PDC control unit and rear view camera

[TerminatorX5]

I discovered the pin 7 on that middle connector by studying the WDS diagrams. Pin 7 was the one to activate the little light on the PDC button upfront (A169 upfront). I tapped into that wire, and had it feed into a small relay, as it was a positive (+) signal, and I needed a ground for the TV module to activate the rear camera feed. Besides, I did not want to overtax with excess current the signal wire, as I did not know the draw on the ground and on the pin 7. relay isolated that potential problem. It is a small 12V relay, I posted the picture somewhere.

The camera had power at all the times while the ignition was on, I tapped into something in the liftgate.

Once the gear selector was in REVERSE, it activated the PDC by factory design, which in turn activated the relay which in turn activated the TV module and sent a video feed to the monitor. As the car was taken off the REVERSE and put into D, the image remained on the screen as the car moved, and then the PDC deactivated by factory design, which in turn removed the video image from the screen.

In some instances, say, while in P or in D (but with foot on a brake, say I am waiting for something), I would manually press the PDC button, which would engage the sonic sensors AND the relay, which in turn sent the image to the screen.

So, by tying the camera activation into the PDC function, I have achieved the automatic operation of the camera whenever in reverse, and also retained the ability to turn the camera on without adding any external switches to the interior of the car.

I found that setup to be very convenient, and as close to a possible factory setup as it could be....