Rear view cam setups?

[chas3]

Talking about replacement camera: did the first one come with that long extension cord like the auction says, and you just have to plug a new camera at the truck end? Also, did you use a relay on the reverse light power - maybe this is why the camera died?

Hey, look at the bright side, now you could use the spare led inside the other license plate light to have an identical light pattern on both sides

[fullmetaljacket]

Originally Posted by chas3

Talking about replacement camera: did the first one come with that long extension cord like the auction says, and you just have to plug a new camera at the truck end? Also, did you use a relay on the reverse light power - maybe this is why the camera died?

Hey, look at the bright side, now you could use the spare led inside the other license plate light to have an identical light pattern on both sides

To answer your queries...

No it did not. I had to provide my own. No I did not install a relay. Should I really install a relay considering my problem seem to have come from the screen fogging up?

Absolutely right. I can now mount the 2 cameras to look like I'm shooting 3D!

[chas3]

The relay is actually added to avoid fuzziness of the image. Some of the cameras on some of the installs might display a fuzzy image with interferences, if connected to the reverse light directly, instead of going through the relay. Also, in theory, a relay would keep the camera safer rather then getting the power directly from the reverse light. The same wire you tapped into also receives the bulb cold monitoring and so on. But if you are positive that the camera died because it was flooded, the relay had nothing to do with it, so scratch that.
Looking at the ebay photos of the camera, it looks like the only place water could have gotten through is the round tip of the camera. Not sure how easy it would be to insulate (still waiting for mine to arrive for 2 weeks already).

[E55AMG2]

Originally Posted by chas3

True, except there is a huge difference between $35 (ebay cam) and around $763 (retrofit cam).

Last I checked it was in the $350 range.

[chas3]

I guess it must be cheaper in there. I called two different dealerships in here and I got the same price - $700, more or less, depending on the USD currency conversion rate. Maybe they quoted it with install labor too.

[fullmetaljacket]

Originally Posted by chas3

The relay is actually added to avoid fuzziness of the image. Some of the cameras on some of the installs might display a fuzzy image with interferences, if connected to the reverse light directly, instead of going through the relay. Also, in theory, a relay would keep the camera safer rather then getting the power directly from the reverse light. The same wire you tapped into also receives the bulb cold monitoring and so on. But if you are positive that the camera died because it was flooded, the relay had nothing to do with it, so scratch that.
Looking at the ebay photos of the camera, it looks like the only place water could have gotten through is the round tip of the camera. Not sure how easy it would be to insulate (still waiting for mine to arrive for 2 weeks already).

No, I'll do the relay thing! though, I need a pro to do this for me. Thanks for the advise. Keep us posted on your theories when you get yours. I really need to solve the flooding thing. Thanks!

[E55AMG2]

Originally Posted by chas3

I guess it must be cheaper in there. I called two different dealerships in here and I got the same price - $700, more or less, depending on the USD currency conversion rate. Maybe they quoted it with install labor too.

You can get the OEM camera setup on ebay for $350. Dealership is a huge ripoff.

[chas3]

Originally Posted by E55AMG2

You can get the OEM camera setup on ebay for $350. Dealership is a huge ripoff.

Yes, I only called them and asked them about the price because I wanted to weight how fair the prices on ebay or the other sale ads websites were. Then I decided to go for a plain camera like fullmetaljacket did, since I already have the TV module and I'll just tap into the rear camera pin.

Originally Posted by fullmetaljacket

No, I'll do the relay thing! though, I need a pro to do this for me. Thanks for the advise. Keep us posted on your theories when you get yours. I really need to solve the flooding thing. Thanks!

I'll try to post a diagram on the wiring when I install mine. However, I'll try to connect mine through the PDC module, so I can activate it on request when pressing the PDC button, in addition to the reverse gear.

[chas3]

Camera just arrived. Not so glad to find out that it doesn't fit the facelift license plate light.

[m5james]

I've seen two styles with different width/depth measurements on each individual eBay listing...sounds like a simple mixup on your part.