Reversing camera.

[oldsalt]

Hi guys,
If you are thinking of fitting a reversing camera have a look here - this is the one I bought and it works a treat, I've got no connection with this seller - just thought you may be interested.
cheers
PAL CAMERA DE RECUL LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 FREELANDER | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/PAL-CAMERA-RECUL-LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-3-FREELANDER-/230597237758?pt=FR_JG_Auto_Pieces_Cables_et_access oires&hash=item35b0aa9bfe)

[~Rich~]

I'd seen those too, was it easy to connect up to the standard screen?

[oldsalt]

I've got an after market 7" GPS unit that has an AV input socket which I plugged it into and it automatically changes from GPS to rear view when I put the D3 into reverse.
I'm sure someone on here would be able to tell you how to hook it up to the standard screen.
cheers

[bbyer]

I'd seen those too, was it easy to connect up to the standard screen?

Below is a pdf from the Disco3 site showing how to install that license plate camera to the existing nav unit.

There is actually quite a bit of material related to backup cameras on the Disco3 forum. One thread in particular details the installation of a camera mounted just inside the rear glass high up that can yield quite a good view and can see as long as the rear wiper is working.

[tonys tank]

oldsalt do you know if this cameras fits a D4

is a GVIF interface required for a D4?

[oldsalt]

I'm assuming that the tailgate "handle" is the same on a D4 as the D3, so it should just fit straight in.
As I said above - I plugged mine into an aftermarket GPS so I don't know anything about the GVIF interface.
cheers

P.S. - here's the link to the e-bay store front..... eBay Australia Shop - stephenhong2009: CAR ACCESSORY, turning signal light, tyre valve dust caps (http://stores.ebay.com.au/stephenhong2009?_trksid=p4340.l2568)

[Bushwanderer]

As oldsalt says, the handles are identical.

I actually bought a D4 handle (with camera) from Slimer in UK.

Again, like oldsalt, I have an aftermarket gps so no GVIF needed.

Best Wishes,
Peter

[Graeme]

I looked at one of the ebay camera adds and came to the conclusion that the light's hole size is different between the D3 & D4, which is not surprising as the D4 has a spot for the LR camera.

Edit: This camera http://cgi.ebay.com.au/PAL-Car-Reverse-Camera-Land-Rover-Freelander-Discovery3-/330532497791?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4cf545a97f has the light size and its the same size as my D4's light.

[jonesy63]

I just received a similar camera and will be fitting it this weekend. I have a double din DVD head unit as the display, which takes PAL or NTSC. I asked for the PAL unit, but not sure what they sent. At $29 delivered, it is a good deal.

[Ashes]

I hooked one of these cameras today to the 5" Ranga GPS. It took me longer than I expected as I needed to work out the AV in pin setup to confirm the GPS unit and camera were working before I started the install.
Took about 3 hours with a few breaks and time confirming the setup would work.
The guide is fantastic and if you follow it, not too many dramas.
I still need to run the cable from under the passenger seat into the D3 cubby hole. A project for another weekend.
Pin information for the Ranga 5" GPS.
Tip - L/R audio
next - L/R audio
next - video
next - ground

Pretty clear picture and also not too bad in the dark.

[NavyDiver]

I just received a similar camera and will be fitting it this weekend. I have a double din DVD head unit as the display, which takes PAL or NTSC. I asked for the PAL unit, but not sure what they sent. At $29 delivered, it is a good deal.

I brought one via ebay too and installed it in my D3. The camera works but better ones exist! Freeway Car Audio put a much better camera in for me cost a bit but works much better especialy at night :), The Ebay one might need a bit of silicon to keep the water out if you swim yours a bit :cool:

[Ashes]

I suspect if I'm swimming the car up to the latch handle I've got bigger things to worry about:D

[NavyDiver]

YouTube - Land Rover D3 in deep fast water river crossings didn't check the back for the depth :D

[Graeme]

I started to fit my ebay camera this afternoon but completion will have to wait until I have some suitable connectors. Apart from damaging the RCA plug on the extension lead getting it through the waterproof tube, I'll be fitting plugs and sockets above the tailgate. This is to allow the cables to be unplugged along with the LR plug if the tailgate needs to be removed. The connectors at the camera terminate just below the handle so they too can be unplugged if the handle needs to be removed. I fitted the camera in place of the right light to get a little closer to the centre of the vehicle.

[kenl]

Graeme, are you fitting it to the Landrover touch screen or other?

I ran my AV cable with lot's of hassle in my opinion, but it is stressfull pulling off trims.

Is yours a D4 or D3?

I found the PAL camera would not work on the D4 screen in reverse mode

[Ashes]

Fitting on the right hand side didn't even occur to me. Good thinking!

I didn't bother with threading the rca plug, I cut it off and reattached it later.
The additional connector is a good idea but I figured it was such a cheap setup I could live with replacing it if required

[Graeme]

Its a D4 with after-market system. Removing the trims was no hassle once I read the Disco3 instructions.

