I have a factory backup cam. Is there an aftermarket plug&play camera with guide lines?

I want to do almost the same thing.

The problem is that Toyota provides only 6 volts to the OEM camera. As far as I can tell, the vast majority of aftermarket cameras use a 12 volt input that is stepped down to 3.3 volts. It's been reported that you can cut out the 12v-3.3v transformer and substitute a 6v-3.3v transformer and you would then be able to use all of the Toyota wiring that's already in place for the OEM setup. I haven't tried to do this yet but it's on my list.

I've also been searching for a backup camera that would accept a 6 volt input but I haven't found much that's affordable. Since you want a plug and play solution, it looks like this would work:

 

If I was going to do the voltage conversion, I'd probably use one of these:

 

Are the lines in the camera, or are they generated in the display? If in the camera, wouldn't replacing the camera by one from a wrecked "up-level" Toyota be cheaper and perhaps better?

 

The lines are generated by the camera in all the listings I've seen. I don't know if a camera from another Toyota would work, or even fit without altering the mounting hole. I also don't know which OEM Toyota cameras both work on 6v and have the guidelines (not to mention not costing a mint)..

 

This gave me some good info: Amazon.com: Customer Questions & Answers

 

The stock camera used on the 2018 Prius C is a 6 volt unit that keys in its own marker lines. No clue if it physically fits other cars, or what the part costs.

 

eBay item# 312704946210 shows the lines in the display, BUT it says for 2012-2014 Prius, not 2010.

There is also item# 362712250467, which shows the lines.

There may be more.

 

From a theoretical viewpoint (I'm a retired electrical engineer) --

This is fairly likely to be a DC-DC switch-mode regulator. In that case, the next question is whether or not the aftermarket 12-to-3.3V regulator has enough input range to operate from a 6V power input too. Many of them should be able to, but not all will. If so, you should be fine without any changes, provided it doesn't draw more current from 6V than Toyota designed the car to supply on that line.

Going the other way, expecting a 6V device to work on 12V, is less likely to work and much more likely to end in a release of the internal smoke.

It is at least an issue deserving more investigation. But since I'm not looking for a camera change, I'm not doing the background work.

 

The DC Buck Converter I picked out says it's a 5V-36V to 1.25-32V Step Down Voltage Regulator . It has a built-in multimeter, and already has a case. As far as I can tell, it's actually way overkill for this project.

 

Is it perhaps with the 2015 models that the camera moved from upper right to just above the license-plate position, on the left?

 

As far as I can see, the Part# for the camera is the same for all the trim levels of 2015, 2016, and 2017 Prii, so how can the guidelines be generated in the camera if not all specimens of those models display the guidelines? In another thread I saw a claim that the guidelines can be turned on or off in a setting somewhere, but others responded that it did not work.

There are aftermarket cameras that claim to display the guidelines, but I haven't yet found one that is a direct plug-in replacement for the original.