This seems to get asked frequently but I haven't found a good response yet despite some searching.

I have a Pioneer AVIC Z1 and just installed a backup camera for it.

The receiver has a wire to hook up to some sort of reverse indicator. Most suggestions are to tap into the reverse lights, probably near the tail lights.

I'd much rather find something under the dash to tap into.

I assume the fuse for the reverse lights is not going to work, but surely there is something under the dash that I could use.

Worse case, I'd be willing to tap into something in the cab - are any of the wires under the plastic door trims going to the backup lights?


This is an 06 F250 crew cab XLT.

Thanks.

 

You can tap the trailer plug wire for backup lights, you can direct wire into the wiring harness there as well to the tail light backup lihgts.

You can go under the dash but you will have to run a wire the entire lenght of the truck ( ) and hook up to the same wires that are already back there and why do that?

Get Er dun . . .

 

Well, the display is the radio and it needs the reverse wire, so I would have to string wires from it to the back to get to the trailer harness.... That's why I want to find something under the dash....

Basically, the radio detects the reverse signal (ie, by the reverse lights coming on) and flips on the camera display...

I'm hoping to find a wire in the cab I can use to detect that I am in reverse.

Thanks.

 

The rearlight wire harness come up throught engine compartment to hook into the fuse panel. Fuse #8, on my '06 F250 psd is a 20 amp backup lights fuse. You need to test the connect unit that hooks into that fuse location to fnd the backup wire color to tap into.

To find that you need to lower the fuse box and see where it hook in . . .

 

I was assuming the fuse box circuit was something like:

+12V->fuse->(reverse switch indicator of some sort ie, some relay or something that changes when you drop it in reverse)->reverse lights->ground

so tapping in at the fuse panel wouldn't work.

Is there something different maybe with the trailer hitch wires then?

Or, where might the relay or whatever be? That might be the easiest thing to tap into, but I have no idea where it might be...

Thanks.

-Brian

 

I am not an electrician but the fuse for the backup lights is for cutting a hot lead, not sending to ground like I understand your thrad to imply. So why doesn't wiring to the hot side of the fused wire work?

Are the directions that poor as to solving this challenge?

 

Well that was the complete circuit. I believe the fuse is on the non-switched side of the circuit so if I tapped at the fuse panel, it would always be hot...

Well, there are no directions beyond "tap into the reverse lights leads" which I want to avoid - there has to be some relay or circuit in the cab for this.

Thanks.

 

I think if you find a black/red wire in the driver side kick panel and test with light
you will find + 12v when reverse selected.
Luck ste

 

Do you have an auto dimming rear view mirror? It has a wire leading to it to disable the auto dimming feature when in reverse. On a 2003 superduty, this wire was black with a pink stripe. This wire comes right off the tranny selector position switch, and is hot when in reverse. This is also the same circuit that feeds the reverse lights in the rear.

 

I do have an auto dimming rear view mirror but it was not OEM so I don't think it disables the auto dimming feature in reverse. I've never noticed though one way or another...

I'll check for the wire though.

Thanks.

 

I installed an Eclipse AVN 7000 w/bu camera. The reverse wire I tapped into was the black/pink wire found in the passenger side kick panel.(2005 F250 SD.)

 

Yeah, I couldn't find a black/red wire on the driver's side, so I tried a pink/black wire there... That didn't seem to do it.

I had a chance to look at the motorcraft wiring books and it looks like there is a black/pink wire on the passenger side as you suggest, so I am going to try that next.

Unfortunately it is really hard to get at these wires without chopping them up and resplicing them back together... The passenger kick panel harnesses are much easier to get to at least so maybe I can just back probe into the harness with my meter...

Thanks.

 

One other idea... if you have the upfitter switches.

I do alot of plowing in the winter, so I didn't want the cam flipping on and off over and over and over... so I just connected the reverse sense to the upfitter switch #3 and flip it up whenever I want to use the camera.

Works like a charm.

 

I have thought about this actually I haven't had a chance to look under the passenger kick panel, but if I can't find the wire I need there, upfitter 3 or 4
is looking good

Thanks.

 

I am also installing an Avic into my 2006 F250. I was told the VSS wire is Grey/Black and comes out of the radio harness and the reverse was black/pink and it is located on the black 8 pin plug on back of fuse box. I also think it can be accessed on the drives side panel. Please let me know if this helps. Also where are you mounting the GPS antenna?