Bad Rear Camera 2008 Tundra

Does anyone know how I can test to see if my backup camera is actually bad or if it's my head unit? I have a 2008 tundra limited with the gps so the camera feed comes on the head unit screen. I believe I should be able to just probe the camera wires and feed another lcd screen but I am unsure of the wireing on the head unit.

If it is bad does anyone have any thoughts on replacing it with out needing to spend the $200 some odd dollars on a oem replacement?

Thanks
Phil

 

I have the same truck and have occasionally had an issue with the camera not coming on when shifting to reverse. It seems like a bad connection in the shift mechanism rather than the camera or wiring. When it happens, I just shift in and out of reverse a couple of times and it works again. Just offering that up for possibilities...

 

So my screen switches to camera in reverse Everytime but the screen is black. It had started intermittently and then started to come in and out like it was a wireless camera with interference or a loose wire but now its just black all the time. I have checked all the connections and they are good.

 

Seems you need to plug another camera in to the head unit to see if it will work.

If a Tailgate latch camera, you could go this route instead of OEM:

$65 Master Tailgaters Black Tailgate Handle with Backup Camera Replacement for Toyota Tundra (2007-2013) | IP68 Waterproof | Parking Grid Lines Available | Easy to Install

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DCRS89M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I recently installed and very pleased with it.

An auto stereo shop may be able to trouble shoot easier and replace just the camera if needed..

 

I have a camera I could test with I just would need to know what each wire is at the handle. Although I guess it wouldn't be hard to figure. From what I have been seeing researching since yesterdayis there is a 6v positive and negative and then signal positive and negative. So if I find the 6v positive I should be able to figure out the rest and then wire the camera rca I have up to the signal wires and should in theory get video on the head unit.

If it is the case that the camera is bad and I went with that tail gate one to replace it the only issue I see is that new camera is 12v and the factory is 6v. I have found a 6v to 12v up converter is there any reason that would not work?

 

A converter should work. Not sure what you are looking at, not familiar with auto versions. Depending on what you get, if not sealed you may want to mount in cab.

This was suggested on another thread:

$25 AXXESS Metra AX-CAM6V 12-Volt to 6-Volt Camera Stepdown

https://www.amazon.com/Metra-AX-CAM6V-12V-Camera-Stepdown/dp/B017CBK4K0

 

I have tested with the camera that I have which is in the below link. I found the Camera 6v Positive and Negative and found the signal wire as I do get a picture but its not as it should be. It is black and white along with not being the full screen. I have attached a picture that is how the image looks. There is not a difference in spec between the tailgate handle camera that @Trooper2 shared to cause that issue unless these cameras just don't work with the HU in my truck but I don't believe that to be the case as TundraTex has the FRAC harness working with other video inputs. I also know the Camera works correctly as I connected it to an LCD backup monitor that i have for a wireless camera on my camper.

@TundraTex I am not sure if he might have any insight.

http://a.co/71VSVcs

 

Can’t really tell what I’m looking at with that picture. It almost looks like the video sync and chroma levels are not right. Which would explain why it looks Black and White. The truck provides 6v and from what I can tell, this is a 12v camera. So i would first measure the power and make sure you’re providing 12v to the camera. The fact that you’re getting video at all says to me that the HU is working right and that the video enable from the reverse shifter is operating properly. I suspect your OEM camera is the problem. If you get proper voltage to a 12v Cam or if you find a 6v Cam, you’ll probably be back in business.

 

This would not work with the OPs camera. This device steps 12v down to 6v. OP has the opposite problem. He’s trying to power a 12v cam with a 6v line from the HU. Best bet is an UPconvertor from 6 to 12. Or get a 6v Camera.

 

I realize i wasnt clear in my post about the camera test. I had a 12v power source run from the front of the truck to the test camera. In order to get the HU to switch to the camera i had to connect the 6v power to the OEM camera with jumpers at the tailgate plug. I then used jumpers from the plug to the RCA on the 12v camera and the picture is what had the black and white with the wierd sync.

I just want to make sure it sounds like im connecting everything up correctly. I was going to draw up a diagram of how I had it all wired for test but my laptop died while we are on vacation and I forgot the power cord. Remembered to bring everything else for the testing.