I wished I had just cut off the plug - it would have avoided all the struggling and risk of damaging the tube. The alternative to fitting connectors would be to leave sufficient slack to fit them if ever needed. However it appears that I need a longer video lead so thought it was a good place to put the join, but wont cut the cable until I check what cable is available.

[geoz]

How do you route the cables? I also would like to connect a camera to a GPS unit but am slightly concerend about digging into my shiny new D4's interior ...

[Graeme]

On page 1 of this thread Bbyer has provided a link to detailed fitting instructions on the disco3 site.

[Ashes]

It's reasonably easier to run the cable. Most panels and trims come off if you lift them in the right spots. You may lose a panel clip though.

Allow quite a bit of time for the job though.

I ended up running my cable to under the passenger seat and ran cable from the GPS through a hole I drilled in the back of the cubby hole. I did this so I could put a AV device under the passenger front seat if I wanted as I also ran L and R audio with the Video from the cubby hole.

[Stuart02]

Graeme, are you fitting it to the Landrover touch screen or other?

I ran my AV cable with lot's of hassle in my opinion, but it is stressfull pulling off trims.

Is yours a D4 or D3?

I found the PAL camera would not work on the D4 screen in reverse mode

Is anyone able to confirm the D4 screen needs NTSC input rather than PAL? Or GVIF... Whatever that is? Thanks!

[101RRS]

Where are people taking the camera power from? Are you splicing into the reversing light wires or is there a point reversing power can be taken off without getting into the wiring.

Garry

[~Rich~]

Hi Garry,
I ran the power cable down to the P/S rear light cluster and spliced into the reverse wire there. It was the easiest to access and getting the wire down there was quite easy compared to the AV cable.
I actually fitted my reverse camera inside the top tailgate rather than on the outside so the cables go through the black rubber tubes between the tailgate and body.
The AV cable runs all the way up the passenger side and behind the glove box to one of these cables.
DISCO3 Shop (http://www.disco3.co.uk/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=34)
Which then connects to the factory screen.
I can only access the reverse camera via the secret code / video inputs which is fine as I done use the camera very often. It's just good to have when I need it!

[Stuart02]

I can only access the reverse camera via the secret code / video inputs which is fine as I done use the camera very often. It's just good to have when I need it!

Rich, do you know if your cam is PAL or NTSC, and why the screen won't automatically pick it up when you're in reverse? Cheers

[~Rich~]

The screen can switch between PAL or NTSC which you can do while the camera is in view and both work however PAL displays Colour and NTSC does not with my camera.

This is the camera I have:
HIGH RESOLUTION BUTTERFLY REAR VIEW REVERSE CAMERA | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HIGH-RESOLUTION-BUTTERFLY-REAR-VIEW-REVERSE-CAMERA-/170741696687?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c0ff88af)

The enabling of reverse camera's has been a topic of discussion on the Disco3.UK website for quite a while. Not even the Tech Guru's have been able to enable this feature. So no answer to how to do it.

[33chinacars]

Sorry but haven't read full thread. But is this something that can only be dealer enabled.

Gary

[Stuart02]

Hmmm. Thanks guys.

[kenl]

Sorry I missed this thread earlier, I can confirm that only the NTSC camera will work!!!

There is an option to switch to PAL but it does nothing.

In order to have the camera switch on automatically in reverse it needs to be enabled in the CCF (car config file) I don't know if the dealer can or will do this for you but it can be done with BBS Faultmate. (easily)

I would definately cut the end off the cable to pull it through, there is no AV plug at the other end to plug into anyways.

I connected the 12v to the rear cig socket so the camera is always powered, it's been going 12 months now with no trouble.

The only other point with the ebay camera is that the socket for the number plate light needs to be scraped out a bit so the fitting fits.

Cheers Ken

[IndusD4]

I quite like the idea of this solution found on the disco3 website

http://www.landrovertrailair.co.uk/

As I don't have only a premium audio with back and white screen seems like a nice integrated solution. The rear view mirror is replaced with one that has a camera display and auto-dimming. However the camera appears to focus on the tow bar (which it is designed to do) but I wonder if with a different camera it might show the whole area behind the car.

My dealer is unable to order this part via LR, so need to order direct from the UK. Fitting instructions are on the LR Topix site.

Ron

[jabo]

Does anyone have this odd with pics? When I download it there are none.

Cheers

[jabo]

Not odd, PDF! Oops.

[jabo]

ah, please disregard, ipad issue. :)

[eddomak]

Finally did my own aftermarket install, completed tonight.

Tailgate "Light-Replacement Style" Camera - $18
Rear Vision Mirror Monitor Clip On (10 inch) =- $38
Additional Wire Taps, RCA Connectors & Wiring = $21
Total = $77

Took quite a few hours, but did it in stages. Illustrated instructions from D3 forum made it all very easy to follow.

HATE the door sill trim clips. Despite being warned, and being careful - managed to drop 4 of them and recover 3.

