Fitting a rear drive recorder camera.

[Gizmo]

I know several others have already done this but I though I would compile a walk through for those contemplating this mod.

 

First off the lower tailgate trim needs to be removed ... this is not for the faint hearted as it requires a fair bit of brute force to get the first couple of clips to release! I would not recommend doing this in the cold as the trim can easily split if it cannot flex enough... you have been warned!

 

The Torx screw (T25 IIRC) holding the rubber strap (to close the tailgate) needs to be removed and then the 16 spring clips need to detached from the tailgate, I found it easier to start at the bottom by the lock as the trim flexes the most here:

 

 

This is where the clips are located: (one clip circled in red)

 

 

 

And where they locate in the tailgate:

 

 

 

The next bit isn’t absolutely necessary but as the trim that goes around the rear window sits very close to the window / tailgate, i wasn’t happy with how tight the Blackvue power cable was being ‘pinched’, so I decided I would drill a small hole in the trim for the cable to pass through.

 

To do this the safest way (but not the easiest or quickest) is to remove the window trim:

 

 

First up I removed the two T25 screws (No.3 in the above diagram) the N/S one is circled below:

 

 

Then remove the T20 parcel shelf ‘pegs’ (No. 2) :

 

 

 

Next up you have to release the clips as in the bottom part of the trim, here are the clips in the trim:

 

 

Those of you who are paying attention   will notice the top clip is missing from the trim.... this is still in the tailgate, it is normal for one or two to come away from the trim, just prise them out off the tailgate and refit them to the trim before you replace it.

 

Locating points on the tailgate:

 

 

You can see where I mounted the camera bracket (just under my username) with hindsight I would not have stuck this onto the glass until the trim was replaced as it made it a bit awkward to refit the trim.

 

This is the hole I drilled for the cable to pass through:

 

 

 

I took the 12v power supply (white) and earth (brown) from pins 1 & 4 on the rear wiper motor:

 

 

 

 

I would NOT recommend using pin 2 or 3 for the power supply as you can see these are supplying just over 10v:

 

 

Next up I spiced into the rear wiper motor power and earth wires - (remove the plug from the wiper motor and make sure the keys are out of the ignition before you solder) cut the cigarette lighter plug off the end of the cable and join the cables to the wiper motor loom (I melted the insulation, wrapped the Blackvue cable around  the OE wire and then soldered them together, and wrapped them up with cloth loom tape (£2.95 for 15 meters! from eBay etc) I also added a 3A inline fuse to protect the camera:

 

Scotchlocks could have been used to make the job easier... but as they are the work of the devil I prefer to steer well clear of them!

 

 

You can see the fuse holder is taped in some foam (to stop it knocking on the tailgate or trim) then taped to the N/S numberplate light wiring loom, this way if the fuse does blow all I have to do is remove the numberplate light to change the fuse... if you don’t make it accessible then the trim will need to be removed to change the fuse!!

 

As in true Haynes style the replacement of parts is the reverse of removal - just make sure the clips are lined up with the slots before you bang the trim into place with your hand, otherwise the clips will bend, probably pop out of the trim and more importantly the trim is now likely to rattle! 

[Guest Bettietheyetee]

I know several others have already done this but I though I would compile a walk through for those contemplating this mod.

 

First off the lower tailgate trim needs to be removed ... this is not for the faint hearted as it requires a fair bit of brute force to get the first couple of clips to release! I would not recommend doing this in the cold as the trim can easily split if it cannot flex enough... you have been warned!

 

The Torx screw (T25 IIRC) holding the rubber strap (to close the tailgate) needs to be removed and then the 16 spring clips need to detached from the tailgate, I found it easier to start at the bottom by the lock as the trim flexes the most here:

 

 

This is where the clips are located: (one clip circled in red)

 

 

 

And where they locate in the tailgate:

 

 

 

The next bit isn’t absolutely necessary but as the trim that goes around the rear window sits very close to the window / tailgate, i wasn’t happy with how tight the Blackvue power cable was being ‘pinched’, so I decided I would drill a small hole in the trim for the cable to pass through.

