03LX470

Would like to hear about the parts, costs & work involved.


Not very keen to add any aftermarket cameras or accessories due to warranty issues.

Thanks

SUNILP

me me me. You require a new harness in the trunk lid, camera, control module, and wiring to comand unit. The car has to be a 07 if I am not mistaken or a 06 with a later firmware in the comand unit.

StevethePilot

Did you do it yourself or have it done?

StevethePilot

I just spoke with a local dealership who said they did it once, it was incredibly expensive and they had to send the Command unit out to Ohio for reprogramming but then if it breaks MB won't cover it under warranty. Is this your experience?

rob13572468

what the dealer is telling you is one method... there are two:

first some command units have a rear camera input and some GL's (and very few MLs) have this model command unit but no camera installed. on these vehicles, the command unit has the rear camera option turned off but it can be enabled. an install of this type using factory parts is very much as sunil stated, you need the camera/camer interface box, a whole new trunk harness, and a video cable to the command unit in front. your existing command unit then gets programmed with a laptop to turn on the camera input.

if you however have a command unti without the rear camer input then it means that your command unit physically does not have the backup camera input circuit board. in this case a flash will not help: you either need to purchase a new command unit with the camera option (very very expensive) or have your existing command unit modified to accept a video input (not so expensive). this is what your dealer was talking about and then you still need the camera and all those harnesses.

either way you are looking at spending some money but it can absolutely be done as i have done the camera retrofit many many times, particularly on the ML/GL/R. you can save some money by using an aftermarket camera system... kenwood just introduced a backup cam that is an exact replacment for the factory camera but costing much less. ( search for backup cam and i have pics of the install somewhere on this site).

the total price can vary... it can be as little as $600 if you use the aftermarket cam and have the right HU to as much as $4700 for an all factory system including the camera-enabled HU. there are a bunch of intermediate price points as well depending on what you want: just switching to factory camera parts and harness ups the price by 2K.

rob13572468

here are some pics i found of the camera retrofit...

oknish

hey rob - any word on that camera unit you were working on which would allow the factory installed camera to come "live on demand". I am very interested in that.

StevethePilot

A) Excellent call on the Kenwood camera replacement.

B) How do I know which head unit I have?

C) Is there a factory "mount" or "mount point?" (I need to look at your pics.)

StevethePilot

Ok;

I had a Pioneer Avic Z1 in my LX470 that had an option to have the camera on a split screen with a moving map, to watch any load you might be towing. Which, considering I didn't have a tow hitch, made it little more than a novelty of finding out how closely I was being tailgated and if the guy was picking his nose.

huginna

Just had two of my GL´s camera retrofitted(2007 w/offroad pack. & PE)...no prob...no wire harness or stuff, just an upgrade to the Nav unit made in TVandNav2GO.com and they supplied the camera and it was an easy install. The upgrade was $599 and the camera and cables $250. All working and an optional switch to have it on all time. Great quality.

rob13572468

i actually have a working unit that does camera bypass, video in, and tv tuner, with the steering wheel controls able to change tv stations, switch video source, turn camera on, etc. the unit is finished but we are switching the module over to a newer chipset (the original chips were end-of-life) and that requires some code changes and a bit of testing. this particular project has been a bit slow to get done but its getting there. ill keep you posted...

rob13572468

the only sure way to know if you have a camera enabled HU at this point is to actually pull the unit out of the dash and take a resistance measurement at two pins on the back of the unit. this may seem a bit complicated but its not that bad although you would need access to a volt-ohm meter. i can provide more specific instructions if you want to tackle it.

the mount point used for the kenwood is actually the factory mount location. the main difference is that the factory supplied camera comes with a nice housing that snaps right into place behind the plastic trim. the kenwood has a bracket but requires an additional bit of fabrication( a 2nd bracket/plate) to fit it to the location.

oknish

Thanks, rob. Looking forward to this mod.

StevethePilot

It might be worth it, but there's still some reprogramming that has to be done, yes? I do have a volt meter/ohm meter, just a little Radio Shack thing. If I'm over-stepping my bounds, I apologize, but I think as this is a GL specific mod it would be okay to post the specifics here, rather than in the mod-ing group, yes?

10-Q

STP

rob13572468

i dont think its a problem... anyway here's what you do: first you need to pull the radio... grab the bottom of the panel below the radio and pull (by hand) and the panel will unsnap. remove the panel exposing a set of metal latches just below the radio, each held in with a torx t20 screw. remove both screws. using a small tool, slide each latch straight down. the radio will now slide out of the dash. remove all connectors from the radio and turn it around to look at the rear connectors.

the rear connector assembly has 4 distinct connector sections: there are two 8 pin connectors and 2 12 pin connectors. concentrate on the left 12 pin connector. inside the connector housing there are small numbers detailing the pin locations. you want pins 1 and 7. (with the two connectors side by side pins 1,7 are nearest the edge at the center that seperates the right side connector from left). take your meter and set it to resistance and touch the leads to pins 1,7. you will see either no connection (e.g. infinite resistance) or ~75 ohms. if you get 75 ohms then your radio is camera compatible.


the programming can be done by your dealer... talk to a tech and offer to buy him lunch for coding the camera to "on".

infamily

Is it possible to make the factory rear view camera turn on on demand and not just when reversing?

rob13572468

yes, the same module lets you turn it on via the steering wheel as well as use it as a video input.

infamily

how much is the module and is it easy to install? I already have a factory camera, do I still have to reprogram the control module?

rob13572468

if you have the factory camera then you are all setup and no programming is required. the module is very easy to install: unplug the factory connector from your radio, plug it into the module harness and plug the other end of the harness into the radio. the harness has an additional RCA input for aux video.

i do not currently have pricing for the module as we have had to switch from a discontinued chipset to a new one and the validation process is not yet completed. we expect everything to be ready around mid september.

03LX470

Can you help with providing the model number of the Kenwood camera that is like the factory camera? Thanks

dipinj

This is the best advise I've seen. It's actually the way that midcityengineering asks people to check to see whether they have a video capability in their command unit.