kwhelan 241 Report post Posted June 8, 2010 after viewing many reverse camera install retrofit diagrams Ive fitted an aftermarket reverse camera to an e39 wagon but have suddenly realised when going to fit the relay for 12v+ reverse wiring trigger that the reverse lights are actually in the tailgate. DOH,,Is there anywhere in the RH rear of car (video module corner) that I could tap into the reverse signal,cant find where the tailgate light wires go once they enter the roof space above the rear roof speakers but suspect they dont return to the rear of the car. other option is to fit the relay inside the tailgate itself next to camera and extent the video module reverse ground trigger pin17 back into the tailgate and relay anyone with any wiring circuits that show access to the reverse light signal 12v+ Ive also read confusingly that the reverse signal polls for bulb failure and would connecting a relay upset this or possible cause video signal dropouts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted June 8, 2010 (edited) after viewing many reverse camera install retrofit diagrams Ive fitted an aftermarket reverse camera to an e39 wagon but have suddenly realised when going to fit the relay for 12v+ reverse wiring trigger that the reverse lights are actually in the tailgate. DOH,,Is there anywhere in the RH rear of car (video module corner) that I could tap into the reverse signal,cant find where the tailgate light wires go once they enter the roof space above the rear roof speakers but suspect they dont return to the rear of the car. other option is to fit the relay inside the tailgate itself next to camera and extent the video module reverse ground trigger pin17 back into the tailgate and relay anyone with any wiring circuits that show access to the reverse light signal 12v+ Ive also read confusingly that the reverse signal polls for bulb failure and would connecting a relay upset this or possible cause video signal dropouts E39 Touring Tailgate wiring loom runs down the right hand side C-pillar from roof to floor. That's the pillar just behind the rear seat. Remove the rear seat base and RH rear seat squab to access the wiring loom, then you can pick out the reverse light wire and tap into it. WDS shows the wire colours. E39 Touring has the following reverse light wires: Right hand lamp: blue/yellow Left hand lamp: white/yellow Note that the reverse lamsp are not active when towing (with the original BMW trailer module), if you want reverse camera active in this situation, use the LCM RFSI signal to activate the relay (5V low current relay required) The video module is located under the floor panel, right behind the rear seats, so the wire from the loom to the video module only needs to be about 1 m long. Much easier than working inside the tailgate. You'll have to unbolt the floor tie-down hooks to lift the floor panel. The tie-down hooks have a small plastic cover on top of the bolt, lift the cover off with eg a jewelers screwdriver. Relay current draw is not enough to upset the lamp check circuitry. You can test by having a relay connected and removing one reverse lamp bulb - see if the lamp failure is detected :-) If the lamp failure is not detected, then fit a different relay with a lower current draw. Did you fit a PAL or NTSC camera? If PAL, you'll need to change the coding on the Video Module (default = NTSC) NavCoder can change the coding for you. Edited June 8, 2010 by jochen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kwhelan 241 Report post Posted June 9, 2010 fantastic information,great help thanks,camera is supposed to be ntsc, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
