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Is there any place where it is possible to tap 12v power inside the rear lift gate (hatch, door, whatever) for an aftermarket rearview camera? Rather than snaking power leads into the body, under the roof trim, down the side, etc. I'd like to try a simple "wireless" camera on the license plate frame, feeding to a front display that's totally separate from the AMI/MMI.
I know, there's the Emerald "fake OEM" route, but I'm not looking for a thousand dollar installation, which that can run into including shop labor. Just wondering, since the license plate lamps and the tailgate lift control button are in there, if there's also a convenient constant 12v power line to readily tap for a low power load.
I would just tap into the backup light hot wire. The camera would then come on when you put the car in reverse. That is how I wired a camera in my Ford F150 and it works well.
Except, the backlight lights are in IN the liftgate, they are in the bumper. Which would still mean coming up the C pillar, under the roof trim, across the gate hinge, and then down into the gate. I hate screwing around with all that trim if there's an easier way, like finding power IN the liftgate.
There are wireless back up lights that only have to have pwer going from the reverse light hot wire to the camera. The camera send the signal to the screen.
My instalation like that was for a Garmin Nav unit that included a wireless back up camera. I am very happy with how it works. It is especially handy for backing up my trailer hitch ball exactly under the trailer.
I'm looking at a similar one that will display on the GPS, but I'm curious as to what specific car and trailer package you are using. The 2014 AUDI OEM trailer package will NOT supply power to the backup light circuit on the trailer hitch, unless it detects other 'full' trailer lights are attached. I've confirmed that with Audi and with testing it out.
And again, the two normal backup lights are in the rear bumper--so there's no power from any of them that runs into the rear liftgate.
What did you use to get power into the liftgate? Or where did you put your camera?
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It's going to cost about $40 total with the 33 ft audio/power cable I also purchased.
I bought these back in July but lazy to install until now due to the very hot summer heat that I didn't want to fight in the car.
All the wireless systems I looked at in cars had very noisy video, thus I went wired.
It's not very difficult to run a wire from the inside the hatch along side the hatch hinge down to the wiring on the right side of the cargo area to pick up the
backup light wire. You need to remove the inner hatch cover even to install the wireless system.
I'm mounting the LCD display on the top side of the driver's sun visor and just flip it down when I need a rear view camera. I don't see me using it very often
that I need the display accessed all the time, if I did I would remove the sunglass holder and mount the display there above the rear view mirror.
If you are looking for a great system, have a look at Guangzhou RoadPassion Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. - Parking Assist Camera Interface,Audio/Video Interface setup. I bought 6 months ago a back up camera (same form factor as the audi OEM), the interface for the screen (I don't have the GPS or the fancy MMI, just the concert radio), and the Airplay box. All for under $300 delivered. Took me a few hours to install but the system works very well. There are no cables to cut or hack to do. All plug and play. What took me a while was to remove the radio, the screen, and the glove box to pass all the wires. However, the final install looks great. I have been planning to add a thread for the install. I should do it this weekend if time permits. By the way, the lines for the path (orange on the picture) move with the steering wheel. This is awesome.
If you are looking for a great system, have a look at Guangzhou RoadPassion Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. - Parking Assist Camera Interface,Audio/Video Interface setup. I bought 6 months ago a back up camera (same form factor as the audi OEM), the interface for the screen (I don't have the GPS or the fancy MMI, just the concert radio), and the Airplay box. All for under $300 delivered. Took me a few hours to install but the system works very well. There are no cables to cut or hack to do. All plug and play. What took me a while was to remove the radio, the screen, and the glove box to pass all the wires. However, the final install looks great. I have been planning to add a thread for the install. I should do it this weekend if time permits. By the way, the lines for the path (orange on the picture) move with the steering wheel. This is awesome.
I looked at using an adapter box but didn't want the hassle of removing the radio, etc. They are a great way to go. Plus my $40 total cost against $300+ was worth the try.
I believe that your system still requires a cable from the display box back to the rear camera. What was the easiest way to route the cable from the back to the front?
I tucked the cable under the plastic trims on the passenger side (completely invisible). I looked back at the receipt and the cost was as follow: $128 for the interface and $36 for the camera. I asked for fast shipment with tracking so it was expensive at $48. So really, you can do the install for under $200. What I like the most is that I did not have to cut any oem wires. I posted a new thread with more info.
10-10-2015, 10:05 AM
12v power in the rear hatch?
