. I just want to understand the signals you required. Also, how come you chose to tap wires from the left side rear light and then go through the firewall on the right side, could you have chosen the reight rear light instead?

Just in case I do this DIY in the future, I wanted to know the reasons behind the choices made.

Thanks!

[dbnichols]

Honestly, there was no reason really for choosing the right side over the left side, it just appeared to have a little more room to work with on the driver's side. Either way would have worked.

As far as why I tapped the reverse & illumination inside the car is easy. I did not want to tap the rear lights for that, and run 3 wires through the grommet. I wanted to run one wire through the grommet, the RCA output of the camera. Just a personal decision, but it was hard to get through there with one wire, and I didn't want to do two more. Of course, you would run them all from the one spot on the taillight assembly if you wanted to. There's more than one way to skin a cat, as they say!

I had installed the rear camera several weeks in advance of getting the AVIC-X90BT, and ultimately the AVIC-Z110BT.

Here are some shots of the rear camera installation. Basically, you have to contort yourself to fit in the back seat area. I pushed the front passenger seat all the way forward, dropped the back seats down, and then sort of sat on the rear console lid while doing all of the initial interior work on pulling the back trim and getting to the engine compartment grommet.

One note for anyone who is going to pull the interior of covering the interior back wall of the car...make sure you take a picture or memorize where all the little soundproofing batting pieces go, and how they are arranged. They are like a jigsaw puzzle once you take them out, and figuring out how they were arranged is pretty **** tough all things considered. I had to sit there and figure out how one of the pieces was arranged, and it took longer than just about any other step.

At any rate, you'll see in the first couple of pictures, I dropped the back driver's side tail light, and tapped into the reverse light. I put all this in a small loom, to keep it neat (I don't like seeing wires hanging out) and ran it into the engine compartment, and over to the other side (passenger) to find the engine firewall grommet to the interior. I mounted the camera directly in the middle of the license plate area so it wouldn't appear offset in the image on screen. Since I didn't have the aftermarket head unit at this point, i hooked up an LCD monitor in the garage to make sure the signal was passing correctly, since I didn't want to run all these cables only to find out it didn't work! That would have sucked BIG TIME!!

From the next set of pictures, I've already pulled the passenger side rear panels, and I've pulled the BOSE subwoofer. After pulling the BOSE unit, you simply pry up the main carpet foam covering, and then pull out the two smaller pieces from either side of the BOSE mounting bracket. Next, unbolt the aluminum covering to get to the wiring harness, and tap the illumination and reverse signal cables for later connection to the head unit.

You can see from a couple of the pictures, the actual grommet from which I passed through the RCA cable of the reverse camera. This thing is tough to get a hand into, unless you have small arms. I managed to run a snake through there, and then commenced pulling the RCA cable through. I made the mistake of not making the puncture in the grommet big enough, so as a pulled it, it pulled the grommet off, and through! NICE!! :rolleyes:

So, now I had to stuff my friggin' arm in there and shove on this stupid grommet until it popped back in place. Not a big deal, but something I could have avoided if I'd just make the initial puncture a little larger. So, now I pulled the RCA and my illumination and reverse lead together and coiled them up (after testing again!) under the carpet until the head unit came in.

The main reason I took these pictures was to help out anyone who is having problems visualizing how this grommet deal works. It's not a huge deal, and most of the time was spent dealing with unknowns. It took me about 3 hours to do all of this from start to finish. If I was doing it again tomorrow, we'd be talking 2 hours. Definitely a time savings, knowing what you're getting into and where the stuff is at, but it is still a small space and you need to take your time, especially making sure the wiring is clean and in pulling the interior trim.

It is VERY easy to break some tabs on the interior trim if you don't do it right. There are a few articles / post on pulling the back plastic trim, so I'm not going to go into that again, but definitely take your time, and it should go just fine.

-B-

Just a question for you regarding the install. Why do you tap both the rear light wires and the wires in the car? You needed reverse signal and ground, and lights on (illumination). Which would be tapped from the light alone. I think I am missing something. I just want to understand the signals you required. Also, how come you chose to tap wires from the left side rear light and then go through the firewall on the right side, could you have chosen the reight rear light instead?

Just in case I do this DIY in the future, I wanted to know the reasons behind the choices made.

