Adding backup camera to 2012 non-nav Prius 2 with touch screen

Did you use a factory camera?

 

Nice job and nice pictures. That was clean how you wired into the roof connector. Incredible that Toyota charged so much for the pins! More than the price of a camera/cable. Looks real good.

 

Great job!

 

Congratulations!! You really explained how to drop the headliner without creasing it. I could never figure how to get the side attachment to release. I saw the open connector in there but if I reached in, the headliner would have bent and creased. I remember that another poster (from Illinois) had reached in with the super long pliers to get the connector out. I did not know how much slack was in the cable to allow it to be pulled out. Admire your patience in waiting for the 36k miles. Enjoy the backup cam.

dan4500.

 

Finally got my back up cam to work! Thanks to our1vue for all the support and help. I went the headliner route but ran into some problem with my pin connectors. End up tapping into the wires in the headliner and it worked.

Here are the items I got including the price if any one wants to know:

Back up cam $24.98 (cheaper one for 19.99 on ebay)
Car Reverse Rear View Backup Camera for Toyota Prius 2006 2010 with Night Vision | eBay

RioRand LM2596 DC-DC Buck Converter Step Down Module Power Supply Output 1.23V-30V (regulator for $4.29 from amazon, although there was one cheaper for 2.99 but quality was cheap and took 40 days to send..)


18 or 20 gauge wire (free had a bunch of leftover wires, can find it cheap online or a local electronic store for less than 7 dollars)

Posi-taps 20-22 ga. ($8.50)
Posi-Tap- No Crimp Tap

Heat Shrink tube (about $2 from harbor freight even though I didn't use most of it)

Electrical tape (less than $2 from harbor freight)

Soldering iron with wick (free, had a friend do it for me)

Trim removal tools (about $6 from harbor freight)

Toyota terminal/pin connectors female (about $0.24 each but shipping is like $12, not sure I ordered the right ones but I did type in 82998-24300 to search for it and everything is in Japanese but they did fit) I ended up not going this route because my connectors weren't making contact for some reason and ended up using the Posi-taps
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/auc-hi-1000/

our1vue's guide and help (priceless)

Just follow his guide and you're good to go. I like the headliner route since I don't have to get to HU or run wires all the way to the front. Toyota already has the wires ran for you if you notice in our1vue's headliner guide. Since my connectors weren't making contact, I used posi-taps on the male end and was pretty easy to reach. I wouldn't recommend scotch locks because it'll be hard in that little space and lots of negatives about them. All you have to do is twist with Posi-taps.

Remember Toyota's side wiring is white for power + and orange for power -. Red was video+. All you need is 3 posi-taps which leaves you with 3 left over if you order 1 box. You can reach into the headliner and pull wires on the male end of the connector to tap them.

If you decide you want it to look cleaner, go with the pin/terminal connectors. Our1vue has the correct slots for which wire to go where.

Thanks for this guide!

 

I went to Best Buy (this appears to be the top installer here), I purchased a camera from them as well as the installation. I told them that this forum explained that the HU would support the camera and not require a new HU. The procedure went fairly well albeit time consuming. They hooked the unit into the back of the HU by splicing into the harness. When the car was started and put into reverse, no change was seen on the touch screen. The RCA plug was connected to a TV that they had on hand and the test worked as it should. This showed that the wiring is correct. From reading posts here, it appears that we need some type of adapter to connect to the HU. Can someone tell me what the connector/adapter is and where to obtain one?

After reading this article it seems that a backup camera is not compatible with this head unit unless you are an electrical engineer if you have to make your own circuit board. I don't understand this at all. Please help.

 

I doubt if you need an adapter or a circuit board. Remember HU has to "sense" presence of a video camera during start-up (Ready mode) in order to switch to backup camera when you put it in reverse. So getting power from reverse lights, as most after market installs call for, will not work here. You will have to wire the camera in such a way that it gets powered up when you start the car. Then HU will know it is there and will switch to camera mode when you shift into reverse. Have the installer power up the camera before you start the car and test this.

 

That seems plausible, and thanks for your input. Now back to Best Buy.

 

Zebelkhan: I went back to Best Buy and he determined that we need some type of adapter to connect the head unit. A 'Y' with male/female/RCA to plug into the HU. Does this make sense? I don't know why we are having such problems when so many others have theirs up and going. I have virtually no electrical knowledge and he has no experience with the Prius and a lot of trepidation about working on one as there are tales about serious damage being caused. I asked the Toyota parts department and was told that nothing of this sort exists and the 2013 Prius has no camera and the only way to install one would be to install a new HU with navigation. I can't afford a nav unit.
How do we connect to the HU without an adapter? If we were to tap into a wire to get the power upon start (shudder) which wire would it be? I apologize for being so dense, is this something I am just going to have to give up on? I am happy to say that I have been amazed at how to skin the dash, Toyota seems to have made this easy for opening up.

 

Yes the camera came with an RCA plug for the video and we would need the 12V source that would cause the HU to sense the camera. The camera worked well when plugged into a monitor that he had on hand and the power was obtained from the left backup light. I was hoping there was an adapter that would just make these connections like I've seen for radio upgrades. He is fearful of tapping into the wrong wire and causing expensive problems associated with the newer technologies. Thank you for your interest in helping us.

 

He has been very patient as have you, he's learning as well. Thanks for this information. It sounds like what we are looking for.

SM-N900V ?

 

easy way is through car lower side body and wire the cable to the driver lower side panel.
you do not need splice or connector. I use some left over pins that fits perfectly.

as on the first posting, you need to convert from 12V to 6V compliance that the camera piggy tail has DC-DC step down to 3.3V.

on mine, this is silly on design .. , it has 12V t0 5V DC Stepdown and goes to 5Vto 3.3V stepdown . I bypassed directly to the 5V to 3.3V stepdown.
some ebay camera, has voltage divider via resistors and feeds to 3.3V DC stepdown..