Rear Tailgate Reverse Light
 

Hi all, I'm trying to make good use of the EONON unit that came with my car and I'm in the process of installing a backup camera that I ran the wire for in conjunction with running the wire for my trailer brake controller.

I got to the point where I have the rear tailgate all opened up and I see 2 wires running from the center to each lighting housing. ON THE LEFT, there is a yellow and an orange wire. ON THE RIGHT, there is a green wire and an orange wire. I can't figure out which is the reverse light wire!

I tried searching extensively and I found one video that showed it was definitely one of them but the author of the video wasn't that clear.

So which is it? Which one is the reverse light wire? I originally thought the orange wire because the reverse lights would be running to both sides but I've heard it might be the yellow (which would make it green on the other side)?


Just want to know before I tap it...thanks!


Pic below where you can see yellow/orange on left and green/orange on right side.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwyu8krqsr...0969.HEIC?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mwyu8krqsr...0969.HEIC?dl=0

The volt/ohmmeter is your friend. Just see which one has 12V in reverse. One side will be ground and the other will be a PWM 12V power.

If you are trying to power your camera from that 12V source, remember it is a 12 pulse width modulated signal and not a direct 12V. It may or may not power the camera positively.

I would be careful not to tap into the reverse light wiring. The previous owner did that to my X5, and I get the “check back up lights” error frequently.

What if you used the reverse light wire from the trailer wiring - inside the tailgate - as your reverse signal wire?

Then draw your 12v source from some where else…maybe even the battery.

So my car already thinks there's a reverse camera there when I shift into reverse. It has a CAN BUS. So I don't need the signal for anything really and I just need power to the camera. However, I only wanted the camera to be powered when the car was in reverse. I guess I have to try and tie it into the CAN BUS somehow then???

Some have used a relay to get the power corrected but as the above post mentioned, you may get a bulb error. There are several 12V reverse triggers up front from the LCM. One goes to the rear view mirror.

I grabbed camera power from the rear wiper motor. No bulb messages that way and I can flip to the rear camera view anytime I want when towing.

Like you said, the canbus signals the radio to switch to the camera in reverse and there's no need for a separate reverse trigger wire

There are 12v power at the fuse block right rear of car. I forget which are key on. You can use a relay to switch using the backup light as a signal control (maybe with RC filter to keep it 12v; you coughs direct drive with said filter also).

You can code out the light errors

1st empty relay slot on the right rear (can't remember the number) is perfect for a power tap location.

Sent from my SM-A730F using Tapatalk

Good Point. I am in the same boat.. I have a newer android unit in my second X5 and it knows when I am in reverse. I just don't have a camera hooked up, although the wire is back there.

If you really want power ONLY when in it's in reverse and you have both the trailer wiring and trailer module installed, maybe you can tap into the the trailer wiring. I would want to confirm that the trailer plug provides non-modulated 12v + when in reverse and not ground. I'd also want to make sure that the trailer electronics are active even if a trailer is not plugged into the 7-pin connector near the hitch.