INstallation of reverse light powered camera

[vulcan300]

Hello all,

I recently purchased a Navigation system that comes with a wireless camera that is powered by the 12V circuit that feeds the revers lights but I need some advice about the best routing location for the power cable from the camera into the back of my car as well as the best location to splice into the wires that feed the reverse lights. My car is a 1986 911 Carrera Targa.

My shop manual says that the wires feeding the lights are GRY/BRN and the ground wire is BRN. The Ground point for the BRN wire is G414 (But my shop manual does not show where this ground point is located). If someone could give me some tips about how best to splice into the power circuit I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Jeremy

[sagolfer]

While trouble shooting my tail and license plate lights not working on my '86 Targa, I found the ground point for these lights behind the rear bumper. My right side lights were not working so I cleaned up the right side ground point but I believe there is one on the left as well. From what I remember it's easier to get to by pulling out the tail light assembly. You can probably get to it from underneath the car as well.

Unfortunately I have no advice on splicing in the power for your camera.

Hope this helps.

[vulcan300]

Thanks for the info! I tried to take out the right tail light assembly but unfortunately someone stripped one of the screws used to fasten the portion of the light assembly beneath the lens. Before I try to get at the ground point from underneath the car I'm wondering If I could ground the negative lead from the camera on another point within the engine. I was contemplating using a bolt sticking out of the side of the AC unit (which is more or less a boat anchor anyway). When I probed the hot wire feeding the reverse light and grounded against this bolt I got a 12v reading, but I'm not sure if this is asking for trouble. If you can share your thoughts I'd appreciate it. As for the hot wire, in case you ever need to wire something into your reverse lights you will need to strip the grey wire with a thin brown stripe on it.

[mthomas58]

I tapped into the reverse light lead at the rear tail light assembly and ran the wiring from the camera to the trunk along the oil lines then into the trunk via one of the existing grommets for the front oil cooler fan.

Back-up Camera on a 911?.

[vulcan300]

Hi Mark, Thanks for the additional info. I bought the Nextar I4-BC GPS Navigation System that comes with a wireless camera, but the camera came dead on arrival. After reading up on the wonderful quality and customer service Nextar offers I think I'll take it right back. So much for avoiding the hassle of running wires to the front :-)

So now I want to follow your example, and I think I'll be much happier with the result anyway.

I read through the thread you pointed me too, but I have a few more questions if you don't mind sharing your knowledge. After you drilled through the rear bumper how did you route the signal cable over to the oil lines? Once you got the signal cable to the oil lines did you just zip tie it to the oil lines? Also, Once you had it onto the front trunk how did you route it into the cabin to get it to your navi unit? And one last thing, which ground point did you use for your reverse camera's power? I tried to remove the back light assembly to get at the ground point but one of the monkeys that worked on my car before it was my car stripped the screws beneath the lens. Is there another ground point that I can use? Any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated!

[mthomas58]

Originally Posted by targamaniac

Hi Mark, Thanks for the additional info. I bought the Nextar I4-BC GPS Navigation System that comes with a wireless camera, but the camera came dead on arrival. After reading up on the wonderful quality and customer service Nextar offers I think I'll take it right back. So much for avoiding the hassle of running wires to the front :-)

So now I want to follow your example, and I think I'll be much happier with the result anyway.

I read through the thread you pointed me too, but I have a few more questions if you don't mind sharing your knowledge. After you drilled through the rear bumper how did you route the signal cable over to the oil lines? Once you got the signal cable to the oil lines did you just zip tie it to the oil lines? Also, Once you had it onto the front trunk how did you route it into the cabin to get it to your navi unit? And one last thing, which ground point did you use for your reverse camera's power? I tried to remove the back light assembly to get at the ground point but one of the monkeys that worked on my car before it was my car stripped the screws beneath the lens. Is there another ground point that I can use? Any advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated!

Sorry for the delayed response. Typed in a detailed repsonse on Monday as I was leaving the office and got an error code after hitting post reply. Out of pocket today so here goes:

1) I did not drill the bumper or valance as orig planned. I was able to run the signal wire along the valance trim using plastic wire clips and behind the bumperette then inborard at the valance rear fender joint and zip tied to the oil lines

2) Trunk entry point was at the grommet where the front oil cooler lines enter, so no drilling.

3) I tapped into the back-up lights and ground wire at the tail light wiring harness and then ran the signal wire, ground and hot lead in 1/4" split loom shielding zip tied to the oil lines as referenced above.

4) No worries with PO having stripped the tail light screw(s). Fix is easy using U-clips over the stripped hole which can be found at your local auto parts big box
store that look like this:



5) Finally, I did not have to rount the wires into the cabin because my nav docking station is in the trunk. However, good entry points are (a) behing the radio wher there is a 1" hole/grommet and (b) my favorite, throuhg the rubber grommet where the side A/C vent hoses enter the cabin. Easy access by removing the kick panel and poking a 1/8" dowel rod through. Tape your wire on the dowel near the hood shock mount point and pull the wires through.

Hope this helps. If you need any pics, let me know.

[vulcan300]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up using the exact type of clip you provided a pic of without even realizing that I was following your recommendation. I just picked the best looking clip for the job out of my mechanic's supply of clip types :-) Now my tail lights are all in order again and I'll be able to get behind them when I need to in future.

For those who want to give this type of installation a try, here's what I did:

I ended up drilling a hole through the bumper behind the license plate (which is way harder than it looks since the bumper is solid aluminum) and routed the power cable between the heat shield and the inside of the bumper. I then routed the cable up behind the right rear tail light and through a hole I drilled into the engine compartment. I then tapped into the power wire for the reverse light (a grey wire with a thin brown stripe). I used the lock nut on the AC unit's V Belt adjusting screw as the ground point after testing for continuity.

All in all this wasn't the easiest installation, but once you get the right rear tail light out it isn't too bad. For those that want to try you'll need some decent drill bits for cutting through metal, or you can find a way to route the power cable through an existing opening into the engine compartment like Mark did. I'd also recommend going with a camera that is physically wired into the GPS unit. The wireless camera that comes with the Nextar I4-BC works fairly well when the car is inside my underground parking and stationary, however it starts to flicker once you start moving and tends to cut out completely when out in the open air (Solar flares perhaps ;-), or more likely garbage electronics). I'll take some pics of my installation and post them in the next couple of weeks.