Up one level   Page:    1 

Rear-view Camera to Subaru Impreza MFD.

I purchased a rear-view camera kit (CAD$30, delivered, eBay) and wired it up to the "High Grade Multi Function Display" (aka. "MFD") in my Canadian 2013 Impreza Sport wagon. Works great! For routing the wiring from front to back, I mostly followed SilverBear's excellent pictorial.

Here below are a few snaps from my own install.

UPDATE: After three months, the camera flickered, and then stopped working completely within a day. I bought a near-identical replacement for $20 from the same seller and swapped in the new camera end for the faulty one. All is working again, and the replacement was still going strong three years later, when I changed vehicles.

Here's the camera kit, CAD$32 including delivery from China (eBay link from seller coolintshop). There's also (not shown) a double-sided sticky gasket, and nut/washers for the mounting post on the camera. My camera is white, but the same all-metal model can also be had in black or chrome.Also note that there is no need for a special camera with built-in illumination LEDs: the car has those already, they're called "backup/reversing lights".
z0611988
Nice brass (rust resistant) mounting post on top of camera. I later added some goop where the wiring enters the post to improve weather tolerance.
z0611990
This particular camera includes the ability to disable the camera's own guide lines on the display, in favour of using the adjustable ones provided by the Subaru MFD. I cut/taped the white wire, to give a rearview image with no camera guide lines. Note: the replacement camera I later installed had the two colours reversed from the original.
z0611999
The four-pin connector that joins the camera to the the rest of the setup. And the 6m long cable to run between the hatch area and the MFD at the front of the car.
z0611997
Getting the video cable to the back of the MFD turns out to be easier than first thought. Hunt for the MFD wiring harness just left of the air ducts, and fish the RCA cable along the same path.
z0612004
My MFD adapter: two standard female square socket pins at one end (for the MFD), and an RCA connector at the other end (for the video cable from the camera). Note that a computer (PC) "speaker cable" (or CDROM audio cable) has the same kind of pins with the correct spacing.
z0612000
Photo of circuit board inside the MFD, taken by a guy who disassembled his MFD. This clearly shows V+/V- (video) should connect to pins 5,6. The interesting part is, what do you suppose pin-8 (CAM- F/R) is for.. Front/Rear?
mfd_pcb
Just two wires, that's all the MFD needs to detect/display the camera image when the vehicle is in Reverse gear. Power for the camera comes from the Reverse Light (drivers side) at the rear of the vehicle (look for a BROWN w/YELLOW STRIPE wire).
just_two_pins
A bit of hot-melt glue helps keep things in place for the long haul, yet can be peeled away easily when needed. Be careful not to get it on any of the empty pins! Not suitable for very hot climates, though fine in Ottawa.
z0612012
A late addition: inline fuse between the power (from Reverse Lights) and the rest of the wiring. I used a 0.5A fuse, though anything up to about 1.0A should be fine.
z0612051
The camera wiring in the hatch uses the clips conveniently provided from the factory, with a bit of foam tape (weatherstripping) wrapped around the cabling to prevent rattles.
z0612023
Looks nice. White on white.
z0612014
The camera was mounted by drilling a 15/64" hole through the plastic at the "cut out" markings intended for the factory camera.
z0612013
The camera is mounted parallel with the face line of the cut-out, giving the best orientation for aligning the Subaru on-display guide lines. And the colour match is much better than it appears in this photo.
z0612055
The view down our driveway in the rearview mirror. Compare with next photo..
z0612016
Same driveway, same position, but quite a startling view of things from the camera. This was before I aligned the MFD guide lines correctly.
z0612019
The original camera failed after three months, so I replaced it with a near identical one. Here is the inside of the failed one. The replacement is still going strong two years later.
z0612242
The back side of the PCB, featuring an ATMEL 328 processor ("Arduino"), and a 27Mhz crystal.
z0612249
The CCD side of the PCB.
z0612246
The lens, with square I/R filter.
z0612248
Click on any thumbnail to view larger images