Backup camera walk-through (4th Gen w/ Nav)

There are probably a handful of similar walk-throughs for installing backup cameras, but I figured I'd put one together with a lot of detail. My goal is to make a novice DIY'er comfortable with adding a backup camera to their 4th Gen Legacy with factory Nav installed.

 

Note: If you have an aftermarket double din head unit, the steps are very similar except for the OEM Nav-specific Molex wiring harness. You'll also need to make sure the reverse signal (found in passenger kick panel, or just use the +12V reverse light power wire itself) is wired into the head unit.

 

Difficulty: 2/10

Time spent: 3 hours (making cables & installing wire)

Project cost: $35 and a Legacy w/ Nav

 

 

Materials/tools needed:

 

• Rearview camera
  
• 4-pin Molex "Mini-fit Junior", dual row, 4 circuits, part number 39-01-2040
  
• (3) Molex female sockets, part number 39-00-0038 or similar crimp socket
  
• Mini-fit Junior crimping tool (or use soldering iron instead of crimp)
  
• Soldering iron or other technique for joining wires
  
• Wire stripper
  
• Heat shrink or electrical tape
  
• Zip ties
  
• Philips head and flat head screwdriver
  
• Needle nose pliers
  
• Female RCA jack (I cut apart an old cable I found)
  

You can find the Molex parts on Ebay for pretty cheap. Here is an example that will probably be a dead link pretty quick: http://www.ebay.com/itm/P4-4PIN-MALE-HOUSING-W-FEMALE-CONTACTS-AND-FEMALE-HOUSING-W-MALE-CONTACTS-/251149395408?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a79aba5d0&rmvSB=true

 

My camera choice: There are dozens of cameras on the market. I wanted to try something relatively cheap with decent reviews, so I went with the Cosmic Optix camera for $28 from Amazon: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OZ4VECA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00]Cosmic Optix at Amazon.com[/ame]. The cable lengths and a lot of specifics in this walk-through assume using the stuff that this one vendor provided. Your experience with different cameras will vary!

 

 

1) Introduction

 

Here's what is inside the box. There is an RCA cable, Power cord with wire leads, and the camera with dangling RCA and power cord connector leads. Also shown in this picture is the handmade Molex Nav cable that allows an aftermarket backup camera to interface with the Subaru OEM Nav system. We'll dig into the details of the Molex cable a little later.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209830&d=1433027177

 

This is all of the cables connected together. I added a note on something I learned in hindsight. The power cord isn't quite long enough to reach my preferred +12V power source: the passenger side taillight reverse lights. We'll discuss that in depth later.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209831&d=1433027177

 

Here is a comparison of the Cosmic Optix $28 camera for my 3.0R with the Pioneer ND-BC5 $160 camera on my LGT. (Left side Cosmic Optix, right side Pioneer)

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209832&d=1433027177

 

 

2) Harness Fabrication

You'll want to start off by looking for the connector and pinout on the back of the OEM Nav unit. SVXdc (the resident A/V guru) has a good summary post here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/reverse-camera-connector-pinout-132007.html?p=2943792

 

Lesson Learned #1 - RCA Harness Length: In the picture below, I made very short stubs out of the Molex connector. My harness in the picture worked OK for me, but I really could have used a few more inches of harness length. I recommend making this jumper 6-12" inches.

 

I used a crimper, soldering iron, and heat shrink tubes to make a really clean harness. You probably don't have a Molex Mini Fit Jr crimping tool, so you can just solder a wire directly onto the female Molex contact and bend in the crimp wings with pliers. I suspect you can buy a 4-pin Molex header with flying leads coming out of it, but I haven't looked.

 

Lesson Learned #2 - Power cable Length: As I mentioned in the Intro section, my power harness was too short. Add 2' to it at this stage. It's a lot easier to work with the cable BEFORE you install it into the car!

 

Update: SVXdc has a good recommendation to make the Molex/RCA cable really sturdy. Check it out here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2959522&postcount=34

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209833&d=1433027177

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209834&d=1433027177

 

3) Installing the camera in the trunk

 

The carpet on the back of the trunk lid needs to be partially removed. There are a handful of plastic friction pegs and 2 rubber stopper nubs that need to be removed. I used a couple flathead screwdrivers to get them out a little bit, and then I used pliers to yank them out. The rubber stopper nubs take a lot of force, so go to town on them.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209836&d=1433030060

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209837&d=1433030060

 

Time to remove the plastic license plate panel. Remove the two bolts under the license plate. These are the only metal hardware that hold the panel on. There are a dozen push pins that let go pretty easily.

