Aftermarket Backup Camera - Running Wires

TreyP

2018 Soul Red AWD Touring CX-5
This will be a review of how I ran the wires for an aftermarket backup camera to the head unit. I have a Kenwood head unit that I installed a few weeks ago, and the camera is made by Accele.

If needed, you can review my how-to on removing the dash and the head unit HERE because I'm not going to repeat that in this tutorial.

THE DISCLAIMER:
This is for informational purposes only. I am not responsible for any damage you do to yourself or your property should you attempt this at home. When in doubt, hire a professional. :)

Please excuse the mud on the interior, I had a passenger riding in the way back and he apparently was trying to climb the walls.

Begin by removing this small cover from the back hatch.

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Remove one of these on each side of the hatch

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Pull off the top center panel by grasping it on the roof side and pulling, then work your way around until it is all the way loose

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Take out the newly exposed push pins from the top of each side panel. I was able to pull the center pin out using just my fingernails. The screwdriver is just for demonstration. Be sure to pull out the smaller center pin first or you will break the pin. You will need these for reassembly.

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Grasp these panels and carefully pull them off from each side.

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Now there are two more pins exposed on the big bottom panel. Remove these.

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Pull out the handle by...pulling.

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Take out this pin from the bottom of the big panel, by the latch, and then pull the large bottom panel off, starting from where the handle was previously removed and carefully working your way around in both directions.

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Continued below...
 
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Now for the wiring...

Remove the right license plate light by squeezing these clips and pushing it out. If you remove the actual light first, be careful not to drop the lens assembly onto the ground. Actually, I did a few times, its pretty solid, but still, better to not drop it and risk a scratch.

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I installed a license plate frame camera, so this one step may vary for other styles.

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What I did was to drill just a tiny bit from both the metal on the car and the plastic housing of the lens. It did fit without doing that, but I was not comfortable with how tight it was, so I took a little off to relieve the pressure. I then added a small amount of electrical tape to the wire and to the metal to prevent future issues. You could add a dab of silicone sealer if you like, but it seems to be still very water tight just as it is.

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These rubber boots (at the bottom of the picture) are where the next bit of magic occurs - getting the long extension wire from the top of the hatch into the headliner/body of the car. In case the picture is not clear, the hatch is wide open, and this is the area 'above' (but now below) the rear window.
Begin by pulling the left boot out from the metal body on both ends. The right boot is not used in this procedure.

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Actually getting the wire through the boot proved to be a bit of a challenge. You will want to compress the boot as much as possible from end to end, and also get it as straight as possible before pushing the wire through. There is not a lot of spare room, so its a tight fit getting the yellow connector through, especially on the ends. After trying several methods, the one that worked was to tape a screwdriver blade just under the 'lip' on the cord side of the yellow connector. This gave something to push on to help keep the tape from unraveling halfway through. I then added a bit of dish detergent to the whole thing and CAREFULLY pushed it through. You do not want to tear this boot!
Sorry for the bad image, but you get the idea hopefully. Make sure the blade of the screwdriver is long enough to make it all the way through the boot, and once you get the connector through, untape it and pull the blade back out the way it came.

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There are 3 beige push pins that I removed at the very back of the headliner to loosen it a bit before this picture was taken. Notice that I then routed the wire under the headliner first, and then up through the roof hole. The connector that was just pushed through the boot is going to go back down to the camera connection, and the part in the headliner (and currently drooping down into the hatch area) will eventually be fully tucked back into the headliner and go to the front of the car.
EDIT: Another poster (Dawhoo) said that he left the boot connected and was able to push the wire through that way, so you may want to try that method first.

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After sticking the wire into the hatch hole and replacing the boot ends, roughly estimate how much of the wire you will need to get back down to the camera connector. These wires are usually more than long enough, so be sure to leave yourself a little extra when estimating the distance to the camera connector. Then, wrap the long extension wire around the factory wiring and work your way down to the bottom of the hatch.

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Now we want to tap into the reverse light for power and ground to activate the camera when the car is put into reverse. This is the left bottom interior of the hatch, but you could obviously use the right side if you prefer. The white with black stripe is power (+) and the black with yellow stripe is ground (-) NOTE: This is on a 2014 CX-5 Touring AWD with Bose and Moonroof package. If your model is different, be sure to check for power and ground with a test light as the wire colors may be different.

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I used quick connectors to make the two connections.

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Wrap the wires around the factory bundle securely - I cleaned this up a bit later, but this shows the basics. Plug in the long extension wire to the connector that came from the camera. I added a little tape just to prevent it from coming loose while driving and opening/closing the hatch in the future.

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Continued...
 
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Don't be confused by this section - I started by taking panels off the left side and took pictures, but ended up putting them back on and went on the right side of the car. I didn't take new pictures on the right side for the next two images because it is the same on either side, so just keep that in mind. I recommend using the right side of the car as I ultimately did it.

Moving on...
Pop out this panel which is above the rear seat belt retracter, and beside the far back window.

