Success!
Today I installed the camera and
got it working properly, but I'll have to go back and change some of the wiring, I'm not 100% happy with the way I did it (I was short on time and I wanted to see it work). Here's what I did:
(Disclaimer - I live in Europe, so some things may differ from the US version of the car)
- I used ForScan to change the Central Configuration, where there's a line that reads "With Park Assist camera". I just changed it from No to Yes.
- I bought
this camera from ebay. It replaces the hatch release which, in my opinion, is much better than the ones that replace one of the license plate lights since its more centered. This camera also comes with a
wireless transmitter and receiver. This means that you don't have to run the video cable all the way to the display! You do, however, need to power the receiver near the display, so you have to get switched 12V from somewhere - I'm still trying to find the best place for this. I also need to power my dash cam from the same line since I've got it connected to the 12v socket all the time which is not ideal, I'm looking for a more permanent solution. I'll probably run a line from the glovebox fusebox, or maybe remove the trim near the gear stick and tap into the 12V socket line, which on my car is switched -
Any tips regarding the best place to get a switched 12V line in this area?
- I installed the camera with no issues. It is a tight fit but I didn't have to cut or file any of the plastic. To wire the new hatch release button I simply inserted the bare wires into the female connector that's left in the car after you remove the oem release and used tape to make sure they won't come off.
Here's a photo. It would be better to cut the connector off and solder or join the wires directly though.
- To power the camera I tapped into the license plate lights. This, combined with the wireless transmitter, has the huge advantage of not needing any wire to be fed inside the car. Everything can be installed inside the small plastic trim with the Ford logo, no need to run any wires whatsoever. The big disadvantage, of course, is that your headlights must be turned on for the camera to work. I'm not too happy about this, so I'll probably end up doing it differently. Also, the area behind the plastic trim is not waterproof, so I'm a bit concerned with having all the electronics there. However, I don't want to wire the camera to the reverse lights because the image stays on for quite a while if you don't speed up, which can be helpful while parking even if moving forward. Unless I find a 12V switched line somewhere in the trunk, I'll leave the camera powered by the plate lights.
Any tips regarding a switched 12V line in the trunk? Maybe something related to the wiper motor?
- I have a 2015 Fiesta with Sync 1.1 (4" display), in which
the display connector has only 12 wires instead of the big connector people have been talking about in this thread. Camera wires go to pins 6 (+) and 12 (-). The connector uses the same locking system though. Before reading this thread I thought it would not be possible to open the connector and insert the wires directly in it, so I made a
small adapter with some male and female header pins (the spacing is the standard 2.54mm (0.1") with a
female RCA connector. This
ended up working but it's not an ideal solution because it makes the original connector stick out more and now the display doesn't fit properly. I'll either make an adapter with an extension so that I can connect it away from the display or, if possible on my version, open the connector and insert the wires directly in it as recommended earlier in this thread. I'm not sure this can be done
on my connector though. I'll have to check tomorrow.
Also, I don't think anyone mentioned this in this thread, but some cameras allow you to turn the guide lines (green/yellow/red) off or on by cutting a wire near the camera. On my model the wire came already cut, which meant the lines where displayed in the image. I joined both ends together and the lines are gone. This is up to personal preference, but I don't like the lines being shown, because most of the times the angle is not correct (ie parallel to the ground) so I'm keeping it this way. Check your camera for these wires if you which to remove the lines. On mine, they were both white and thin.
Here are some more photos I took (not many, sorry - I was short on time):
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The plastic trim piece before any modification
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After everything was installed in the back
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The wireless transmitter working when the license plate light is on
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The final result (for today)