 

Warning: Be slow and careful pulling off the plastic panel. If you are careless, you risk damaging the panel.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209838&d=1433030060

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209839&d=1433030060

 

Once you get the plastic panel off, you need to remove the plastic black trim that holds the license plate lights. You do this by pushing it out from behind. Just feel around behind the trunk lid and you'll find a spot to push. The black trim piece is also held in by plastic push pins. It comes out pretty easy.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209840&d=1433030060

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209841&d=1433030060

 

Now it's time to roughly position the camera. Use the gap in the black trim piece to get the cable through. It fits perfectly! I was pleased to see no drilling was required.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209842&d=1433030060

 

Use the included two-sided to mount the camera. Snap the trim pieces (black trim and license plate trim) into place.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209843&d=1433030060

 

Now we can run the backup camera's power and RCA video lead from the trunk lid into the trunk. Carefully zip tie the harnesses and run them down the passenger side trunk hinge. You'll have to remove the plastic trunk hinge cover, which is pretty self-explanatory. You'll quickly find that the power harness is too short to reach an appropriate power source! I used some butt crimps to add some cable length.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209844&d=1433030060

Pull off the carpet over the passenger tail light and run the power cable down there. I used a spade terminal onto the nut that holds the tail light in to get chassis ground. I butt spliced into the reverse bulbs positive lead (black wire w/ red line) to power the camera when the car goes in reverse. There is no need to power up the camera all the time.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209845&d=1433030060

 

 

4) Testing the setup!

 

Using an old credit card, wedge it under the Nav bezel. Work it around and try to get your fingers between the bezel and dash. Be gentle and you'll find pulling a certain way pops the bezel right off. It takes some experimenting, but it's pretty easy.

 

Once remove the bezel, remove the two philips head screws and gently pull out the Nav unit. On the back is the Molex connector receptacle. Plug your RCA custom-made harness into this and place the Nav back in.

 

Turn the key on and put the car in reverse. If all went well, your backup camera is on the screen! If not, review your work for mistakes.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209846&d=1433032285

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209847&d=1433032285

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209848&d=1433032285

Edited June 30, 2015 by Dispatch20

5) Running the RCA video cable

 

Now that you tested all the cables, it's time to tuck them under the trim panels. In the trunk, you can pull back the passenger side carpet from the sidewall. Stuff the cable under the side bolster and under the plastic trim pieces. A small flathead makes this a lot easier as the trim pieces can be really tight to the carpet.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209849&d=1433033473

 

Once you get the cable up to the front of the car, remove the trim piece on the outside of the glove box. It pulls straight off pretty easily.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209850&d=1433033473

 

Wrap the cable around the lower kick panel. You'll have to pop out a plastic pin. Just wrap your hand around behind it and forcefully pull it out.

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209851&d=1433033473

 

I removed my entire glovebox, but in hindsight I probably didn't need to. Pull out the plastic cover over the cabin air filter spot. This is the plastic piece that holds the owner's manual. Be careful in how you route the cable to try and minimize wasted length. You'll need every inch unless you lengthened the Molex cable!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209853&d=1433034025

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209854&d=1433034025

 

Hopefully you don't have giant hands. Pull the video cable up from the glovebox area into the nav bezel area. Put it behind the metal frame so it isn't in the way of the air vents in the bezel. I made this mistake and my cable unplugged when I put the bezel back in.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209855&d=1433034025

 

Now put it all back together and enjoy the new found safety of a backup camera!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=209856&d=1433034025

Edited May 31, 2015 by Dispatch20

Damn. Wish I had a factory nav for this. Excellent write-up for a clean install.

Very nice setup. I've been thinking about adding a backup camera to my factory nav for a bit. I guess I could even add a y to the rca and connect it to my factory nav and also my pioneer nav for the radio to have two rear views.

Where do you source your dinosaur chicken nuggets?

Awesome walk-through

Where do you source your dinosaur chicken nuggets?

 

Wegmans.

Damn. Wish I had a factory nav for this. Excellent write-up for a clean install.

 

Time for a JDM double-din setup! If I decided to sell my LGT, we could swap setups.

Do you happen to have the part number for the camera? Or model number?

Time for a JDM double-din setup! If I decided to sell my LGT, we could swap setups.