I guess where i am confused is the way the camera is showing up in black and white. I had also tried to put a video source into it and it also came up black and white.

Oh and yes I was looking at this up converter.

$13 DIGITEN DC 6V 5-11V to 12V 2A Step up Converter Regulator Waterproof Boost Power Module

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019GY2DC8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_DxbDBbF3317PQ

 

OK. A couple of thoughts... with one caveat. I haven’t looked at 2nd gen schematics in a while so I’m talking with respect to how 3rd Gen works. But I’m fairly certain they’re pretty close to the same. I’m out of the office this week as well so I’ll have to verify when I get back.

The OEM camera is always powered on when the HU is powered on. At least that’s the way it is with the 3rd Gen trucks. So there is no reason to mess with the 6v or an upconverter if you have 12v going there already. And certainly no need to tap into it for your testing. Moving the gear selector to reverse triggers the HU to switch its video source from the normal display processor to the camera video signal.

The tailgate connector has 6v, ground, video, and video return. It’s important to remember that video return and ground are not the same thing. Even though video return may act as a pseudo-ground sometimes, it’s likely to have some bias related to the video signal so it’s not a good power ground. Likewise the electrical power ground is not the right signal to use for video return. It’s possible you are using the electrical ground instead of your camera return for the video connection. That could cause the kinds of sync and color issues you are having. Especially if feeding an independent video source to the HU looks B&W as you mentioned.

You may also have the video and video return lines reversed. That could also cause these problems.

I’m not sure how you determined which pins are which functions, but I would focus on making sure that is correct as a first step in solving the issue.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I will work on it more when I return and will diagram what I did and found to post back here.

 

Just a few things you could try from Phoenix.

https://phoenixandroidradios.com/co...-rear-view-ccd-camera-for-most-late-mode-cars

https://phoenixandroidradios.com/co...iew-camera-and-car-dvd-player-parking-monitor

And if you wanted to add a front cam.

https://phoenixandroidradios.com/co...ar-camera-automatic-control-module-switch-box

Someday when i find the time and i was going to try the 360° cam from Phoenix.

https://phoenixandroidradios.com/co...-hour-parking-monitor-loop-recording-g-sensor

 

Hi All,
So I wish my vacation was as long as it has taken me to reply back to this thread but unfortunately it has only been a matter of having to much to do and not enough time to tinker on this problem. I hope everyone had a great summer and hope most are warmer than I up here in northern VT.

Here is what I have found.

1. I found that the power feed at the camera is not 6v but is 4.5v. I did get the up converter noted above to try with the 12v camera but found that it seems like the voltage is not enough (Obviously since its only 4.5v) to power the converter. So I wondered if that was the issue so I moved to bullet 2.
2. I grab a spare 12v battery I had to power a down converter at the camera. I unplugged the harness put jumper wires between the two plugs for the video lines and attempted to power the camera but adjusting the down converter to 6v. As I was doing this I found that it seems as though there needs to be a load on the 6v positive/negative circuit for the HU to switch over to the Camera when put into reverse. With the harness plugged in it would bring the camera screen up but when I unplugged the harness, jumpered the video, and powered the camera with the external source it wouldnt switch over. So I connected the up-converter to the 6v lines and it would switch to the camera screen. However the external power feed didnt seem to do anything so I put a multimeter inline from the down converter to the camera and It was only getting 1.6v when the camera was connected and 6v when the camera was disconnect so my guess is that the camera is actually bad along with the possibility of there being lower than 6v at the camera.
3. So now that I know that the camera is probably bad I moved on to testing feeding another camera in with. While leaving the up converter connected to the 6v feed lines from the HU so it would switch I took my 12v camera and connected it to the video lines and the 12v battery I had. I put it in reverse and got the same result as above with the Black and White image and then I remembered that @TundraTex said that it could have been the video and video return swapped. So I swapped them and to my relief I got a clear color picture.

