boneart
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- Sep 30, 2009
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- VFII SS-V Redline
Hi guys.
Just installed a reversing camera setup in my VE SS-V and learned a lot doing it so thought it might be useful info for others.
The Commodore has a huge blind spot at the back with the high boot and huge fin which makes it a bit dangerous backing sometimes and also quite difficult to back onto a trailer coupling.
I back into my drive which involves backing through a gate and around a blind 90 degree corner where kids often play or leave their stuff lying around.
What I wanted was:
- The camera to display on the head unit display
- The camera and display to activate automatically when put in reverse
- The head unit to automatically switch back to whatever it was set on perviously (CD, Radio, Ipod etc) after reversing
- A very clear image and ability to see towbar for backing onto trailer couplings etc.
- A very discrete camera that was not too obvious.
= The head unit display:
The SS-V has the Blaupunkt head unit with the screen so I wanted it to show the view from the reversing camera on that screen.
To do this the camera is hooked into the rear aux video port.
The big issue with doing that however is that the rear aux on the screen cuts out as soon as you go more than about 4km/hr (vehicle in motion function) which is way to slow.
To get around that you need to flash the radio to remove that function and to do that I used the VIM kit from JHP. After a lot of research I came to the conclusion that using the JHP VIM and Auto switch system was the easiest and most reliable system I could get by mail order and sent to NZ. Its a bit expensive especially when NZ customs adds GST onto it but well worth it.
Flashing the head unit and fitting the video in cable is simply a matter of removing the lower dash covers and glove box to give you access to the right hand side of the head unit and the loom connector on the left hand side behind the glove box where you plug in the appropriate cables, relay and VIM Unit etc. That part of the job took a bit under 20 mins. The main plug behind the glovebox was clipped behind a strut so you need to pop out the holding clip to get at it.
Alternatives to using the factory head unit screen and for those who don't have one, is to hook the video feed from the camera into a GPS screen with video in or purchase a screen specifically for the camera ($300 to $400 with a basic camera). You then just hit a button on the screen to view the camera feed as you reverse. Obviously if you use one of these options you don't need to install the VIM etc but you do end up with an extra screen mounted on the dash which is a magnet for thieves.
= Auto Reverse Switching:
Part of the kit is a auto reverse switching unit that automatically switches to rear aux for the camera when put in reverse and then switches back to the previous source when you go out of reverse gear. This switch means you don't have to press the aux button to see the camera every time you back up.
= The Camera:
I learned a lot about cameras for backing.
The first camera I tried was a $40 cheapie CMOS camera. Absolute rubbish.
CCD cameras give a far better image than CMOS, cope with high contrast like shadows far better and even without LEDs for night time produce a better clearer image at night.
You also need to make sure that the camera itself reverses the image so it is the right way round when looking at a front mounted screen. Some have that as an option using a small jumper to select standard or reverse orientation. Most cameras sold as "reversing cameras" have the image reversed.
The camera consists of a two wire power cable plus a video out cable. Hook the camera up to a reversing light and an earth to switch it on only when the car is in reverse. I have a towbar fitted so it was easy just to hook into the loom for the tow bar wiring. That way any voltage balancing etc was taken care of by using the auxiliary/towbar wiring.
Then you run the cable back to the new video in cable you fitted to the head unit. You need a video cable around 6 mtrs long which just follows the loom down the right hand side of the vehicle along under the sill trim.
Most trim is just held on by small white plastic clips that pull out reasonably easily. When taking off the lower dash coverings pull off the thin strip along the middle first.
The glove box is held in by several screws most of which are hidden behind the trim strip along the top and two small covers, one above the boot release and one on the opposite side.
That part of the job also took about 20 minutes to do.
When choosing a camera 120 degrees seems about right for me. Wider than 120 degrees and everything is so distorted that it's almost impossible to judge distance and objects are so small until you are right on top of them that its easy to miss an obstacle like a small child or bollard.
= Camera Position:
Most people put the camera flush in or under the bumper but thats no good to me as I needed to able to see at least part of the car as a reference point. I particularly wanted to see the towbar for backing onto a trailer coupling for a large trailer and being able to park VERY close to a wall without actually touching it.
I also don't need to see lots of sky as I can already see that out the back window and its fairly unlikely the low flying seagulls pose a huge threat when reversing.
