Reverse camera help

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tripleb2431

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Has any one put aftermarket radio with reverse camera in there 05 or equvilant ram? Of so can you tell me where the closest to the radio a reverse light wire is and what color it is thanks in advance.

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Core-Lokt

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I have. As the road I live off is in the process of being paved, my truck is crusted underneath with road base. Otherwise, I'd tell you the exact wire.

I'm not sure what benefit finding a reverse wire close to the HU would be, as the camera is so far away. There's nothing inside the cab, anyway, as the harness from the rear is along the driver's side frame rail. Usually, aftermarket cameras have a short tail for the reverse wire and are intended to pick up that circuit at the tail light.

It's easy enough to find the correct wire. Pull one of your tail lights and note which wire goes to the correct bulb. If you're still uncertain, turn the key to ON without starting it and place the transmission in Reverse. Probe the wire with a 12V test light and it will illuminate. Place the truck in Park (or in a forward gear with a manual transmission) and turn the key to OFF. The light will not illuminate when probed.

Usually, aftermarket cameras have a short tail for the reverse wire and are intended to pick up that circuit at the tail light.
 
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tripleb2431

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Yeah i have camera powered back at reverse light but my head unit has a wire that either needs a power from the reverse light ran all the way from the reverse light to the radio or if I can find were that wire is under dash I can run a shorter wire.

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Core-Lokt

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That wire will be in the bundle I mentioned on the driver's side frame. There is a big connector where the frame rail starts curving up at the suspension. I don't think it changes color from there to the tail lights. At that big harness connector, I don't recall if the wire goes to the fuse box or the body control module under the hood. All this is actuated at the transmission via the reverse switch.

Me, I'd run a dedicated wire because it's easy and I don't like hacking into factory wires. Get ~30' of the right gauge wire, tape it to a coat hanger and push through the grommet on the firewall where other wires pass through. Then use tie wraps and fasten it along that harness by the frame rails.
 

justin13703

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The reverse wire is white/light green at the pcm and at the fuse box. I've also read that there is a purple/black wire in the a pillar that can be used as a reverse signal trigger, but you'll have to check it with a multimeter. Your wire that you use doesn't have to be very thick at all. This is just a signal wire to tell the radio to turn on the video input so it carries barely any current at all.

Here are a few pictures of how to grab a reverse signal from your fuse box.
http://www.ramforum.com/f76/hooking_up_backup_reverse_camera_wiring_under_hood_how-51312/

Personally the purple/black in the a pillar is how I would do it, as long as it is actually in there. Getting it from the fuse box would be my second choice. I hate running more wire than necessary under the vehicle. Over time water, salt, dirt etc corrodes everything and road debris can break wires and all that. Getting it from the fuse box will be much more reliable long term than running another wire the whole way from the tail lights into the cab.
 
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