Rear Video Camera
 

Introduction

These notes are simply a summary of my installation of an Eclipse BEC103 Rear Camera into our 2004 Prado Grande 4L. Please read all these notes before starting the installation.

A quick overview includes:
  The install took all day to do. If I had instructions on how to remove the rear door panel and routing the wire through the back side wall it would have easily halved the time. So hopefully these notes and pics will help you. Good luck and please provide some feedback to the group if you use these notes.

 

1. Using a couple of ladies cuticle sticks, or a paint scraper with a thin rag over the end, gently pry the silver panel up from the rear console on the passenger side. These do lift off easily so don’t get impatient and damage the edge with a screwdriver.


2. With the console silver trim removed, remove the one on the dash. Then repeat on the driver’s side.
 

 


 
3. LHS silver trim shows push-in style plastic clips. No screws involved. Note the seat belt switch circled.



4. After removing the silver plastic trims remove the 4 bolts (10mm) from either side of centre section.
 


5. The only access required is to fit the 2 plugs into the rear of the sat/nav then the centre section can be replaced.
(It looks pretty serious like this, but all bolts and clips back in place in less than 5 minutes). 


 
 
6. Pic taken from top looking at rear of sat/nav.  (This is a good time to check the contents of the fridge..

Tip: use a small mirror to see where the unused connectors are. Plug the main video in as shown (LHS).  


7. Pic taken from top looking at rear of sat/nav. Plug reversing plug in as shown (RHS). Leave some slack in two cables for removal and route along existing wiring loom behind panel below steering wheel. Cable ties will ensure a tidy job. Replace the centre section paying careful attention to the main wiring connector ( lower LHS). Tighten the 5 bolts. Replace the silver trims. 

Tip: don’t forget to reconnect the seat belt switch and hazard switch before clipping the upper silver trims back in place.
 
 

8. Lift driver’s panel by lifting the centre to remove the push in clips as can be seen after the panel is removed.

Caution: the back of this panel slides forward once the main clips are pulled up, refer to next photo. 

Note the two cables. To locate the 12V reversing wire I simply extended the green wire by approx 2m and connected it directly to the right rear reversing light (Red+Black Stripe).
 


9. This tab slides forward to remove, so lift centre part first followed by the front and once the clips are lifted nearest the tab shown, slide the panel towards the front of car. 



10. To remove the driver’s side kick panel. Unscrew the round black knob by hand next to the accelerator pedal. Gripping the top and bottom pull the panel back to remove. The pic shows the 2 clips and where they are located. Route the 2 cables along existing wiring loom and clip as necessary. 



11. Continue along bottom of rear door by removing the 2 bolts located under the round push in covers on the plastic tread next to the seat. Lift door trim starting from centre. No need to worry about a rear tab as for the driver’s panel. 



12. This section explains how to route the cables to the rear reversing light. To avoid removal of the entire inside panel, use a piece of yellow tongue used to join particle board flooring together. It’s referred to by electricians as a “snake” and used to route wiring in walls. It’s usually 3m in length, firm but flexible to go around slight corners.

This pic shows where you want the snake to end up, so have a torch available to see between the panelling where I’m pointing. 



13. Open the rear door. Remove the 2x 10mm bolts from the rear tail light. The light has two white clips circled at top and bottom of pic, that allow the light assembly to slide towards the back of the car. 



14. Tape a couple of meters of speaker wire or something similar to the end of the snake using insulation tape. Carefully bend the end of the snake a little to encourage it to go around corners. Mark the length of the rear side panel (from outside) on the snake to know how far it’s inside the panel. Now slide the snake into centre hole on pic #13 where the tail light was and eventually you should see the other end at pic #12.

Tip: Use a piece of stiff wire with a hook on it and a 45 degree curve in it to see if you can locate the wire that you taped onto the snake. 

Tip: Have someone hold the snake completely still at the rear to feel when you touch it with the hooked wire from the other end. This may take some time but it’s worth doing to avoid removal of the inside panel.  



15. To remove the inside rear door panel: Remove the tools from the rear door.   



16. Remove the 2 Phillips head screws from above the inside door latch. 



17. Remove Phillips head screw from rear door latch 



18. Now comes the hard bit. Removing the rear inside door panel.… Well it was for me as I didn’t know what to expect behind the panel!! Using a 40mm paint scraper or similar, with a rag over the end to protect the paintwork, carefully pry the clips apart taking note where they’re located in pics #15 & #18. 



19. Take note of the tab connecting the side window trims. Note: I didn’t need to remove the side mouldings to remove the lower panel. 
 

 

 
20. These next 3 pics show the holes where the plastic clips push in/out.



21. Tip: take note of each clip in these pics as you pry each one apart. 




22. Notice where the number plate light wiring runs with its rubber grommet behind the plastic liner. Cut a neat T shaped cut in the plastic to allow access to the bolts.

Tip: I’ve found it’s easier to tape the holes up with duct tape than reuse the sealant to hold the plastic on. Remove push-in black service plugs, circled in blue, to provide access to remove the 10mm nuts. Undo the nuts holding the number plate assembly on. Watch you don’t drop them or the socket down the inside panel !!
  

23. This pic from outside shows the 3 push-in style holes and one bolt hole used to fix the lower box section that the number plate is fixed to on the rear door. 



24. Pic shows the number plate light housing pulled down to show clips and bolt. Note the two clips, shown with blue circles, that attaches the top to the bottom box.  
  

25. Now back to the cable. Route video cable through rubber sleeve.

 Tip: Cut a slit to allow cable to fit through rubber. Cut a small T shaped service hole in the plastic on rear door to assist with tying the cable to existing latch cable.  

26. Attach Camera to the number plate box as shown.

 
Tip: In addition to the double sided tape supplied on the camera bracket, use 2 small bolts to ensure it doesn’t fall off. Route the cable between the top lighting assembly and the lower box section. No need to drill a hole. Cut a slit into the rubber grommet to allow the video cable to pass inside the rear door.

Tip: Be extra careful when pulling cable through as the wires are very thin and easily broken as I found out. Plug video connector back together and cable tie any slack inside plastic liner. Assemble number plate light housing and black box assembly and relocate onto rear door.

 Tighten nuts on inside and replace the 2 black service plugs.

Using plumber’s duct tape, tape up the 2 service holes that you cut in the plastic liner. Replace the inside door panel by carefully locating the holes with the plastic clips.

Tip: start from the top aligning the tab with the window surround moulding. Refit the latch and screws above the latch. Replace the tools and cover. 



27. When you start the car and select Reverse, the rear view will come up on the sat/nav screen. It’s amazing how well it works at night !! As an optional extra, I fitted a switch to allow the screen to be turned on at will, just to be able to see who’s behind me….   Hope these notes help if you are doing a similar installation. I have learnt heaps from the LCOOL site and wanted to give something back and I encourage other members to provide similar tips as they discover new ground. Anyway, let the group know how you get on.