To do that you needed a higher vantage point and the VE has the perfect place for a small or recessed camera which is under the 35mm overhang above the number plate. Its more work to fit the camera here but again it is worth the effort. The other advantage of putting it under that lip is that it shades the camera a bit giving a better image on those real harsh sunny days.
I used a recessed camera so I had to drill a hole under the lip, fit the camera at an angle of around 55 degrees so that just the tip of the towbar shows at the bottom of the displayed image along with just a hint of the bumper in the lower corners of the image. Where the camera came through inside the body of the boot lid I used a bit of body filler to fix it in place so I did not need to make any mounting brackets etc. The bodywork in the boot lid at that point has a reasonably large void so the camera does not protrude into the boot space at all and will fit neatly behind the interior boot lid trim.
It's practically impossible to see the camera from outside the car at all unless you know exactly where to look which is not bad for a black camera mounted in a silver car.
= The VIM units.
I spent a lot of money to get my V8 so the cost of this small mod is nothing. I went for the full plug and play setup with all the plugs provided as the extra cost compared to all the extra time it would have taken to manually tap into looms etc made it well worth doing and I also didn't risk blowing anything up.
Wiring is easy though there was a bit of confusion over a main plug pinout. The image in the instructions appears to show the front of the plug when in fact it is the back but a quick email to JHP cleared that up.
Another thing not in the instructions is a trick with the video in plug for the rear aux of the head unit. What they don't tell you is that there is a lever on the video connection plug that goes into the side of the head unit. This lever needs to be in the down position to install the plug then moved to the up position at the top to lock it in.
Failing to fold the lever down before trying to push the plug in could result in bending the pins on the head unit.
When I came to connect the big 16 pin plug to the main loom input behind the glovebox I found that there was already a plug in it with a couple of loop wires fitted. I just popped those wires with their spade terminals out of the existing plug and put them back into the new plug in the same positions.
The whole job took a bit over one hour and 20 mins and works a treat.
It is not a hard job at all just a bit fiddly at times. Using a stiff wire with your video or power cables taped to the end to pull wiring through tight sections like the flexible hose between the boot lid and body or the sill channels makes a huge difference.
Hope this is some help to those considering doing this little job.
Don
Just installed a reversing camera setup in my VE SS-V and learned a lot doing it so thought it might be useful info for others.
The Commodore has a huge blind spot at the back with the high boot and huge fin which makes it a bit dangerous backing sometimes and also quite difficult to back onto a trailer coupling.
I back into my drive which involves backing through a gate and around a blind 90 degree corner where kids often play or leave their stuff lying around.
What I wanted was:
- The camera to display on the head unit display
- The camera and display to activate automatically when put in reverse
- The head unit to automatically switch back to whatever it was set on perviously (CD, Radio, Ipod etc) after reversing
- A very clear image and ability to see towbar for backing onto trailer couplings etc.
- A very discrete camera that was not too obvious.
= The head unit display:
The SS-V has the Blaupunkt head unit with the screen so I wanted it to show the view from the reversing camera on that screen.
To do this the camera is hooked into the rear aux video port.
The big issue with doing that however is that the rear aux on the screen cuts out as soon as you go more than about 4km/hr (vehicle in motion function) which is way to slow.
To get around that you need to flash the radio to remove that function and to do that I used the VIM kit from JHP. After a lot of research I came to the conclusion that using the JHP VIM and Auto switch system was the easiest and most reliable system I could get by mail order and sent to NZ. Its a bit expensive especially when NZ customs adds GST onto it but well worth it.
Flashing the head unit and fitting the video in cable is simply a matter of removing the lower dash covers and glove box to give you access to the right hand side of the head unit and the loom connector on the left hand side behind the glove box where you plug in the appropriate cables, relay and VIM Unit etc. That part of the job took a bit under 20 mins. The main plug behind the glovebox was clipped behind a strut so you need to pop out the holding clip to get at it.
Alternatives to using the factory head unit screen and for those who don't have one, is to hook the video feed from the camera into a GPS screen with video in or purchase a screen specifically for the camera ($300 to $400 with a basic camera). You then just hit a button on the screen to view the camera feed as you reverse. Obviously if you use one of these options you don't need to install the VIM etc but you do end up with an extra screen mounted on the dash which is a magnet for thieves.