So with that I know what I need to do which is to change out the camera however not having a full 6v on that camera harness will make that a challenge I think well to a point. Which brings me to my next question. If I can find those 2 wires behind the Head unit should they run directly to the tail gate so that I could just cut them and feed 12v over them with out causing any issues? The other question is what could I use as a dummy load on the HU so I will change over to the camera screen?

I hope all of this makes sense if not let me know and I can see if I can explain it a different way.

Thanks for all the Help.
Phil

 

Have you found a 6V replacement camera, or are you going to try to adapt a 12V camera? I need to locate a 6V camera to interface with a 3.5" Rear view Mirror OEM in my 2010 using the factory wiring that goes from the white connector (by the spare tire) to the overhead console to the rear view mirror LCD. I can't find a reasonably priced 6V camera and also need the tailgate latch housing. Might need to go with a 12V if you find the solution.

Subscribed.

 

I have not had any luck finding a reasonably priced 6 Volt. I should be able to make a 12v work pretty easy. It would be very easy if I knew the wiring harness from my tail gate is direct to the back of the radio. I would then just cut the 6 volt supply from the radio and connect it to 12v to feed the new 12v camera with out needing to run a new wire to the tailgate. I would think you should be able to do the same if we can get that question answered.

I had found this which looks like it has good reviews. You could coil the extra cable up in the tailgate.

 

I did have some luck today researching a LCD Gentex Mirror with Homelink/Compass/Auto dimming with a rear tailgate handle and camera all plug and play from Camera Source. It is 12V which I thought would not work but they advised that it's plug & play and the OEM converts to 6V using the 12V line. It was pricy at $671($750 but with a 15% discout using TUNDRA15 12/24/18)

This comes with a "Camera Source" camera that has the marker lines but boasts being clearer and better than OEM camera. It uses the OEM handle and has a cable that connects to the white connector by the spare tire. It has a Gentex mirror with a cable that connects to the connector up above the overhead console.

I'll report back after install.

 

@rebmo do you have a link to that? Do you currently not have a backup camera but all the harnesses are there from the overhead console (rear view mirror) to the back by the spare tire?

 

Here's the link:
https://camera-source.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cs-10tun-3345 (may have to cut & paste since I'm not sure links work)
I have the white plugged connector on the passenger side of the spare tire up underneath (which indicates that I have factory wiring to the rear view mirror area in the overhead console) This is what I have read.
I don't have the backup camera or possession of the rear view mirror. I

I had a line on a Gentex LCD/auto dim/compass/Home-link mirror that I wanted to use from a 2012 Tundra on the bay (still there if interested). Camera source also has a separate 6V camera and rear latch that you can buy that plugs into the rear connector/cable to mirror if you have that. The eBay mirror is used and does not come with the cable to the overhead console connector. The Camera-source Gentex mirror is new with that cable. I talked to a lady at Camera-source that really knew what is needed for different possible ways of hooking up a backup camera.

I chose to go with new.

UPDATE:
I installed today. Flawless install. Very simple and straight forward. I did need to purchase an additional rear latch with the camera opening which I found on ebay for about $22 (Search 2007-13 TOYOTA TUNDRA TAILGATE HANDLE REAR BACK LATCH W/ KEY & CAMERA HOLE BLACK) an the seller had many to sell if interested. after installing the camera rear latch and camera cable, it plugged right into the white connector (a little tricky since it appeared to line up 180 degrees of what looked to be right, but needed to be rotated 180 and plugged right in). Installed the mirror and the hardest part was getting the screws of the overhead console out and in without losing (careful and helps to align holes with awl or punch). Once both the camera/tailgate latch and mirror installed, I started the truck, shifted into reverse and the image in the mirror appeared. The image is small but clear and very useful. I could see the rear bumper and hitch for alignment, as well as a good rear backup image with useful guides which I verified as far as the red/yellow/green zone and width. This OEM (except for camera) mod installed very easily. Took about an hour to complete. It is very useful as hoped for as far as aligning the hitch and seeing the rear typically blocked view for backing up and proximity to objects. Small but clear 3.5" image LCD screen is adequate. Now I need to sell my auto dim/compass/Homelink rear view mirror to offset the cost. I highly recommend this mod, but a bit pricey, but added safety value is worth it IMO.