![]() Tackling a difficult problem can often leave you feeling that you don’t know what to do next. We’re going to help you out, answering common backup camera problems FAQ style. Luckily, backup camera troubleshooting doesn’t require too much on your part, and most backup camera problems can be diagnosed and solved without too much effort (or too much cash). When it goes out, you’re left with one less tool in your safe driving toolbox. This technology is enormously beneficial, preventing accidents, helping with parallel parking, and more. We've decided this quirky behavior isn't a big deal for such an easy and useful upgrade.When your backup camera stops working suddenly, it’s a raw deal. The fix is relatively easy: Turn the mirror off when you're cruising. It didn't happen often, but in a big city with lots of electromagnetic interference, it could get distracting. On one or two occasions during a 40-mile drive the screen turned on and displayed a static pattern similar to what you'd get on a television tuned to channels with no signal. This is a bit strange when you drive through pockets of interference. When it finds one, the screen is immediately turned on and displays the signal, regardless of where it's coming from. The mirror's receiver is always on while driving and constantly searches for the video signal from the camera. There is, however, an idiosyncrasy we noticed while cruising through town. The image is very clear (even at a 3-inch screen size), and the camera performs well in both high- and low-light situations. We were impressed by how quickly the monitor and the camera start up when the car is turned on and shifted into reverse, especially for a $100 piece of tech. ![]() So how well does it work? Surprisingly well. The whole installation should take 30 to 45 minutes if you're obsessive about it, 10 minutes if you aren't. Use a test light and your ignition key to find a circuit that makes sense for your car. We chose the latter and tied into the fuse box with a splice to the radio circuit, which comes on with the ignition. ![]() ![]() From here you can either plug it into the cigarette lighter or permanently install it into a keyed-on circuit. Our A-pillar trim came off by hand, but yours might require a bit of work with a screwdriver or a trim-removal tool to get it free. Then route the wire down the driver-side A-pillar, where you can hide it behind the trim and run it into the dash. Tuck the power cord that plugs into the top of the mirror into the front of the headliner. To power the new mirror, there are several options. A spring-loaded clamp grabs on to the top and the bottom of the factory mirror, and Velcro strips wrap around it to keep the kit mirror in place. All we had to do was mount the new mirror over the old one. Installing the mirror is even easier than hooking up the camera. ![]() Inside the mirror housing are the video signal receiver, a 640 x 480-pixel monitor hidden behind a one-way mirror, and a few control buttons to adjust the picture. Since video is transmitted wirelessly, we didn't have to run a signal wire through the cabin to the dashboard. Mounting the camera took us all of 15 minutes, and we got a clean, nearly undetectable install. The transmitter is powered by splicing into the wiring for the backup light, which is electrified only when the car is shifted into reverse. We snaked it behind a license-plate light ,but it might be necessary to drill a small hole in the trunk or hatch and use the included grommet to protect the wire from the hole's edge. You may need to get creative passing the wire to the interior. A signal wire runs from the camera through the trunk or cargo area and plugs into a small control-box transmitter. The kit has three parts: the camera, which mounts to the rear license-plate bracket a transmitter that sends video wirelessly and a rearview mirror with an integrated screen. All that was necessary was a wrench to remove the license plate and some simple wiring tools. Our camera-kit installation didn't require a deep dive into the toolbox. ![]()
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