Install Side/Front Cameras using Lockpick (part 2)

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Mikenewb

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I kinda cheated on taking off the door panel off completely and just undo only one side of the inner door (the side next to the mirror) and pull it out just enough to get to the back. Detach both ends of the rubber boot in the door jam (Just a note on what NOT to do on the boot! Don’t pull the rubber boot off of the plastic ring that snaps in the door jam! It took me several refreshing beverages to get through that mess! All you have to do is take a screwdriver and slide it under the boot as in the pic and there is a tab on the side of the plastic ring you just push in the ring and pull the ring out.

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Feed a clothes hanger wire through the hole you took the boot off up through and feed a clothes hanger wire through the door where the existing wire goes down the door and tape one of the ends of the camera wire good and carefully pull through. Be patient pulling it through, mine got snagged a couple times on something and had to gently just jiggle the wire til it comes free. You don’t want to be pulling hard on the wires. Undo the wire from the clothes hanger and run the clothes wire through the entire rubber boot starting at the end where it goes inside the Tahoe and comes out the other side. Attach the camera wire to the end of the clothes hanger and pull through the boot. This is also a tight fit but just keep working it and it will come though. Now all that’s left is push the camera wires through the hole going in the interior and snap the boot back on!

You now feed your wires under the dash til you get to the Lockpick module and hook up all the cables and wires according to their instructions. I found that if you install the Lockpick on the side of the console you have easier access getting to it if you have to. Plus you have much more room over there also! Because I did install a front camera also, the Lockpicks instructions say you must install a relay in order for the front and rear camera to play nicely together in the sandbox. I just went to a Auto parts house and got just a normal 4 prong 12v auto relay and followed the wiring procedures. I also put the relay on the side with the Lockpick since there’s lots of room. Oh! One more little tidbit before I leave you is if you intend to install a front camera (which I recommend, its really cool!) I drilled a hole thru my license plate and the bumper and ran the wires along the side of the engine compartment and then drilled a hole thru the firewall to feed the wires.

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Note: When feeding the wire thru the console, its easier to run it in front of the console and then pull it thru to the back.





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In the instructions there is a pink wire that is in the existing wiring harness when you have the NAV all pulled out and installing the Lockpick harness that you must cut and splice 2 wires that go to the relay. Do that before you reinstall the NAV back in the console! Just splice 2 long wires to each half of the cut pink wire and run them down to where the relay is before you stick the NAV unit back in.

Now if this install seems like too much trouble, its really not. And the results will be well worth it. Just take your time, if you get frustrated, walk away for a bit, watch some football, you know about the refreshing beverages of course, and go back to it. I’m not saying the way I did the install is the best way or the fastest way, but it is “a way!”  It works, I’m happy, Mama is happy now that I’m out cutting the yard, and you will be also! If anyone has a better way of doing it other than the way I did, Please feel free to add to this Thread! That’s what the forum is for!. Have fun!!

P.S I’m serious about sending the wife away..;-)

Since the movie clips are too big to include on this Thread, if anyone is interested in seeing my cameras in action, I have some clips I made I can email you. My email is [email protected]
 
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Nnaboy

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Damn I want to say the finished piece for this, looks good so far!
 

bmwman3241

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I am going to do this the same way you did yours. Could you show the outside view of the mirror camera as well as the camera on the nav screen. I wanna see how much you could see with the turn cameras mounted on the mirror like yours.
Thanks
 

Mikenewb

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Im going to see if I can do a short movie clip of it in action. If its too big to post, Ill take screenshots of what the cameras see..Mike
 

Mikenewb

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I tried to do the movie thing and wound up being too big to add, so Im going to take pics of it on both side mirrors and the front.. I have to admit though, as far as it seeing better than the side view mirrors, it really doesnt. you have a good view of the side of you more. The front camera works pretty good, The cameras do look very cool when working it though and I get a lot of compliments from people that sit in it and watch it work. I think they overlook the view ability and look at just how it neat it is to show up on the monitor with the turn signal! :) Ill get those pics out this weekend
 

WingsAA

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I ordered these same cameras for the mirrors. Did you just cut off the end of the power cable on the camera cable and splice the positive and negative?
 

Mikenewb

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Im thinking the camera came with a plug in wire for the power and had wires coming out the other end so you can splice them into regular wire. If not, just cut the plug off the ac part and skin back the insulation of the red and black wire thats in there and splice them in your regular wiring. the video plug of course you jst use rca jacks into that and then plug them into the lockpick module. the front camera video jack is on the wiring harness you plug into that..Mike
 

WingsAA

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Im thinking the camera came with a plug in wire for the power and had wires coming out the other end so you can splice them into regular wire. If not, just cut the plug off the ac part and skin back the insulation of the red and black wire thats in there and splice them in your regular wiring. the video plug of course you jst use rca jacks into that and then plug them into the lockpick module. the front camera video jack is on the wiring harness you plug into that..Mike

I checked the seller's pages and he had the power connectors that plugged directly into the camera power connector. Then, like you mentioned, there are pigtails off that for power and ground.
 

WingsAA

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I'm ready to get time and work on it for sure. Hoping to get some time over the holiday's to spend tinkering around and getting everything installed. I'll def. post up pics once done. Be patient however... :cool:
 

ChungDavid

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Great explanation Mikenewb!

Regarding the front camera, do you have any wisdom on drilling through the firewall? I understand that if you drill in the wrong place (and of course I could have heard wrong), you can potentially set off the airbag. Can you post a picture of where you drilled the hole?
 

Mikenewb

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Ha! Well, see it didnt do it to me because I had not heard of that! If I
had, I would have drilled right through the air bag! :) Ignorance is
sometimes a blessing! What I did though was look on both sides of the
firewall, inside and out and found a place nothing was on either side. I
atatched some picsof where I did it on my Tahoe. It was just right of the
steering post looking down from the front of the vehicle. The last pic is
the hole on the inside. That is the brake arm in front of it. It was really
hard for me to find a open spot on that firewall! Its packed full of things
mounted to it. I guess I got lucky. You might find another place yourself,
just do what I did and look on both sides first! Lemme know how it goes!
Mike
 

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ChungDavid

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Thanks for the super quick response! I'll let you know how it goes!

Also, you mentioned that you installed the lockpick on the side of the center console. Did this panel snap off easily? Meaning was it just clips that you need to disconnect? Just asking before I use force... don't want to break anything!
 
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