Reverse camera retrofit - plug 'n play + cheap

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cbotved

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Hi guys,

Just wanted to let you in on a nice ebay item i stubled accross the other day.

159 US $ and you have a plud and play Reverse camera with moving lines, cables and all, and you don't even have to VCDS your car to make it work afterwards...

I have already ordered it, and will let you know about the installation.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181514423211?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


Link to Audiworld, where a lot of guys are discussing it:
http://www.audiworld.com/forums/audi-a3-s3-rs-3-mkii-209/$170-reverse-backup-camera-kit-install-2872597/

p.s. did I mention the free shipping ?? :)
 
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Well... lets see :)
It's on its way from Hong Kong as we speak... precisse delivery date is: between 19th of feb and 19 of march.... haha... I guess I need to wait a couple of hours more...
 
How can this require no coding? The car needs to know to show the feed when in reverse gear somehow
 
I had it on my car and works incredibly well and just like stock. It doesn't need to be coded because it uses the reverse signal from the canbus and you bypass the video cable with the box it comes with. Its pretty easy to install and should take you about an hour or two to finish it all up. I highly recommend it compared to the absurd price Audi charges.

If you live in a city where parking is very intimate, you will want/need this as it helps to get as close as possible to the car behind you (usually I am about an inch then move forward). Also good to have an extra set of eyes while backing up.
 
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Thank god for airfreight...
Camera is here, now I just need to find 2 hours to mount it.
Quality out of the box seems very decent.
2015 02 20 102931 2015 02 20 103323
 
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The Chinese instructions are fantastic but I am not sure I want to mess with my 'wire-ting long butt'. Interested to hear how this goes though and whether you get the Chinese characters (mentioned by the reviewer) on the screen when you are up and running (I can't park in Chinese). Even with the Chinese characters, if the quality is good this is definitely worth considering.
 
Central locking issue? Slight misalignment when you re-assembled it? Can you get at it with the seats down - I seem to recall an emergency release mechanism mentioned in the Owner's manual but I do not have mine here to check.
 
No, it is the handle that you operate to open the boot.
In other words the part that I need to switch, to install the camera handle.
 
Perhaps a gentle tap with a wooden or leather mallet on the protruding screws to push the old handle out? (I had though you meant you had fitted to new handle and the boot was now jammed shut).
 
Gentle tap was not enough.... Seems very odd, I must say.... Can't even imagine how they would dismount it @ Audi themself.
 
What about the small square and oblong holes. Is this a clip or an entry for a tool to push the handle out? Unfortunately I am guessing. Someone will be along with a maintenance manual extract to assist you hopefully.
 

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Not at all MjCourtney.

I can only get the handle 3-4 mm out in one side, and 1-2 mm out in the other side...
Seems like it is stuck, or somthing still holding it back.
 
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The instructions suggest the screws need to be removed to release the handle. Odd that you can't see the heads :s
 
Well there was 2 bolts attached, that needed to be taken of before the handle would budge at all.
But maybe the screews also needs to be de-attached.
 
There is one huge part, which looks like the handle needs to be pulled from the inside (close to the number plate)
But I think the best thing right now would be to hear from someone which has taken the handle off. Or someone with a manual
 
I looked on line and found similar instructions for a VW Golf and a 8L A3 (on this site). They only appear to be doing exactly what you are currently doing cbotved. In your photo one screw is further out than the other. Are you pulling the handle out slightly skewed so that the bolt threads are catching the edge of the hole through the outer boot bodywork? One of the sites does describe the handle as a 'snug' fit and recommends carefully using a prying tool.
 
audi upgrades
That is correct Hartwell - it is coming out a little to an angle, but I'm not sure it is the bolts are catching the edge og their holes.
What I'm afraid of is that there is something hidden, that I might rip apart if I put some serious force to it. -- untill now I have put force, but keeping in mind that I dont want to break anything.
 
Maybe if we could find pictures of the back of an OEM camera, that would help to see if there are anything that could get cought up.
 
jaypers777 said:
Why put yourself through this pain?!
Click to expand...
Your right - right now it seems pretty damn dumb to do this yourself...

But then one might think of the other options.

  • Get a rettrofitter to do it, but it will cost you 900-1000 € incl parts
  • Sell the car and buy a new one, but that will cost you a huge loss on the car + 2000 € to Audi to fit it from factory (at least in Denmark, with our lovely taxes)
So yes.... Why put myself through this pain.... Well I thought it would be a fun DYI - and I still think that tomorrow will be better, but lets see...
 
Got that sucker to let go, woohoo!!
- turns out the OEM handle has 1 clip on each side that make sure it does not come off easily.

Now, next challenge is to find a reverse signal - any good ideas?
 
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Hey, so to add to the message I sent you, if you still cant get it to work via hooking the green wire to your reverse light, you can also just try hooking up the reverse signal directly into the yellowish/brown wire. One is CAN H and CAN L. That might give the system the signal to turn the relay on and show up on the screen. Let me see if I can find the PDF install instructions I found online....
 
cbotved said:
Your right - right now it seems pretty damn dumb to do this yourself...

But then one might think of the other options.

  • Get a rettrofitter to do it, but it will cost you 900-1000 € incl parts
  • Sell the car and buy a new one, but that will cost you a huge loss on the car + 2000 € to Audi to fit it from factory (at least in Denmark, with our lovely taxes)
So yes.... Why put myself through this pain.... Well I thought it would be a fun DYI - and I still think that tomorrow will be better, but lets see...
Click to expand...

Why didn't you just let Cartrends.dk do it?
He has done it on mine and it works perfectly. Original and quite cheap but top class work :)
 
mroberte said:
Hey, so to add to the message I sent you, if you still cant get it to work via hooking the green wire to your reverse light, you can also just try hooking up the reverse signal directly into the yellowish/brown wire. One is CAN H and CAN L. That might give the system the signal to turn the relay on and show up on the screen. Let me see if I can find the PDF install instructions I found online....
Click to expand...
I would say that I did exactly that.
discribtion:
  1. Take out the big square plug from behind the radio.
  2. Remove the Green, Blue and Brown plug for the big square plug.
  3. Install Green, Blue and Brown plug in the provided new square plug.
  4. Take the pink cable from behind the radio, and install it in the provided relay box
  5. Put provided black cable between radio and provided relay box
  6. Connect the provided white plug in the provided relay box.
  7. Connect camera wire to the provided cable-kit.
So only thing that is not connected (and not in any of the manuals I have been able to find), is the small green cable, which comes from the white plug, that was attached to the relay box in step 6??

Also, are you sure that you did not have to code the car, mroberte?

Another thing that is a mystery to me, is how the china-kit knows when the wheel is turning...
 
Everything it needs to know is on CAN.

Including the steering angle sensor messages.
 


Finally. It works.
Green wire needs 12v signal for reverse, at least for a manual car.
 
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All in all I think the installation could had gone a lot faster, if only the instructions had been complete. Several times you had to guess.

Now I would just like to know if any of the wires behind the radio gives 12v when in reverse. Or if I need to follow plan B --> wire all the way back to the back light.
 
Things have been cleared out...

-If you have DSG/S-tronic you are in luck - then it is indeed plug and play.
-if you have manual - the you need to run a signal wire from the reverse light and up to the small green wire from the kit.

I'll try and make a much better guide in the comming day, but I'm still happy with my 159$ kit
 
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Well done for persevering. Ignor the comments of "get someone else to do it "
 
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