Front facing camera on a aftermarket head unit

[NicolasH]

Hi there

We would like to fit a front facing camera to our 2016 T6 Startline camper conversion.

Currently we have a reversing camera, which I installed, connected to our Sony CarPlay head unit which we want to keep. The head unit has a Canbus module to provide power and the camera power feed is provided by the reversing lights. The video feed is a standard RCA cable. There is a filter to prevent interference. The head unit only has one RCA video socket.

Is it possible to fit a second camera to the front of the van, and if so how can this be done? How would it be activated? I’m pretty handy with the soldering iron, but my expertise with vehicle electrics is somewhat lacking.

Do any of the electronic experts on the forum think this is feasible and relatively easy to install by someone with very basic skills in vehicle electrics?

Thanks. Nick

 

[Deaky]

You could fit a relay to the front and rear cameras that’s activated by the reverse signal, when reverse is engaged it shows the rear camera and when not in reverse the front camera is on. The only issue will be displaying the image on your head unit. You might be able to manually display the reverse camera in which case you’ll be ok, but, the image from the front camera will be flipped left to right

 

[NicolasH]

Thanks for your reply Deaky, I will look into your idea further - I think this could work.

 

[Broadside]

I think it is usually the camera which flips the image, you can buy front facing cameras which have a front or rear facing selection like the Kenwood CMOS 320

I’ve thought about doing similar using a relay as @Deaky mentions but adding a momentary push button on the dash which starts a timer to allow the front camera to display if you don’t want it showing all the time, which I expect you don’t. It would be really neat if the camera came on when the van speed drops to under 3mph but I don’t believe there is a way to get a signal out of the BCM for that.

 

[NicolasH]

I think it is usually the camera which flips the image, you can buy front facing cameras which have a front or rear facing selection like the Kenwood CMOS 320

I’ve thought about doing similar using a relay as @Deaky mentions but adding a momentary push button on the dash which starts a timer to allow the front camera to display if you don’t want it showing all the time, which I expect you don’t. It would be really neat if the camera came on when the van speed drops to under 3mph but I don’t believe there is a way to get a signal out of the BCM for that.

I like the sound of this. On the Sony head unit there is an option to view the camera image at any time.

 

[Broadside]

If you’re happy to select the camera button on the head unit then @Deaky suggestion of having a relay triggered off the reverse light wire to swap which camera provides the feed in to the head unit is probably the way forward.

 

[NicolasH]

If you’re happy to select the camera button on the head unit then @Deaky suggestion of having a relay triggered off the reverse light wire to swap which camera provides the feed in to the head unit is probably the way forward.

Thanks Broadside. Do you know which relay I would need to make this happen?

 

[Broadside]

You need a changeover relay to switch the camera inputs based on whether the reverse signal is on. Have a look on 12voltplanet.co.uk or Google 12v relays so you can see what can be done.

If you want to only power the cameras when the head unit is on camera then I would look at using a double pole double throw (DPDT) relay that will take in the 12v camera supply from the head unit and also the two camera feeds, switching it all when reverse is selected, though this may be simpler to achieve by using two separate changeover relays.

 

[NicolasH]

You need a changeover relay to switch the camera inputs based on whether the reverse signal is on. Have a look on 12voltplanet.co.uk or Google 12v relays so you can see what can be done.

If you want to only power the cameras when the head unit is on camera then I would look at using a double pole double throw (DPDT) relay that will take in the 12v camera supply from the head unit and also the two camera feeds, switching it all when reverse is selected, though this may be simpler to achieve by using two separate changeover relays.

Thanks for your reply. I will checkout the links and go from there.

 

[Broadside]

This sort of thing should do, obviously lots of other options out there and available. Have a look at the pin out diagram on the product specification area which shows how you could connect it.

12v double pole changeover relay

 

[NicolasH]

This sort of thing should do, obviously lots of other options out there and available. Have a look at the pin out diagram on the product specification area which shows how you could connect it.

12v double pole changeover relay

Thanks for sending the link - I really appreciate it.

 

[NicolasH]

@Broadside @Deaky

Hi both,

Does this wiring diagram look right? The black part of the diagram is the existing setup, and the grey would be the new wiring. The front camera view would be selected from the head unit by manually triggering the camera view. Is there a better way of doing this? Accessing the wiring for the rear view camera (as the tailgate end) would be difficult.

Thanks.

 

[Broadside]

In principle that would work so you could do a temporary lash up and see if it does work in practice. However... the rear camera is powered off the reverse light which is monitored for bulb failure so there could be a small voltage waking the camera up enough to send interference down the yellow cable when you are trying to use the front camera. You would just need to try it out I think and if there was a problem then put the camera image yellow wire through a relay too.

 

[NicolasH]

In principle that would work so you could do a temporary lash up and see if it does work in practice. However... the rear camera is powered off the reverse light which is monitored for bulb failure so there could be a small voltage waking the camera up enough to send interference down the yellow cable when you are trying to use the front camera. You would just need to try it out I think and if there was a problem then put the camera image yellow wire through a relay too.

Thanks Broadside, I’ll give it a try.