I've got a question for anyone that might have an answer.

I just installed my AVH-P3100DVD tonight. Tomorrow I plan on installing the backup camera. My question is this:

Say I tie the power wire for the camera into a 12V switched source and hook up the reverse sensing wire of the HU to the Black/Pink wire in the door sill area (and ground the camera and hook up the video wire of course). The HU should switch to the camera when I place the truck into reverse. Would I also be able to select the camera button on the HU and turn the camera on whenever I want as well, regardless of whether I'm in reverse or not? I assume so since the camera would always be "hot" when the ignition was turned on. Any downsides to having the camera "hot" all the time the truck is switched on?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

I can't comment on the black/pink wire, I skipped that step. I can tell you that it's OK to have it 'hot' all the time. I basically skipped the reverse sensing wiring. All you have to do to view the video feed is back out to the main selection screen (radio, cd, dvd, aux, etc), and in the upper right you can select Backup and see the video. I have to manually switch the video on and off, but it's no big deal to me.

 

Well, I went ahead with the install. I ran the hot wire for the camera to a switched 12V source. I ran the reverse sensing wire from the HU to the Black/Pink wire in the door sill area. It now comes on whenever I put the truck into reverse. I can also turn it on whenever I want. So it works just as I wanted it to. Thought I would post this for anyone else that had this question.

 

So both the black/pink wire and a switchable hot wire are simultaneously hooked up to the HU? So when in drive or park, flip the switch for the reverse camera, shouldn't the backup lights come on without a diode to keep the voltage for going back to the Bl/Pk wire from the switched hot?

 

No, they are connected to entirely different wires. I ran the power wire for the camera itself to a switched 12V source (in this case the radio accessory connection) which gives the camera power any time the ignition is on. I also ran the video cable to the HU. I then tapped the Black/Pink wire and ran it to my HU's reverse sensing wire (part of the HU itself and not the camera). That's it. Whenever you put the truck in reverse, the camera automatically comes on the screen. If I'm driving down the road and select the camera from my HU, it is still powered on and gives me an image.

 

Ahh I see now. Sorry I was thinking too hard. Your setup sounds exactly like what I will be doing as soon as I get a camera for my 4100.

 

Golden - Sent you a PM, but I will post here in case you don't check PM's. Thanks for the info on the backup camera wiring. Do you have the wiring diagram for the 04-08 F150 setup? I have the 04+ Ford Truck plug-n-play harness and the P3100DVD head unit, but not the specific directions to mate the two pieces together.

 

No, I don't have a wiring diagram for it. It was pretty simple though. The harness that I used (a Metra one I believe) had what each wire was used for printed on the wire itself. Nearly all of them were color matched to the HU harness as well. The only one that was a little vague to me was the steering wheel controls, but you connect the SWI-PS to pin 18 of the adapter harness. I accidentally used the wrong one in the beginning and had to redo it. I also did not hook up the "Mute" wire from the HU harness to anything. I tried it, but every time I would go over 5 mph the radio would mute itself. I obviously had the wrong wire, but I also found that it was rather useless. There's a mute button on the front of the radio. Just press it if you want to mute the volume.