reverse camera writeup

okay guys...my cayman wasnt outfitted with the parking assist sensors, so i thought i'd do a write up on how to install a rearview camera on the cayman ...mods, feel free to move this wherever you want...just sharing what i did to my cayman - feel free to do it your way, and i dont assume any responsibility if you screw up your car this is the camera system i picked up...found it at walmart, $113...just gotta hook up power wires for the camera and the monitor...the wireless connection is between the camera and monitor... follow the directions here to remove the bumperette covers: http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=4&cat=3 http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=95&cat=3 the hole behind the license plate will make a great place to run the wires from the camera... here's a pic with the bumperette removed... look into the bumperette opening, and you'll see a grommet that leads into the cabin of the car... run the wire from the camera into the hole behind the license plate... feed the wire from the camera on the side of the grommet...if you choose, you can poke a hole *IN* the grommet and run the wire that way, but i just chose to run it on the outside of the grommet...the wires are insulated, and since it's not a high stress area, i dont feel that i need to worry about the sheet metal cutting through the insulation...feel free to do it your way...

remove the left rear interior piece that gives you access to the taillight...peel back the carpet on the left side of the interior...you'll see a bunch of wires that leads to the aformentioned grommet... fish the camera wire from there, so now the wire runs from the hole in the bumper, to the grommet to the interior of the car... put the carpet back... remove the wiring harness from the left tailight...brown wire is ground, blue/black is +reverse light... i used these wire taps to tap into the reverse light wires...

attach them to the positive and negative wires, and put the corresponding male disconnects on the camera's power wires...and join the two... tuck the wires, button everything back together, and we're done with the rear... this camera system comes with a cigarette lighter adaptor and a wire to hardwire it...i chose to hardwire the unit... remove the fuse panel cover as directed in this thread: http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=110&cat=5 i used an empty fuse space which had power when the ignition was on...i used fuse taps from radio shack, and an extra 10amp fuse...

you can use the ground (negative) mentioned in the article above... i routed the wires under the dash piece below the steering wheel (sorry, no pic of that)... i mounted my monitor to the right of the steering wheel and to the left of the radio...i just used some 3M double sided tape...also, this pic shows the monitor with the camera on... this is pretty much my view from the driver's seat... here's what the camera looks like from the rear of the car... camera works great...cant beat the price...it does pick up other wireless signal when i drive around, but if it gets annoying, there;'s a switch to turn off the monitor...since the camera is only on when the reverse lights are on, the image is only displayed when the car is in reverse... a BIG thanx for the authors of the guys who did the articles i mentioned above...it made the install much easier for me... good luck...

Thanks for the write-up. Maybe you should submit this as an article in the Electronics section.

Thanks for writing this up and providing so many pics and a detailed description. I wonder what your field of vision might be? Also, do you have any blind spots? Greet contribution to the club and it deserves a Medal! K-Man take note!

you're welcome!!! message boards like these are great...i received a lot of info here, so i like to contribute when i can... i'm not sure of the exact angle of vision, but the camera's lens is a wide angle lens, so it gives you a pretty wide view...i use it as an aid, and also use my mirrors and common sense when backing up...things look closer on the screen than they actually are, due to the camera lens, which is good because it gives you a buffer for error... no real blind spots, due to the wide angle...but just use your mirrors in conjunction with the camera, and backing up wont be an issue... on my vette, i also have aftermarket reverse sensors that's mounted onto the license plate frame...it works great also... www.reverseguard.com...a bit pricey at $300 retail, but i got mine used...i have pix and a write up of it (for a C6 vette) here: reverse sensor on C6 *write up* - Corvette Forum the same installation procedures for the camera on the cayman can be applied to the reverseguard license plate sensors...just a matter of hooking up power wires and running some wires through the grommet into the cabin... and for those wondering, no, i dont own any stock/interest in these items...i just like them and how they work...