 

Hahaha, I would consider driving back up for that.

Do you happen to have the part number for the camera? Or model number?

 

Cosmic Optix Mini Camera Model # CO-JY-N33 (the box is simply labeled JY-N33)

 

Sensor: CMOS 7070 Resolution: NTSC:656*492 PAL:656*582 Lens: 1.7 Min Illumination: 1.0Lux IR led: AUTO Night Vision Distance: 45ft Waterproof: IP67 View Angle: 170 Power Voltage: 12V Operation Temperature: -20°C˜+70°C

Do you think by adding a rca splitter before your nav connector will cause a issue. I've got the camera and have the jdm radio setup so I was thinking of hooking it up so both screens with turn on with the back up camera. Not really needed but figured why not.

Do you think by adding a rca splitter before your nav connector will cause a issue. I've got the camera and have the jdm radio setup so I was thinking of hooking it up so both screens with turn on with the back up camera. Not really needed but figured why not.

I think you'll be fine with a splitter. You can always test it out before you screw everything back into the dash.

I plan on testing everything first before I button everything back up. Hows it been working for you? Any issues? I'm going to work on the install this weekend hopefully. If I get some free time.

Its been great so far. No regrets! It's nice being able to see if my dog or kids is hiding behind the car when I try to back out of the garage.

Awesome just waiting on my molex connector which should be here today and I'll be set to go.

Also I'm guessing the rca nav cable you made is just from any female rca cable cut off or did the camera kit come with that rca cable already cut?

I found the rca female in my box of junk cables. I cut an old cable apart to get it.

Great write-up and pictures!

 

Because the leads inside most RCA cables are extremely small-gauge (and fragile), I recommend that you fold them back onto the outer jacket of the RCA cable, as I show in my pictures in this post. That will provide much better strain relief. As Dispatch20 said, make the wires from the Molex plug a bit longer. I suggest that you have enough length on all of the wires to fold back onto the RCA cables's jack by ~1.25" (~33 mm).

 

Tip: practice stripping the RCA cable, either on the opposite portion that you won't be using, or by initially cutting it longer than you plan to use. On some with a really tiny center conductor, when you try to strip its insulation you end up completely severing it.

Good idea!

 

I updated the original post with SVXdc's cable strain relief recommendation and some other info.

Well, I didn't have the stock Nav to hook up with, but I did install a camera with my new Kenwood. Wish I would have found this just a tad bit earlier or just not been a slacker. Thought taking off the rear piece would be a lot harder. It wasn't. Made one little unnecessary pilot drill hole but other than that all good.

 

Thanks for this awesome right up.

 

This also applies to non stock Nav people who want to add a camera for routing and removal process.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Silinc3r

My Cosmic Optix camera seems to have crapped out. It looks as though dirty water got inside the camera and now the video is very blurry. It's barely useful. Perhaps it's due to washing the car with a hose?

 

Update: Good news! Cosmic Optix will be sending me a new camera on the 1-year warranty! On this one, I plan to coat the outer surface of the camera with clear silicon to provide another 'layer' of protection against the elements.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Dispatch20

Does the Harmon/Kardon ('13 Limited) head unit have a backup camera option, or is this only available with Nav/Starlink?

 

Edit: Found the answer (yes), and posted in the appropriate thread.

Edited October 9, 2015 by lushka16

Subbed for future reference. Nice walkthrough!

Subbed for future reference. Nice walkthrough!

Thanks!

 

A few things I've learned since I wrote this:

 

Use a dremel (or similar) to cut a small notch in the license plate bulb black plastic area to give clearance for the backup camera cable. You don't want to pinch the video and power feed in that spot because vibration will cause the cable to chafe and eventually fail. I made this mistake and noticed it when I replaced my failed backup cam.

 

The Nav screen works OK for the backup screen, but I much prefer the displays that are embedded in the rearview mirror. In my 09 Outback, I installed a Gentex rear view mirror from the 10-12 Legacy/Outback with the embedded video display. It's much brighter in direct sunlight light and overall crisper than the 4th gen Subaru Nav screen.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160912/6ab4a0d83f5dd072962e785d3491dba8.jpg

Edited September 12, 2016 by Dispatch20

Thanks for replying to my other thread Dispatch, this is a great write up.

 

What would you say the cost difference is between the nav screen option, and the mirror option? Are you using the same camera on both setups?