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Take out this screw (removed already in image) and partially loosen the seat belt retractor panel. You don't need to take this one all the way off, you just need room to poke the wire down.

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(Starting here the images are on the right side of the car)
Open the right rear door and pull this panel off of the lower door sill. (And yes, I was doing this part in the rain...and on my lunch break at work).

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Loosen this panel, which runs up along the outer side of the rear seat from the sill toward the seat belt retractor.
Again, there is no need to take this all the way out, just loosen it enough to see in there when you poke the wire through in the next step.

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Poke the wire down behind the seat belt retractor in a spot where it wont get pinched when you pop the panel back in. Push it towards the very bottom and to the front. We are shooting for the right rear door sill that was removed.

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Hopefully at this point you will be able to peek into the gap you made with the panel in the rear seat area and see the wire that was poked down behind the seat belt retractor. If not, go back and try again until you are able to grab it and pull it through to the back seat area.

As before, begin wrapping the cord around the factory wiring to keep it secure. Work your way to the front by going through here.

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Follow the same procedure in the front by pulling the sill panel off and continuing to wrap, wrap, wrap that little wire.

Next, we need to remove the kick panel below the right side under the glove box.

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Take off the one nut by hand, then carefully pull off the panel.

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There is a little panel directly below the glove box. Take it off using the two levers.

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Remove the glove box by opening it, pushing in the sides to get the pins out of the holes, then lowing it and pulling outward to release the hinge pins. There is also a little shock-type clip to remove on the right side.

REMINDER: If needed, you can review my how-to on removing the dash and the head unit HERE

Now you can make the FINAL! run up to the back of the head unit!! Be careful here to not run the wire where it will get pinched by the glove box or other moving parts such as the vent controls.




Reassemble that whole mess, and enjoy!!

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TreyP

Many thanks for your efforts! I can just imagine you in some car park, in the wet, trying to work out the best routing AND taking clear pics; well done!

And just to be clear, your cable ran up the "glove compartment" side (near side) of the vehicle? I'll be doing the installation on a UK right hand drive car.
 
Thanks, and yes, it was run on the glove compartment side, so right side for me, left side for you in the UK. ;)
 
Any special setup on the radio unit to let it know it has now a camera? I just made the installation and some times It turns on and some times not in reverse
 
Any special setup on the radio unit to let it know it has now a camera? I just made the installation and some times It turns on and some times not in reverse
No, once the connections are made, the head unit will know it is there.

I would double check all your connections. When I was still in the testing phase of this, the same thing happened to me and it turned out the be that in my excitement to try it out I had not pushed the plug all the way into the back of the unit.
 
TreyP, I am looking to do something similar and wanting your input. I have searched threads but yours comes closest.

I am looking into a WiFi back up cam to use with my iPhone. I can't bring myself to drive automatic so I opted for less convenience with the Sport.

I plan on routing the cam wire through the driver side LP light and mount the cam in the spot where the OEM cam goes.

My question/s are 1) in your opinion, is there enough room inside the hatch housing that I could mount the WiFi transmitter (70mmX35.5mmX12mm), that way all wires remain in the housing out of sight?
2) the transmitter and cam ask for +12V power; are the reverse lights able to handle that if I were to splice the transmitter/cam in?

Linked is the camera option I was looking into.
http://www.4ucam.com/copy_of_iphone-android-ipad-WIFI-Backup-Camera.html#contains
Any other insights you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
 
Someone else just asked me about using a wireless camera so I'll respond here as well. I tried a Peak brand setup in a small convertible and was vastly disappointed - so much that I took it out. The signal didn't travel well, even in that small a car, so the image was noisy/crackly at all times, plus it was very subject to 2.4Ghz interference from door openers and other external sources, so was even worse at some times. Also, if you want to mount the transmitter behind metal, that's a bad idea.

Now, maybe the one you're looking at is better and won't be subject to that, but try to get some user reviews first.
 
Thank you both for input.

I want to mount in between the gate door and the panel, so it won't be behind the metal in that case. I am a little concerned with the frequency, but willing to give it a shot. The only other option I would want to do at the moment is the GPS with Cam combo.
 
off topic, but will the aftermarket camera will work on factory radio WITHOUT NAVIGATION?
 
I own a 2014 CX5 SEL Nav (UK) and was just looking into fitting a parking camera so glad I saw this thread. Ive been quoted 395.00 to supply and fit the official Mazda factory parking camera. I can also pick up camera alone for 180.00 but would obviously have to instal myself. Am I correct in thinking there is no wiring loom fitted as standard and I would have to run one from the rear to the front dash? Also, would the car computer need to be told that the new camera was present in order to work? Many thanks!
 
Am I correct in thinking there is no wiring loom fitted as standard and I would have to run one from the rear to the front dash?

Yes, you are correct

Also, would the car computer need to be told that the new camera was present in order to work?

You program it with the key fob after installing it. The procedure is outlined in this thread.
 
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