Installing a backup camera
 

So....we have an HCH-II, 2008, without the navi system.

I think I just found out why it's not a good idea to mess around outside of marriage. Or car ownership. My wife and I just got back from a trip together, we had rented an Hyundai Sonata, and it had a backup camera. Wow! It's not like we have little kids in our driveway, but even in supermarket parking lots, it made a big difference to know what was behind us. We're really interested.

So now we're looking at backup camera systems that use the rearview mirror as a screen. A friend recently installed his own in his van, says it is a 2-hour job....but took him about 5 hours while he figured out where to run the cables, etc.
He researched it pretty well, and it looks like decent quality systems run about $150 mail order.

I checked at the local car-accessories store/installer, and they are a bit higher for the hardware, of course, but charge about $300 for installation. Yikes!

I'm not real gutsy when it comes to disassembling my car, and there are many things I'd rather spend my time doing.

So how easy is particularly to run the cable from the back to the front of the car? Is there an obvious path to route it through (my friend's van had some inside molding that he just tucked the wire under)?

Whether I decide to tackle the process myself, or maybe hire a more basic detailer, it would be nice to have tips from those in the know.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Installing a backup camera
 

I'll answer my own question here...I bought a Pyle Wireless Backup Camera Kit from Amazon back in January. Installation wasn't that difficult, took me something like an hour or two to install, most of that involved with messing with the trim in the trunk. It works well. The monitor died this summer, it cost around $20 that I paid for two-way shipping, but it's working great.

Re: Installing a backup camera
 

I’m going to ask what may be a very basic question: my camera works well at times, not at others. I soldered the leads onto the backup light leads—but I have to resolder at times.
I can pull the plug off the rear lamp array (or whatever you call it), and it would be really nice if I could somehow insert the camera’s wires into the plug in a secure way.
Is there a trick to doing that? Thanks in advance, folks!

Re: Installing a backup camera
 

Why do you have to resolver at times? Is the solder cracking? I would just move a few inches away from the connector and splice into the wiring, there's no need to connect to the light leads at the connector.

Re: Installing a backup camera
 

Good questions—-turned out I was wrong, it was not a question of the solder joints. The wires go to a plug that then plugs into a junction box. Turns out the plug had worked itself loose and was intermittently not making contact. I taped it in place and it’s been working fine since.