Reverse Camera power??

[UPGrayd]

So, with a little bit of time off work, and what little time I have without the 18 month old screaming for my attention, I have used this weekend to put an xtrons head unit and reverse camera in the wifes X5. No dramas with the head unit and extension loom to the back (apart from the obvious PITA of running it through the car)...Didnt even have to wire anything extra up to get the steering wheel controls working like i've had to on other cars...brilliant..couldn't be easier!

Hell the Xtrons even knows when the car is in reverse and flicks over to the cam input already! Thats going to make my job even easier with the cam as I no longer have to worry about the signal wire to the head unit! wonderful!

So I go to wire the cam up the same as I have with literally every other cam I have installed in a car...tap power and ground straight from the wires from one of the reverse lights and I'm good to go!....except.....not......Camera is flickering on and off like crazy....Ok so im guessing the big girl is also sending some sort of bus data through that for the bulb monitoring systems?

No biggie, I'll pull power directly from the battery in that case, its right there in the back anyway, and tap the signal wire for the cam to power up from the +ve on the reverse light I was pulling power from before...great..everything works as it should.....Until I turn off the car, pack up all my tools, put all the trim back on, close the tailgate and notice the reverse light I pulled signal from is on......just the one.....what the actual F!$@?! I open the tailgate, pull the service panel out of the lower half and back probe the plug for the reverse light and see 8.9v? Having had enough of the car for the day, I cut the 12v to the cam, Reverse light goes off, and I walk away from it for the day.

Whats going on? Is there something I have forgotten between now and when I did my last reverse cam?

[tttomttt]

I believe you must go through a relay that you install to get the power to the camera. I apologize I really do not recall the exact wiring setup but do a search for backup camera relay and it should come up. It sounds as if the relay is your only missing piece to the puzzle.

[Overboost]

If you provide some better detail on how you wired the camera it would help us find the voltage back feed problem.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by UPGrayd

Ok so im guessing the big girl is also sending some sort of bus data through that for the bulb monitoring systems?

It's PWM voltage... due to the adaptive braking system I believe.

There are many ways to do a backup cam on LCI e53's. You are going to need to use a relay to use the signal wire from the reverse light. I have mine being triggered by the PDC system which is nice as I can also manually trigger it by hitting the button on the console. Though this does require some extra work.

Does your Xtrons unit provide a cam+ wire in the harness? Some of the newer android units actually have a voltage supply wire in the harness.

[wpoll]

The signal wire and the power wire on the camera are the same thing - they are connected in the camera. Just remove the signal wire going to the reverse lamp (you don't need it) and you'll be good to go. Other than locating a new source of power for the camera that is - if you connect the camera directly to the battery, it will run constantly and could (after a week or two) flatten the battery. You'll want to find a source of power that is switched with the ignition, or has been suggested, use the reverse lamp power to trigger a relay to supply battery power to the camera.

[iansanderson]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

It's PWM voltage... due to the adaptive braking system I believe.

There are many ways to do a backup cam on LCI e53's. You are going to need to use a relay to use the signal wire from the reverse light. I have mine being triggered by the PDC system which is nice as I can also manually trigger it by hitting the button on the console. Though this does require some extra work.

Does your Xtrons unit provide a cam+ wire in the harness? Some of the newer android units actually have a voltage supply wire in the harness.

E53 LCI has adaptive braking?

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by iansanderson

E53 LCI has adaptive braking?

Yes sir, brake force display on LCI.

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by iansanderson

E53 LCI has adaptive braking?

From the owners manual...

[UPGrayd]

Thank you guys, I picked up a relay today and wired it in...all working as it should now!

One thing I am learning quickly with the wifes X5 is that nothing is ever as straight forward and simple on a bmw as it tends to be on japanese cars I have played with in the past.

[tttomttt]

Originally Posted by UPGrayd

Thank you guys, I picked up a relay today and wired it in...all working as it should now!

One thing I am learning quickly with the wifes X5 is that nothing is ever as straight forward and simple on a bmw as it tends to be on japanese cars I have played with in the past.

Nice!