= Auto Reverse Switching:
Part of the kit is a auto reverse switching unit that automatically switches to rear aux for the camera when put in reverse and then switches back to the previous source when you go out of reverse gear. This switch means you don't have to press the aux button to see the camera every time you back up.
= The Camera:
I learned a lot about cameras for backing.
The first camera I tried was a $40 cheapie CMOS camera. Absolute rubbish.
CCD cameras give a far better image than CMOS, cope with high contrast like shadows far better and even without LEDs for night time produce a better clearer image at night.
You also need to make sure that the camera itself reverses the image so it is the right way round when looking at a front mounted screen. Some have that as an option using a small jumper to select standard or reverse orientation. Most cameras sold as "reversing cameras" have the image reversed.
The camera consists of a two wire power cable plus a video out cable. Hook the camera up to a reversing light and an earth to switch it on only when the car is in reverse. I have a towbar fitted so it was easy just to hook into the loom for the tow bar wiring. That way any voltage balancing etc was taken care of by using the auxiliary/towbar wiring.
Then you run the cable back to the new video in cable you fitted to the head unit. You need a video cable around 6 mtrs long which just follows the loom down the right hand side of the vehicle along under the sill trim.
Most trim is just held on by small white plastic clips that pull out reasonably easily. When taking off the lower dash coverings pull off the thin strip along the middle first.
The glove box is held in by several screws most of which are hidden behind the trim strip along the top and two small covers, one above the boot release and one on the opposite side.
That part of the job also took about 20 minutes to do.
When choosing a camera 120 degrees seems about right for me. Wider than 120 degrees and everything is so distorted that it's almost impossible to judge distance and objects are so small until you are right on top of them that its easy to miss an obstacle like a small child or bollard.
= Camera Position:
Most people put the camera flush in or under the bumper but thats no good to me as I needed to able to see at least part of the car as a reference point. I particularly wanted to see the towbar for backing onto a trailer coupling for a large trailer and being able to park VERY close to a wall without actually touching it.
I also don't need to see lots of sky as I can already see that out the back window and its fairly unlikely the low flying seagulls pose a huge threat when reversing.
To do that you needed a higher vantage point and the VE has the perfect place for a small or recessed camera which is under the 35mm overhang above the number plate. Its more work to fit the camera here but again it is worth the effort. The other advantage of putting it under that lip is that it shades the camera a bit giving a better image on those real harsh sunny days.
I used a recessed camera so I had to drill a hole under the lip, fit the camera at an angle of around 55 degrees so that just the tip of the towbar shows at the bottom of the displayed image along with just a hint of the bumper in the lower corners of the image. Where the camera came through inside the body of the boot lid I used a bit of body filler to fix it in place so I did not need to make any mounting brackets etc. The bodywork in the boot lid at that point has a reasonably large void so the camera does not protrude into the boot space at all and will fit neatly behind the interior boot lid trim.
It's practically impossible to see the camera from outside the car at all unless you know exactly where to look which is not bad for a black camera mounted in a silver car.
= The VIM units.
I spent a lot of money to get my V8 so the cost of this small mod is nothing. I went for the full plug and play setup with all the plugs provided as the extra cost compared to all the extra time it would have taken to manually tap into looms etc made it well worth doing and I also didn't risk blowing anything up.
Wiring is easy though there was a bit of confusion over a main plug pinout. The image in the instructions appears to show the front of the plug when in fact it is the back but a quick email to JHP cleared that up.
Another thing not in the instructions is a trick with the video in plug for the rear aux of the head unit. What they don't tell you is that there is a lever on the video connection plug that goes into the side of the head unit. This lever needs to be in the down position to install the plug then moved to the up position at the top to lock it in.
Failing to fold the lever down before trying to push the plug in could result in bending the pins on the head unit.
When I came to connect the big 16 pin plug to the main loom input behind the glovebox I found that there was already a plug in it with a couple of loop wires fitted. I just popped those wires with their spade terminals out of the existing plug and put them back into the new plug in the same positions.
The whole job took a bit over one hour and 20 mins and works a treat.
It is not a hard job at all just a bit fiddly at times. Using a stiff wire with your video or power cables taped to the end to pull wiring through tight sections like the flexible hose between the boot lid and body or the sill channels makes a huge difference.
Hope this is some help to those considering doing this little job.
Don
