Retrofitted a reverse camera

[AndyMorris]

@silver1011 I can't answer the trim question but you'd never know he'd had the trim off and it's rattle free!

Highly recommended. 

[Montozuma]

22 hours ago, silver1011 said:

 

Mine is also booked in with Chris Farthing on Saturday morning, £280 inc. VAT for the genuine Skoda highline version fitted in a Skoda workshop.

 

Do you know how much of the interior trim is removed? He told me it'll take approx. two hours to complete.

 

This was from one of his Facebook posts, it looks like quite a significant strip down 

 

 

I'm hoping I'll still be rattle free afterwards...

 

Gosh that looks like a proper instalation of 1080p film camera 😛 I dropped mine at 9am pickied it back same day by 14:00. 

[silver1011]

I've been told that if I'm there for 08:30 I should be away by 10:30, fingers crossed!

[varaderoguy]

Do you guys have contact details for Chris Farthing?  I tried to Google them, but didnt get much in the way of luck.

 

 

[Montozuma]

3 hours ago, silver1011 said:

I've been told that if I'm there for 08:30 I should be away by 10:30, fingers crossed!

Thats more reasonable time. Due to Covid I was not allowed to wait so took a lease car for few hour. 

[AndyMorris]

13 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

Do you guys have contact details for Chris Farthing?  I tried to Google them, but didnt get much in the way of luck.

 

 

Pmd ya fella

[Manc-Fletch]

Well Silver1011 how did it go?  🙂

[silver1011]

Perfectly, a big thumbs up for Chris Farthing, well recommended 👍

 

I handed him the keys at 08:30 and was on my way home by 10.00.

 

I couldn't tell where in the car he'd been, despite a large amount of internal strip-down being required it wasn't remotely evident. No rattles or squeaks introduced either. I guess when you do the job so often you know exactly where all the clips and screws are and know exactly where to pull and how hard, this sort of experience and expertise is invaluable in my opinion.

 

I actually towed with it just today, but in the excitement of realising how easy it now makes hooking up I forgot to take any photos, screaming at the wife out the window is now a thing of the past! The birds-eye view (with the tow bar released) is simply brilliant, the yellow line turns with the steering wheel so it literally guides you right to the towing hitch on the caravan, no exaggerating it's centimetre accurate. The tow bar is stowed in this picture but with it out it is easily visible on the screen...

 

 

When the steering wheel is turned the yellow line bends with the wheels.

 

Resolution good too, I like the way you can turn it on in slow moving traffic to see what's going on behind.

 

 

A nice surprise was the fact it also has the built-in washer nozzle, I wasn't expecting this, I just assumed that the retrofit version did without...

 

 

Apologies, the car is filthy at the moment!

 

So all-in-all I'm very pleased, the best £280 I've spent and for anyone umming or arring then don't, drop Chris a message and get booked in!

 

 

[olderman1]

Damned shame he's so far from me 🤥

[clogher]

On 04/07/2020 at 12:47, J.R. said:

£542 for a reversing camera 😯😯

 

The last 2 I have fitted have been ones integrated into the OE boot handle or number plate lights and have cost less than £10 including delivery from China.

 

You can see where they make their money on new cars.

Hi picking up a kodiaq Saturday next hopefully, would like to fit a camera myself. Is it hard to do for a simi competant DIY'er ? Do you have a link to the one you use? When you engage reverse does it automatically pick it up on the screen?

[J.R.]

No not hard.

 

No link, I just buy what is the cheapest on Ali-express at the time.

 

The head unit recognises that it is recieving a video input and displays it when the canbus tells it that reverse gear is engaged, it also displays the dynamic trajectory lines recieved via canbus from the steering angle sensor.

 

All plug n play, no settings to alter on a Chinese head unit, I dont know about the factory fitted one.

[clogher]

56 minutes ago, J.R. said:

No not hard.

 

No link, I just buy what is the cheapest on Ali-express at the time.

 

The head unit recognises that it is recieving a video input and displays it when the canbus tells it that reverse gear is engaged, it also displays the dynamic trajectory lines recieved via canbus from the steering angle sensor.

 

All plug n play, no settings to alter on a Chinese head unit, I dont know about the factory fitted one.

I was looking for one that will work with the original unit. Does the aftermarket one come as a kit with instructions?

[olderman1]

2 hours ago, J.R. said:

No not hard.

 

No link, I just buy what is the cheapest on Ali-express at the time.

 

The head unit recognises that it is recieving a video input and displays it when the canbus tells it that reverse gear is engaged, it also displays the dynamic trajectory lines recieved via canbus from the steering angle sensor.

 

All plug n play, no settings to alter on a Chinese head unit, I dont know about the factory fitted one.

 

As you don't have a Kodiaq listed as a car you own, is it fair to assume that you've never fitted a cheap Chinese camera to a Kodiaq ?

[varaderoguy]

I'm having my Scout retrofitted with the proper VW part at Autohaus in Edinburgh in a fortnight's time.  Cost came in at £480 inc parts and labour.  Thought that was quite reasonable. 

[EnterName]

On 10/07/2020 at 12:28, AndyMorris said:

Pmd ya fella

Could you DM me contact details for Christ Farthing please? £280 sounds like a bargain.

[AndyMorris]

9 minutes ago, EnterName said:

Could you DM me contact details for Christ Farthing please? £280 sounds like a bargain.

Done

[EnterName]

37 minutes ago, AndyMorris said:

Done

Many thanks! I'll give him a shout when I've collected the car.

[silver1011]

On 15/07/2020 at 10:54, clogher said:

Hi picking up a kodiaq Saturday next hopefully, would like to fit a camera myself. Is it hard to do for a simi competant DIY'er ? Do you have a link to the one you use? When you engage reverse does it automatically pick it up on the screen?

