Rear view camera without engaging reverse?

pezzas

Member
T6 Pro
Hi All,
Just curious to see if you can view the rear camera on screen while not in reverse?
No real need for it but would be good to waste a few minutes while sitting in traffic...
Ta:thumbsup:
 
No it needs reverse selected to activate
The switched feed to the camera comes from the PDC control unit below the steering wheel (if factory fitted) so you could probably tap a button into the cable to force it to activate but a bit of a faff for little gain ??
 
I have been very pleasantly surprised by how good rear view vision is in my bare van. I had considered a permanently on rear view camera, but it's really not needed, yet at least.
 
Good question and worth to look into deeper on this topic.
On VW passenger cars the camera activates if you press the parking sensors button on dash.
 
On my kenwood I can assign a button to turn it on. Not sure if standard head units have this though
 
I thought about this myself with having switch to power camera when requested but would need to fit diode I think to stop reverse lights coming on with switch
 
Has anyone managed to set this up yet?

I have a factory lowline reversing camera (5Q0980568B) on my T6.1 California MY2021 RHD and would like to be able to enable it on the Discover Media Pro MIB3 without being in reverse.

When I press the park sensor dash button I can toggle in and out of the Park Distance Control screen below without having to be in reverse, however the on screen button to toggle to Camera View is greyed out when not in reverse, presumably because the camera
is powered off.

1627720762782.png

From the wiring diagrams I've seen there is a yellow "reverse light signal" wire going to the camera in addition to the +/- & video wires.

I suspect that if I can supply the signal wire without actually being in reverse then that may enable the greyed out button allowing toggling between the reverse camera; and hopefully it won't force the display itself into thinking it is in reverse (as I assume it has its own separate reverse signal input) so that it still has full functionality.

The questions are;
A) Is the reverse signal full 12V that I could tap off for example the 12V camera power, or is it some other voltage or signal?
B) Where does the yellow signal wire from the camera terminate to as I've seen conflicting info from; to the right hand tail-light (which I can't see obviously below), or all the way to and spliced into the connector behind the display controller (which I'd like to avoid pulling the dash apart to test)?

1627724536571.png

1627708305828.png
 
My experience with T6.1 is limited but by default MQB has far more advanced functionality compared to any PQ platform(T6 --> PQ25).
Your goal is easily achievable on T6 highline setup by tweaking coding and adaptations of the head unit.
On T6 lowline setup I have never tried it
but if I were you I would definitely try connecting power supply directly to the camera.
 
Thanks Robert, I have a HEX-NET with VCDS so if you could point to any adaptations I could try that would be much appreciated.

I was wondering what would be involved in upgrading from factory lowline to highline camera...if anyone's done it?

If I can find an easy way to access the camera loom, ideally without pulling apart the dash, or the tailgate (as it's Cali with the built in shutter & chair rack etc), then I'll measure the signal voltage to ensure I don't fry it before testing bridging it to 12v.
 
Thanks Robert, I have a HEX-NET with VCDS so if you could point to any adaptations I could try that would be much appreciated.

I was wondering what would be involved in upgrading from factory lowline to highline camera...if anyone's done it?

If I can find an easy way to access the camera loom, ideally without pulling apart the dash, or the tailgate (as it's Cali with the built in shutter & chair rack etc), then I'll measure the signal voltage to ensure I don't fry it before testing bridging it to 12v.
This is my experience with T6 upgrade from lowline to highline.

For T6.1 upgrade you would need something like this.
 
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So the good news is I located the white 17-pin connector [T17q] under the RHD driver seat, containing the (green/black) reverse signal wire [39] as well as camera power and ground wires.

I tested the reverse signal wire is 12V when in reverse gear and 0V in any other gear.

Disconnecting just this signal pin at this connector when in reverse gear causes the display to just show a blue screen instead of the camera feed, however the reverse lights remain on showing the wire is independent of them (as they are joined further upstream).

The bad news is that powering the signal wire with 12V directly restores the camera feed in reverse gear however does not enable the greyed out camera toggle button when not in reverse.

The camera appears powered who whole time the ignition is on so the enabling / disabling of the camera when in gear must be 100% controlled by the display firmware or adaptation?
 
So the good news is I located the white 17-pin connector [T17q] under the RHD driver seat, containing the (green/black) reverse signal wire [39] as well as camera power and ground wires.

I tested the reverse signal wire is 12V when in reverse gear and 0V in any other gear.

Disconnecting just this signal pin at this connector when in reverse gear causes the display to just show a blue screen instead of the camera feed, however the reverse lights remain on showing the wire is independent of them (as they are joined further upstream).

The bad news is that powering the signal wire with 12V directly restores the camera feed in reverse gear however does not enable the greyed out camera toggle button when not in reverse.

The camera appears powered who whole time the ignition is on so the enabling / disabling of the camera when in gear must be 100% controlled by the display firmware or adaptation?
Everything can be set up by coding there, I have a camera working when I press the parking sensors key in any mode up to a speed of 15 km/h.
 
I have a new J794 unit installed and I could not find the native encodings, I was given a vw passat B8 and these default settings were set there. If you need a file to study, I can send it to the mail, here or how.
 
Thanks Robert, I have a HEX-NET with VCDS so if you could point to any adaptations I could try that would be much appreciated.

I was wondering what would be involved in upgrading from factory lowline to highline camera...if anyone's done it?

If I can find an easy way to access the camera loom, ideally without pulling apart the dash, or the tailgate (as it's Cali with the built in shutter & chair rack etc), then I'll measure the signal voltage to ensure I don't fry it before testing bridging it to 12v.

Off topic slightly, but what's the difference between lowline and highline cameras?
 
Low line = static guidelines
Officially there is no highline camera for T6 (although it can be retrofitted/hacked from other models)
 
so he has a vw t6.1, cameras with dynamic lines are officially installed on him, orig number 5Q0 980 568 B
 
Mines a van with no rear view mirror, could I fit a rear view mirror with a screen in it and have the rear camera on permanently or will it be easier to put another camera in?
 
Everything can be set up by coding there, I have a camera working when I press the parking sensors key in any mode up to a speed of 15 km/h.
This sounds very interesting, i would like this function; is this fully working/verified on the T6.1?
 
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