Backup camera install question

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Jan 9, 2010
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Los Gatos, CA
I am installing an aftermarket radio in my grand niece's 2013 Civic. Tatiana in 20 years old, in the Marine Corps and is deployed in Kuwait.
I am keeping her Civic until she returns to Camp Pendleton.

So, to wire the backup camera, I can power it from the reverse light which can also trigger the radio display. Easy peasey.
Or I can power it to acc power and trigger the radio from the fuse box backup fuse (I think). This allows for use of the camera anytime, not just for backing up.
I am not sure which way to go...

Your thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Any other advice is welcome; I ain't no electrician by any stretch. The eagle flies over the Indian and the rock.
 
I would definitly trigger it from the reverse switch, the other way you add another step to use it every time she wants to back up which may become a nuisance after a while and go unused.
 
I’d tap into the reverse light wiring. If you’re installing an aftermarket deck, I think Pioneer and Kenwood units give you the option to turn on the camera at will - you need a module to power on the camera in reverse or when the display icon is pressed.
 
On my Caravan I tapped it into the rear backup lights. It's a JVC head unit. There is also a green wire that was supposed to be connected to the parking brake, however you can ground that wire to the head unit. That was to allow you to watch videos or use the backup camera whenever you want (technically supposed to be when the parking brake was applied).
 
One consideration would be to look into the regulations which dictate when and how a video screen can be enabled in a vehicle. There could be some technicality where the ability to enable it while in a forward gear is an issue. Purely speculative as I have no idea how those laws are written in CA.

The safe bet would be to pull power from the reverse light. That way it only activates in reverse and is no different in function than any factory-equipped reverse camera.
 
Thanks to all who posted. I am using the reverse lamp wire to power the camera and trigger the radio display.
I think there is a slight misunderstanding of my original question.
The camera and display trigger are 2 different things.
The camera does not need a trigger; it only needs power.
The reverse trigger tells the radio to use the camera source as it's display.
If you wire them separately, most newer radios have a menu option to switch the rear camera display on at any time.
Otherwise it works the same as if you wired the trigger wire to the camera for power.

I wired them together. The tradeoff is the camera is only powered when the car is in reverse.
Again, thanks to all who posted.
Tatiana sends me texts from Kuwait; she knows something is up. She's a great kid.
 
I wired my camera to accessory power so I can use it even when I'm not in reverse. I have the trigger wire hooked up to the reverse lights, so it automatically switches to the camera when I shift to reverse, but I can also manually switch to the camera when I'm not in reverse.
 
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