After doing much research I decided to buy a Autovox M1W backup camera system for my Prius, but I'm having some issue powering up the camera. I've had no problem installing the camera to the back of the car and running the wires into the hatch, but when I hooked up the camera to the reverse light I'm not getting any power to the system. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I'm hoping someone can direct me to the right direction. I've attached a picture of the reverse light wiring that I spliced to draw power to the camera. The red wire from the camera ties to the red wire shown in the picture and black (ground wire) got hooked up to the black and white wire shown in the picture.
If you haven't, see if the camera works first with a 12v source. If passes then test if the lead wire you put in from the hatch to the camera's 12v lead, what's the gauge on the hatch wire to camera?
I believe it's a small gauge one - probably 16. I have a feeling I'm not grounding it properly. I checked the red wire from the reverse light with a circuit tester and it looks like I'm tapping into the right positive connection. That makes me think the black wire is not the ground wire?
It’s an essential tool for automotive electrical work. If you’re not working on the high-voltage parts of the hybrid system, an inexpensive one ($10) is fine. The back-up lights receive power from the 10-ampere GAUGE fuse, via the BKUP LP relay and some junction connectors. The red wires should have +12 V or so when the transaxle is in reverse, and the white wires with black stripes are always connected to body ground. Here are the wire colors and terminal assignments: R9 Rear Combination Light LH (Brown) Taillight (Blue) Stop Light (Yellow) Left Turn Signal (Red) Back-Up Light (White-Black) Ground Point BN (Lower Back Panel Center) No Connection R10 Rear Combination Light RH (Brown) Taillight (Blue) Stop Light (Green) Right Turn Signal (Red) Back-Up Light (White-Black) Ground Point BN (Lower Back Panel Center) No Connection The circuit is shown in the Back-Up Light section of the Electrical Wiring Diagram, available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com and in the ChiltonLibrary service, to which many public libraries sponsor access.
Thank you so much for that information. Very very helpful. So I'm using R10 and tapping into the Red/Blue strip for positive and the white/black for negative connections going into the backup camera. But it doesn't seem like the unit it getting any power. I'll hookup the camera directly to the 12v battery using alligator clips tomorrow. That should tell me if I'm doing something wrong or I was just unlucky enough to end up with a faulty unit. I also picked up a circuit breaker from a local auto shop for $5. That'll be a big help going forward
Whats happened to your project ? I am installing a new head unit but I dont know how to hook it up to reverse light .
This is a bit tricky to do, but it works. Remove the kick panel at the left of the driver's footwell and you'll see a couple of complex plugs; a larger and a smaller one. The reverse wire is the red one in the larger plug, fourth one up in the upper group of wires: Here's a diagram of that big plug:
Thanks , But where is the kick panel and how to opened it ? can you please send me a picture of kick panel door ?
In the picture is clearly shows the red wire is 28 not 29 . if you looked at the larger plug you connect it to the 3rd position from the top .
"In the picture is clearly shows the red wire is 28 not 29 ." You are correct. It's been a while since I did that; did use 28...thanks for the catch.
Hi , The 12V+ wire on the reverse camera bulb is red&blue strip , so why the wire on the harness you showed is red ?
There’s a sticky thread in the Prius Audio and Electronics area which explains all of this and more. I followed it back in 2011. 2010 Toyota Prius model II Head Unit Upgrade | PriusChat There are two issues getting a little confused here. The camera taps into the Reverse light at the hatch area, so that it is not powered on 100% of the time, which would make it wear out early. But your entertainment system needs to tap into the wire near the fuse box so that it knows when you’re in Reverse; that’s how it knows to switch the display to the rear-facing camera. The thread I linked to has every detail you need.
Thank you , I read all the documents but there is not any information about reverse camera connection . Are you sure you did not missed anything ? I just said , I read all the instruction in the link you sent me but there was not anything about reverse camera . Hi , I just tap the wire to the red wire on the plug in the kick panel and wow !! the camera is alive now . Thank you man , you saved me .
Bringing this slightly back to life. I can verify in the LH kick panel this plug holds the reverse signal wire necessary for a backup camera on an aftermarket radio. Red wire, in the middle of that larger plug.
