What is this?

shanemac

Active member
The large grey item above the rear light....i have another one in the front as well only thing i can think of is the the tow away alarm function :thinking:


The reason i ask because i realized there is a rubber grommet(the one to the rear) right above this which would be perfect to feed my rear backup camera cable through. I checked my docs and I'm positive i don't have the rear camera prep. I been researching a rear camera setup for the last few months just to picky on what i want plus i didn't want to drill a hole, decided to get a ladder and check the roof and found the plug.:D: Now to pick a rear camera setup and search the board or ask questions when the time comes to install it.

The other plug is metal but in the center is feels soft like a wire could go through it too.

 

piper1

Resident Oil Nerd.
It almost looks like it is the motion sensor to turn the rear cargo lights on (I remember seeing it as an option). ????
 

cedarsanctum

re: Member
The device inside is the infrared motion detector.

The plugs on top are there on all the vans, it seems. I also seem to remember hearing the factory backup camera doesn't use those holes???

With enough glue to hold the wires and seal them into the plugs, it seems like that would be a good place to route things. Saves cutting holes in the top. I wanted to use them for my solar panels, unfortunately they're way in the back and would require very long wires to get to the controller/battery. Ended up making a 3/4" hole in the top closer to the front end.
 

waytogo

Member
I used that plug for a camera cable. I have a system from Rear View Safety. I'm not thrilled with my camera installation but its ok. I knocked out that plastic plug. I drilled a hole in it to pass the cable connector thru. The connector is molded on and I didn't want to attempt disconnecting the camera so I had to drill a hole big enough for the connector. The cable is much smaller in dia. I forget exactly how I filled the gap. Probably RTV silicone, bonded the plastic plug in with epoxy and faired it in with more RTV. The camera is at the very back edge to the right of the stop light. This is so I could aim it downwards to see what's right behind the bumper.
Th loop of cable is held down with one nylon self-adhesive pad & ty wrap and there is a nylon P-clip under a screw that holds the stop light. I would prefer to not have the cable exposed but I would have to find the right cable gland fitting and make a new hole in the roof. I took a shortcut.

The camera system seems quite good. I would order an extender cable to go from monitor cable to Mux controller box. There is miles of camera cable but not much cable on the monitor. That limits where you can put the contoller.

The camera bracket screws are very tiny and makes it difficult to attached the camera to bracket. I just had to be patient and careful not to strip or lose them.
 

shanemac

Active member
Thanks for the info everyone...waytogo i found this on eBay
http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-7-COLOR-REVERSE-BACKUP-CAMERA-SYSTEMS-RV-TRUCK-BUS_W0QQitemZ280338938449QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories?hash=item280338938449&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1215|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318


it looks very similar to your setup seems to be a great price...its mind boggling the shear number of systems and cameras out there in the market i just have to pick one:bash:...how is the night vision? and how did you fasten the camera to the van? I see what you mean by those large connectors.
 

Jenner

New member
I've installed a back up camera above the 3rd brake light. Used a separate on/off switch and not the back up only option. This way I can use it all or none of the time. Used the rubber grommet on roof back there to run cable through and siliconed it back. One word of caution on the cameras....get a good one not a remote style. I pd $400.00 for my set up and installed it myself. Has a lux of .5 I think. This means that when the light outside is very minimal...I can still see well. In pitch dark..all bets are off. I ordered mine from visor-view model DV-111-IR set. The infra red helps on visibility in dark conditions. Has a 7" LCD color monitor that has a 3 camera input. It can also be used as a monitor for games etc. I chose to mount it in ceiling, as I didn't want it on the dash. I felt that it was well worth the money and have had it for 60,000 miles now and NO problems. Guess it I were to get off my duff and figure out how to attach a photo I would. But my advise is this.....you have it for safety....don't scrimp on the cost and quality. This is as clear and sharp as a TV. PS. by mounting it above the 3rd brake light..I never worry about rain and dirt clouding it up, as it comes with a shield. Lots o luck.:cheers:
 

glasseye

Well-known member
I know nothing about backup cameras, but a fair bit about video cameras. You definitely get what you pay for. The larger the sensor chip in the camera, the better the image and the better the low light sensitivity. If you can find the spec for the chip size, choose big. Common measurements are 1/2 inch down to 1/6th inch, measured diagonally.
 

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