Thanks!

[996noob]

Honestly, there was no reason really for choosing the right side over the left side, it just appeared to have a little more room to work with on the driver's side. Either way would have worked.

As far as why I tapped the reverse & illumination inside the car is easy. I did not want to tap the rear lights for that, and run 3 wires through the grommet. I wanted to run one wire through the grommet, the RCA output of the camera. Just a personal decision, but it was hard to get through there with one wire, and I didn't want to do two more. Of course, you would run them all from the one spot on the taillight assembly if you wanted to. There's more than one way to skin a cat, as they say!

I had installed the rear camera several weeks in advance of getting the AVIC-X90BT, and ultimately the AVIC-Z110BT.

Here are some shots of the rear camera installation. Basically, you have to contort yourself to fit in the back seat area. I pushed the front passenger seat all the way forward, dropped the back seats down, and then sort of sat on the rear console lid while doing all of the initial interior work on pulling the back trim and getting to the engine compartment grommet.

One note for anyone who is going to pull the interior of covering the interior back wall of the car...make sure you take a picture or memorize where all the little soundproofing batting pieces go, and how they are arranged. They are like a jigsaw puzzle once you take them out, and figuring out how they were arranged is pretty **** tough all things considered. I had to sit there and figure out how one of the pieces was arranged, and it took longer than just about any other step.

At any rate, you'll see in the first couple of pictures, I dropped the back driver's side tail light, and tapped into the reverse light. I put all this in a small loom, to keep it neat (I don't like seeing wires hanging out) and ran it into the engine compartment, and over to the other side (passenger) to find the engine firewall grommet to the interior. I mounted the camera directly in the middle of the license plate area so it wouldn't appear offset in the image on screen. Since I didn't have the aftermarket head unit at this point, i hooked up an LCD monitor in the garage to make sure the signal was passing correctly, since I didn't want to run all these cables only to find out it didn't work! That would have sucked BIG TIME!!

From the next set of pictures, I've already pulled the passenger side rear panels, and I've pulled the BOSE subwoofer. After pulling the BOSE unit, you simply pry up the main carpet foam covering, and then pull out the two smaller pieces from either side of the BOSE mounting bracket. Next, unbolt the aluminum covering to get to the wiring harness, and tap the illumination and reverse signal cables for later connection to the head unit.

You can see from a couple of the pictures, the actual grommet from which I passed through the RCA cable of the reverse camera. This thing is tough to get a hand into, unless you have small arms. I managed to run a snake through there, and then commenced pulling the RCA cable through. I made the mistake of not making the puncture in the grommet big enough, so as a pulled it, it pulled the grommet off, and through! NICE!! :rolleyes:

So, now I had to stuff my friggin' arm in there and shove on this stupid grommet until it popped back in place. Not a big deal, but something I could have avoided if I'd just make the initial puncture a little larger. So, now I pulled the RCA and my illumination and reverse lead together and coiled them up (after testing again!) under the carpet until the head unit came in.

The main reason I took these pictures was to help out anyone who is having problems visualizing how this grommet deal works. It's not a huge deal, and most of the time was spent dealing with unknowns. It took me about 3 hours to do all of this from start to finish. If I was doing it again tomorrow, we'd be talking 2 hours. Definitely a time savings, knowing what you're getting into and where the stuff is at, but it is still a small space and you need to take your time, especially making sure the wiring is clean and in pulling the interior trim.

It is VERY easy to break some tabs on the interior trim if you don't do it right. There are a few articles / post on pulling the back plastic trim, so I'm not going to go into that again, but definitely take your time, and it should go just fine.

-B-

Just a question for you regarding the install. Why do you tap both the rear light wires and the wires in the car? You needed reverse signal and ground, and lights on (illumination). Which would be tapped from the light alone. I think I am missing something. I just want to understand the signals you required. Also, how come you chose to tap wires from the left side rear light and then go through the firewall on the right side, could you have chosen the reight rear light instead?

Just in case I do this DIY in the future, I wanted to know the reasons behind the choices made.

Thanks!

I see, thanks for the clarification!

[mikes_box]

I am stuck getting the right rear panel off. Everything is loose and the only thing holding it in is the front corner piece near the window. I also haven't seen a screw there. I don't want to break anything by yanking it off. Any help would be great.