 

To do this the safest way (but not the easiest or quickest) is to remove the window trim:

 

 

First up I removed the two T25 screws (No.3 in the above diagram) the N/S one is circled below:

 

 

Then remove the T20 parcel shelf ‘pegs’ (No. 2) :

 

 

 

Next up you have to release the clips as in the bottom part of the trim, here are the clips in the trim:

 

 

Those of you who are paying attention   will notice the top clip is missing from the trim.... this is still in the tailgate, it is normal for one or two to come away from the trim, just prise them out off the tailgate and refit them to the trim before you replace it.

 

Locating points on the tailgate:

 

 

You can see where I mounted the camera bracket (just under my username) with hindsight I would not have stuck this onto the glass until the trim was replaced as it made it a bit awkward to refit the trim.

 

This is the hole I drilled for the cable to pass through:

 

 

 

I took the 12v power supply (white) and earth (brown) from pins 1 & 4 on the rear wiper motor:

 

 

 

 

I would NOT recommend using pin 2 or 3 for the power supply as you can see these are supplying just over 10v:

 

 

Next up I spiced into the rear wiper motor power and earth wires - (remove the plug from the wiper motor and make sure the keys are out of the ignition before you solder) cut the cigarette lighter plug off the end of the cable and join the cables to the wiper motor loom (I melted the insulation, wrapped the Blackvue cable around  the OE wire and then soldered them together, and wrapped them up with cloth loom tape (£2.95 for 15 meters! from eBay etc) I also added a 3A inline fuse to protect the camera:

 

Scotchlocks could have been used to make the job easier... but as they are the work of the devil I prefer to steer well clear of them!

 

 

You can see the fuse holder is taped in some foam (to stop it knocking on the tailgate or trim) then taped to the N/S numberplate light wiring loom, this way if the fuse does blow all I have to do is remove the numberplate light to change the fuse... if you don’t make it accessible then the trim will need to be removed to change the fuse!!

 

As in true Haynes style the replacement of parts is the reverse of removal - just make sure the clips are lined up with the slots before you bang the trim into place with your hand, otherwise the clips will bend, probably pop out of the trim and more importantly the trim is now likely to rattle! 

Do you have to remove the bottom panel trim first before you can remove the upper trim

[Gizmo]

Yes otherwise you cannot get to the two T20 screws that are in the top trim.

[Guest Bettietheyetee]

Did you use a special bracket for your camera and place it on the heated window mine is a mobius camera and the adhesive mount may fall off if I stick it on the black plastic trim.

[Gizmo]

No i used the std mount stuck to the rear window, 9 months on and it is still perfect.

[Guest Bettietheyetee]

Installing my rear camera along with the above excellent photos have made a connection to the rear wiper motor 1&4 which shows just over 12v however I cannot get the camera to power up, when I switch the ignition on (have shut the tailgate first) have used a kit 12-5v so am not sure if there is a fault with this nothing wrong with the camera have tested it with the front one, so just wondered if you had encountered any problems.

[Gizmo]

None at all,

 

try the camera end of the cable to make sure you have 12v showing there.

[Guest Bettietheyetee]

Is there a way of testing  it as a micro plug on the end of the hardwire kit that is then inserted into the camera.

[Gizmo]

Just plug your tester into the end of the plug, the centre is usually positive and the outside negative (obviously make sure they do not touch each otherwise they will blow the fuse) 

[Guest Bettietheyetee]

Just plug your tester into the end of the plug, the centre is usually positive and the outside negative (obviously make sure they do not touch each otherwise they will blow the fuse) 

Sorted the problem was not getting a 5v supply passing through the hardwire kits small electronic converter  thankfully it only had a couple of small screws so easy to take it apart and make tests not sure whether it was a dry joint  however it is now working, also good tip to tape the fuse holder to the number plate cable in the event, lot easier to put both trims back on than take them off. Mobius camera looks OK from outside you have to look quite close to spot it.

Edited 4 April, 2015 by Bettietheyetee