2013 SV - Help with aftermarket backup camera and stock head unit

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Pingel88

New member
Joined
Jun 13, 2020
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I bought a 2013 Leaf SV a couple years ago in a private sale. The previous owner installed an aftermarket reverse camera an old Rydeen MINy (CM1-T150B-PR). The camera never worked under my ownership but the previous owner said it was installed by a local EV mechanic and worked for a few weeks before dying. What happens is that when you put it into reverse, the screen turns black and you see the guide lines and turning sweep I'm assuming from the leaf and not built into the camera because the wiring configuration has any lines disabled and the camera doesn't have the ability to detect where your tires are. In my setup, the green loop is spliced to turn off the guide wires. Below is the wiring diagram for reference.

4MxMoMH.jpg


I called Rydeen and asked if there was a way I could verify the camera was dead and it wasn't a connection problem. They said it's most certainly the camera because the screen turns black as if it detects power from the camera but isn't receiving the video. They also made a comment about the parking lines but I was unable to properly explain that I think those are coming from the car and that the wiring was spliced to turn off the lines. I asked if I ordered a new Miny camera, could I just plug it in at the connector near the camera and be good without having to re-run wires across the car. They said that there is a chance that the regulator is broken and sent 12v to the camera thus frying it. I asked if I could verify that it was spitting out 3.3v, would it be fine to just plug in and it should work? They said yes but it's very hard to test that for that 3.3v since the pins in the connector are so small. I ordered a new camera, a CM-MINy3 and was able to test for 3.3v with my multimeter by cutting the cable for the old camera and stripping back the power wires.

I received the new camera and was excited to plug it in and have a backup camera but no dice, didn't act any different. I called Rydeen back and explained that this should work, I confirmed it with who I spoke to last and tested for 3.3v. After some back and forth, it came up that I am using the stock head unit from the factory. They said there is no way that this camera will work with a stock head unit and I need some sort of interface card or an aftermarket display to go along with the camera. I explained that somehow the camera was working under the previous owner and I cannot find an interface card anywhere. They said it's not their problem and they can't help me.

Below is the wiring diagram of the new camera for reference:

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Again for reference, this is a schematic I found here on another thread:

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So what I've done so far is traced the cable all the way back from the camera to where it plugs into the head unit. The wiring diagram of the old camera shows an RCA connector and a wire leading off stating "Backing power supply anode output", no idea what that means and I can't find it anywhere. The RCA connector is stripped off and the 2 wires, a yellow and a red, that are spliced into pins 59(yellow) and 60(red) of the connector in the back of the head unit (if I'm reading stuff right). Below is a photo of the connector for reference. I peeled back the insulating tape on there to verify it was actually connected. The shielding isn't grounded, I tried grounding it to see if it was interference from the red wire but it didn't make a difference. There are wires plugged into 58 and 57 that look unmodified as far as I can tell but I'm not sure where they're going. The aftermarket camera receives power from the brake light circuit. There is a ground on 56 that was added and I think that's the only thing triggering the camera when it goes into reverse.

RjGadNn.jpg


Anyway, I'm a bit lost. This is way outside of my skillset and I can't figure out what the problem is. I verified it's receiving power, replaced the camera, verified continuity from the splice on the yellow wire at the head unit all the way in the trunk after the connector for the camera. The wiring diagram for the new camera looks roughly the same other than PT3, the reverse trigger input.

I appreciate any help, I figured I'd post here before I bugged the previous owner and figure out who installed it.

EDIT:
I was clicking around and did find this. I'm not sure if it will solve my problem and if it's worth spending $60 on since supposedly the current set up was working fine before.

https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/video-integration/cam-ni1

I did notice 2 things about that harness though.

Under compatibility notes, it says it's not compatable with vehicles with navigation. My car does have navigation but it's out of date and I don't really use it. I'm not sure if I could use this and it will disable it which is fine or if it won't work at all.

Then I also noticed on the instruction manual: "To function properly the camera must have power before the vehicle is placed into reverse, so using the reverse lamp as a power source is not recommended for proper functionality." I'm wondering if this is an issue I am having currently. Everything should work as it is but the camera is not receiving power until the reverse lights come on. That doesn't really explain how it supposedly worked before though.
 
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