Rearview Camera

Here's a direct link to your circuit. Looks to me like it should work, but I haven't done a camera install myself.

 

This is a setup using a switched relay? You probably don't need the resistor. The circuit should work as diagrammed.

SCH-I535

 

It's a transistor, not a relay. The reason I included the resistor was to make sure the base of the transistor wasn't being unnecessarily overloaded past its saturation point.

 

Just finished myself... I took a different approach than others here. I'll probably make a post on my blog and I'll reply with a link when I get it up

 

I'm just doing my homework reading all this useful stuff before I'll begin my installation.

Silly question: don't we have to reverse the polarity for BOTH diodes shown in Mik1's diagram?

I see you guys reversed only the one connecting the 12V to the camera.
If I'm not wrong and if we keep the 6.5V diode as shown in Mik1's diagram, the 6.5V is blocked and it will not power-up and "feel" the camera during the booting process. The 6.5V looks useless to me in this configuration.
Moreover the 12V output will flow towards the 6.5V output (?)
I'm not sure is is good to have the diodes connected directly between 12V and 6.5V with no additional resistor (it depends on the internal power supply impedance) Are you sure they don't overheat?

Thanks

 

Doesn't it mean that your camera is always on (draining the battery unnecessarily)? My understanding is that this is why you want to tap the 12V from the reverse light. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Yep, reading the thread till the end paid-off! Your solution looks good!

Are you sure the HU delivers 6.5V when in reverse and not only when the HU is booting?

Mik1's proposal with the 2 diodes is in fact "almost" simulating your transistor, but it needs the 12V from the reverse light to work efficiently. Your solution must work perfectly with a simple "ignition ON" 12V without constantly draining current, since the transistor opens up only when the HU delivers 6.5V!

Is the the 100 ohm resistor optimal?

 

I wound up using a solid state relay that has a build in photocoupler. It basically removes the need for the entire circuit and any sort of electronics, minus a single resistor! I tapped into a switched 12v source to power the camera.

The HU outputs 6.33v for 60 seconds after the car turns from off, to at least "on". This includes on, accessory, and hybrid mode ready.

Additionally, the HU outputs 6.33v every time you enter reverse, 60 seconds past when you shift out of reverse.

 

Good solution! Do you have a part number and source for the solid state relay?

 

I'll be posting everything on my blog in a few days. Need some time to go through my orders + make sure I got the correct parts listed =)

 

I just finished the installation using Mik1's solution (post #110), the one with the 2 diodes (but reversing their polarity) and the 12V tapped from the back-up light.
This is the camera: Car Rear View Reverse Backup Camera IR Night Vision 170° for 2012 Toyota Prius | eBay

The camera doesn't replace the license plate lamp and it goes exactly where the factory camera goes. The installation requires a little bit of cutting (in plastic, easy) following the factory marks made for the factory camera.
I reused the connector pins from an old internal card reader. The hardest part was to pass the camera wires through that trunk door narrow rubber tube.

I attached a couple of pictures before and after the installation.

 

Made the write up, as promised.

RyanFX's Blog: 2013 Prius C Factory Rear View Backup Camera Installation

 

nice! backup camera with LED!

 

edit : double

 

very nice link! thanks for sharing.

 

I finally found the time and patience to do this on the wife's C4 over the holidays...

I ordered this harness+camera combo for $124.97+$10 tax in CA (tried to ask the guy if the camera was a 6v or 12v camera but he didn't know; however, luckily it is a 6v camera)
Toyota Rav 4 and Prius Fit Integrated Back Up Camera System | eBay

I tested the camera with a TFT LCD display I bought a while ago (using a 9v battery for the tft display and a 6v battery for the camera), and it worked perfectly (and also found out it's a 6V or so camera). This being a much easier way to test a camera then opening up the radio and testing it from there...Since it was a 6V camera I just easily spliced the 6V power and ground from the 16pin harness for a easy OEM backup camera feel. (the instructions that came with the camera is really stupid, since it wanted power to be drawn from a acc source...when whoever manufactured this camera should've known it was a 6v camera)

The hardest thing to do was the wiring from front/back vice versa (and took the longest time)...everything else was a piece of cake. I had to cut the camera power/video wire at two different spots to more easily run the wires...since trying to get wiring through the hatch door's top rubber grommet was pretty hard. I used a hanger to push/pull the wiring through the tight spots.

After cutting/splicing/re-wiring/etc...everything works great. And no crazy resistors or whatever to put in...Since Power is drawn from the right place. And the picture quality looks very nice and clean on the C4's screen.

If I could easily find a 6v camera...I think it would've been cheaper to...

buy the harness from
Subaru 16-pin Rear Camera Harness

then bought a 6v camera

and maybe the whole OEM backup camera would just come to a little over $60 or so...

 

also...this could be a good read, and I just stumbled upon it after the fact lol

Subaru & Toyota Rear Camera Input Information

 

Could be useful! There's a bad link on that page to the guy's camera harness page, should be Subaru 16-pin Rear Camera Harness

 

And also I'm thinking about using a 6v to 12v converter
Classic Car 6V to 12V Voltage Converter Power Power | eBay

in my next installation (thinking about getting a 2013 corolla/highlander radio)...I guess I'll order that part and play aroun with it and my extra camera and batteries lying around and see how well it works.

 

A few days ago I ordered a backup camera system from American Security Company (their Amazon store, actually). I paid about $150, and got a small box Priority Mail in three days. I installed this system using the provided instructions (and Mik1's guide in this forum) in my 2013 Prius C3, and it took me about two hours from start to finish. Everything works great, and I am happy with the product -- and the price!

The installation instructions say that it is necessary to tap into a 12V switched power supply, but I discovered that the camera works on 6.5V. There is a source for this on the back of the head unit, right next to where the video IN is attached (on the wiring harness adapter that attaches to the 16-pin G79 connector). So, I bought two wire taps and connected the red lead to the 6.5V wire in the harness (goes to pin #7) and the black lead to the ground wire in the harness (pin #15 on the connector). I tested this setup and it worked perfectly.

I read in this forum about how the head unit polls the 6.5V pin during start-up; if it doesn't detect a camera, then it disables the backup camera circuit entirely for the trip. So it seemed to me that it is actually important to use the provided source on the head unit for this camera. I was pleased not to have to use a separate (perhaps custom-wired) source.​

I found the connectors, components, wires, and camera to be very good quality. It was easy to lead the wire around the driver's side of the car and into the rear hatch area. It took a while to push and pull the wire and its connector through the rubber boot at the top of the rear hatch, as they barely fit. I used a bit of steel wire to fish the camera wire through the hatch from the rubber boot area. This kit included a hole saw, perfect for making the camera attachment hole in the plastic hatch lift handle. I had to find a 3/8" drill bit for the hole through the hatch metal panel, and I used a small file to de-burr and smooth the hole (I did not use a grommet).

The camera provides a bright, clear image with a good field of view. I did not change the "guide lines" wire or the "invert image" wire, on the camera lead. The camera does not generate guide lines.