Quite happy with the result, and have connectors in the right places where I can buy a different camera, or different monitor and it is quite easy to swap out.

[bcl]

Finally did my own aftermarket install, completed tonight.

Tailgate "Light-Replacement Style" Camera - $18
Rear Vision Mirror Monitor Clip On (10 inch) =- $38
Additional Wire Taps, RCA Connectors & Wiring = $21
Total = $67

Took quite a few hours, but did it in stages. Illustrated instructions from D3 forum made it all very easy to follow.

HATE the door sill trim clips. Despite being warned, and being careful - managed to drop 4 of them and recover 3.

Quite happy with the result, and have connectors in the right places where I can buy a different camera, or different monitor and it is quite easy to swap out.

Can you put some photos up.

[eddomak]

Hi, sorry it has taken so long. Here are 2 external pictures



From straight on, perpendicular to the number plate - you can just make out the camera
From underneath


I will take some photos of the mirror and the image displaying from the mirror later during the weekend.

On the whole, rear visibility is good, even at night time. At the moment I can't see the rear bumper in the field of view which I would have preferred, but it is only around 1-2 cm out of view - the reverse sensors are definitely a solid tone by the time the object is at the bottom of the displayed image.

[bcl]

Very nice. Where did you get the camera from and how did you get the wiring into the tailgate?

[gghaggis]

You can get wireless cameras - saves all that mucking around with running cables and the trim - I've seen them for around $120 with a 3 1/2" monitor.

Cheers,

Gordon

[eddomak]

Very nice. Where did you get the camera from and how did you get the wiring into the tailgate?

Camera


search eBay for "land rover discovery camera". Plenty there for <$20 delivered

Mirror Monitor


search eBay for "mirror monitor rear"



Installation


Check out the last pages of the PDF in post #4 (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php?p=1689360#post1463069) in this thread and there are detailed instructions including photos with arrows etc.
There are also some photo walkthroughs on disco3.co.uk - search for "blackvue install"


Wired vs Wireless
As gghaggis mentioned, there are wireless versions available, but I wasn't sure about whether they give a clear picture. Check out the YouTube video below for one that looks like it is a lot less hassle, but you would still need to drag the wires from the reverse light to the number plate, and depending on which variation you get, you may need to either drag cables from the mirror to the fusebox, or manually switch the mirror on during car start-up.

Wireless reversing camera & mirror with bluetooth handsfree kit - YouTube (http://youtu.be/xFynheV7oZI)

[gghaggis]

I have the wireless camera on the back of the caravan.The wireless gives a good picture, the supplied 3.5" monitor is a bit dull, but I didn't use that - just plugged it into my Hema Navigator, which has a much better screen.

Cheers,

Gordon

[NavyDiver]

Hi guys,
If you are thinking of fitting a reversing camera have a look here - this is the one I bought and it works a treat, I've got no connection with this seller - just thought you may be interested.
cheers
PAL CAMERA DE RECUL LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 FREELANDER | eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/PAL-CAMERA-RECUL-LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-3-FREELANDER-/230597237758?pt=FR_JG_Auto_Pieces_Cables_et_access oires&hash=item35b0aa9bfe)

I put on of these in and it did work well. I put a better camera in and it now works MUCH better especialy at night in low light and has a wider field of view. I had Freeway car audio put the updated camera in it was well worth it.

[oldsalt]

Do you have any details of the MUCH better camera ???
cheers :)

[NavyDiver]

Do you have any details of the MUCH better camera ???
cheers :)

I called Freeway who said the camera they sold and put in for me was a "VGE bullet style" put in mine. It costs about $200 from Freeway Malvern today. You do get what you pay for with optics. The Ebay camera states Minimum illumination. <0.5 with and claims field of view of or Lens Angle: 170°



I do not think that is correct and the claims made by my ebay camera from HongKong did not come close to the specifications it claimed.

VGE - Reverse Cameras (http://www.vge.net.au/reverse%20cameras.html)

Has a list of cameras which might be suitable and a store melborne based people could visit.

[PhilT]

Hi everyone,

Recently bought our second LR Disc - a D3 and this week a Swan OB - getting prepped for a 2 month tour from Qld to Tas and back. Can't wait.

Phil & Kat

[Roger]

Hi Folks, Does anyone know if it is possible to control the factory supplied camera and screen so that it can be switched on when needed when the car is not in reverse, ie travelling forward at normal speeds?
Also I would like to connect it up a camera at the rear of my caravan to the inbuilt factory supplied screen.
Is there a kit? Ideally I would like a wireless camera, but I can do wired if essential, I have a MY13 D4 with Technology Pack. Thanks!

[SBD4]

yes you can via the service menu. how you get to the service menu depend on the system in the car. Once in there you can select the video input you want monitor. the is how to get in for MY12 - not sure how it compares to MY13:

Hidden service menu for Land Rover Discovery 4 (LR4) 12MY - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shop3VzEmX0)

Can't help with the second camera for the trailer.