 

It took Chris Farthing 90 mins from start to finish, but he operates in a Skoda workshop, has access to the Skoda technical workshop guides, unlimited use of the diagnostics machine for the coding and has done a couple per week for several years.

 

I'd regard myself as reasonably competent at DIY, I've serviced previous cars, changed brakes and hardwired a dash cam into the Kodiaq, but the rear camera was hassle I could do without. Anyone who has had to strip out the interior of a car, or has had to live with one where the trim has been removed and replaced by someone who isn't familiar with where the clips are and where to pull and push will know how easy it is to introduce rattles, crimp wires, forget to replace connectors, snap clips, tear trim, trap tools etc. etc.

 

I'm not sure which car, headunit or cheap Chinese camera J.R. is referring to but anyone who thinks it is that simple hasn't fitted or tried coding one without accepting you won't be able to replicate the factory setup and features.

 

Your profile doesn't tell us anything about your location or car so it makes it difficult to help, but even if you're a long way from Leeds the £280 Chris charges, a £40 Travelodge and a day out of your weekend makes having him do it by far the easiest option.

[clogher]

18 hours ago, silver1011 said:

 

It took Chris Farthing 90 mins from start to finish, but he operates in a Skoda workshop, has access to the Skoda technical workshop guides, unlimited use of the diagnostics machine for the coding and has done a couple per week for several years.

 

I'd regard myself as reasonably competent at DIY, I've serviced previous cars, changed brakes and hardwired a dash cam into the Kodiaq, but the rear camera was hassle I could do without. Anyone who has had to strip out the interior of a car, or has had to live with one where the trim has been removed and replaced by someone who isn't familiar with where the clips are and where to pull and push will know how easy it is to introduce rattles, crimp wires, forget to replace connectors, snap clips, tear trim, trap tools etc. etc.

 

I'm not sure which car, headunit or cheap Chinese camera J.R. is referring to but anyone who thinks it is that simple hasn't fitted or tried coding one without accepting you won't be able to replicate the factory setup and features.

 

Your profile doesn't tell us anything about your location or car so it makes it difficult to help, but even if you're a long way from Leeds the £280 Chris charges, a £40 Travelodge and a day out of your weekend makes having him do it by far the easiest option.

Thanks for the detailed reply and you make some very good points! I do have a mate who can code it. A trip to Leeds would be a little more than a nights stay, it would involve a ferry trip as I am in Ireland and a 14 isolation when I returned home🙂. This topic is my first post on here and I got a 2017 SE-L with a Columbus I think it is, there is nothing on the facial to tell the name, I only got it last weekend and have not driven it since. I must download the the OEM fitting instructions, I have brought wiring looms before from back to front of cars for towbar electrics with no rattles after, running caravan wiring might be harder.

[EnterName]

19 hours ago, silver1011 said:

 

It took Chris Farthing 90 mins from start to finish, but he operates in a Skoda workshop, has access to the Skoda technical workshop guides, unlimited use of the diagnostics machine for the coding and has done a couple per week for several years.

 

I'd regard myself as reasonably competent at DIY, I've serviced previous cars, changed brakes and hardwired a dash cam into the Kodiaq, but the rear camera was hassle I could do without. Anyone who has had to strip out the interior of a car, or has had to live with one where the trim has been removed and replaced by someone who isn't familiar with where the clips are and where to pull and push will know how easy it is to introduce rattles, crimp wires, forget to replace connectors, snap clips, tear trim, trap tools etc. etc.

 

I'm not sure which car, headunit or cheap Chinese camera J.R. is referring to but anyone who thinks it is that simple hasn't fitted or tried coding one without accepting you won't be able to replicate the factory setup and features.

 

Your profile doesn't tell us anything about your location or car so it makes it difficult to help, but even if you're a long way from Leeds the £280 Chris charges, a £40 Travelodge and a day out of your weekend makes having him do it by far the easiest option.

£280 including vat is a bargain, and the option I'd choose if and when Chris can get a kit from my 2019 Octavia.

[varaderoguy]

I did make contact with Chris and he was very kind and give me a price via text message.  It was £450 for a genuine camera on my 2019 Octavia Scout; my car was going for service at Autohaus in Edinburgh anyhow - and they quoted £475 for the same job.  Sadly, the cost in fuel (from Scotland) didn't justify visiting Chris on this occasion, but I will check what the price would be on my husband's Octavia SE1.0 and my mother-in-law's Fabia SE-L in the near future.

Edited 25 July, 2020 by varaderoguy

[Loofer]

On 25/07/2020 at 16:20, varaderoguy said:

I did make contact with Chris and he was very kind and give me a price via text message.  It was £450 for a genuine camera on my 2019 Octavia Scout; my car was going for service at Autohaus in Edinburgh anyhow - and they quoted £475 for the same job.  Sadly, the cost in fuel (from Scotland) didn't justify visiting Chris on this occasion, but I will check what the price would be on my husband's Octavia SE1.0 and my mother-in-law's Fabia SE-L in the near future.

Hi, How come you got quoted £450 and others are saying £80?

[varaderoguy]

I suspect it maybe the combination of a DSG gearbox interface and its 4 wheel drive....in all honesty, I cannot really answer that question. Best you give him a shout first and get a quote for your vehicle.

Edited 26 July, 2020 by varaderoguy

[Loofer]

25 minutes ago, Loofer said:

Hi, How come you got quoted £450 and others are saying £80?

£280 even!!

[varaderoguy]

Its weird how life works sometimes.  So - in the end, I have booked in with Chris - and looking forward to the day-trip to Leeds to get the camera fitted on the 26th.  I'll take my safety boots with me into the workshop and see whether Chris is willing to allow me to take photos.