I am in the process of installing a new Clarion NX702 double din Navigation radio in my base model 2004 Jaguar XJ8. I have worked out most of the problems. I have my steering wheel controls working, and I am using the radio mount meant for the S-type. When installing the backup camera, I found that the reverse lights are hot all the time. It actually has power on both terminals all the time (park, neutral, drive), and when the car is shifted into reverse, one of the hot wires (orange/green at the connector below the assembly) changes to ground to turn it on.

Does anyone know where there is a source that turns to power only when the car is shifted into reverse? I have searched the wiring diagrams but I am only able to identify the OG (orange/green) as the reverse light wire.

Thanks for your help....

 

Ok, I figured it out. I took a horn relay and put power to one side of the coil, and then spliced in the orange/green wire that switches from power to ground, so that the coil is getting power to both sides of the coil and is doing nothing, but when I shift to reverse the second wire becomes a ground and turns on the relay which send power to the camera. Works Great!!!

 

Welcome to the forum. Sounds interesting. Pics? Many people visit these forums to get answers regarding replacement or upgrades to the factory system and it would be helpful to have any info you are willing share. Thank you!

 

Great. I have lots of pictures. I will detail the backup camera here install info here, and then follow with a separate post on the whole aftermarket install.

 

This is the relay I used that I got from O'Riellys auto parts. There are four terminals on the relay marked 30(meaning max 30amps that gets switched on), 85 for ground, 86 for power, and 87 that goes to camera (and the radio). So I hooked it up like this...

From the connector I spliced into a wire that was hot all the time when the key was on, the first one which is brown/green and wired it to 30 (for power to the camera)and 86 (to power the relay). I then spliced into the Orange/green wire and wired it to 85 (this wire is normally hot, until shifting into reverse). Then the last wire, 87 to camera. It wont hurt the relay to have power going to both sides of the coil normally because it cant energize it, so it wont be able to make a circuit, and it wont get hot.

30 to brown/green wire
86 to brown/green wire
85 to orange/green
87 to camera and radio

 

I got my camera from Amazon.com


cost was under $20, and the picture is great. It even has grid lines to give you some depth perception.

I lined the camera up with the screw that holds on the plate. So it makes the camera less obvious. Might be a better location for it, but I like it for now.

 

Here is the diagram to wire the relay. Not all relays have this diagram, but the configuration is the same on most relays like this with the exception of an extra pole marked 87a which is a normally hot pole on the relay

 

Thanks for this info. I'm having a back up camera installed next week and am passing all the info in this thread onto the shop doing the install. I'll provide pics and feedback on any issues I encounter when the job is done. (I have a 2008 XJ8L by the way.)

 

Check out my post (number 5) here

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...08/#post580545

Wiring diagram and parts for Reverse and side cameras

Output (with trigger) for;
Reverse camera with reverse lights on
Side camera with turn signal
Reverse camera overrides turn camera
Turn camera disabled with brakes on


Cheers
34by151

 

Can someone please transition this to the wiring for a 2003 s type before I burn my car down?!?!?!?!? My wire colors are different. I have 7 wires going to my tail light. All are hot except the middle wire which when I tested made the reverse light bulb light up.

 

Wiring on you car is identical to the XJ with the exception of the loom wire colours and plug designations

If you check the S type wiring diagram it will be a simple matter to do

On both cars all the tail lamps are connected to + power (via fuses) and the earth is supplied by the REM (to turn lamp on)

Your camera unit will need a + signal to enable reverse not a - signal as used in the lamps

Using a relay is the simplest way to do this but there are many ways

Cheers
34by151

 

This was something I needed an answer too also - so I looked into it in a bit more detail and have come up with a document which attempts to explain/illustrate (hopefully as I haven't actually put it into practice yet) how to connect a 12Vdc relay to the LH reverse lamp in order to provide a live feed to the reverse camera when selecting reverse gear.
As I say I haven't done this mod on my car yet so check it out carefully before splicing wires and powering things up.
Anyway hope it's of interest.
See attached pdf for mod detail.

 

Just printed off this PDF as I'm install a rear view camera in my 2004 S-Type. My question is this. I have a Left Hand Drive vehicle. The PDF is for a Right Hand Drive vehicle. Will the pin numbers for the left hand side on the PDF be the same as the pin numbers on the right hand rear lamp cluster? In other words, if I'm connecting to the right hand rear lamp cluster do I still connect to Pin 4 as the active reverse lamp?

 

Hi,

You should be able to connect to the left hand rear lamp cluster as I have and use the pin and wire references shown. However if you want to connect to the right hand lamp cluster, pages 1-2 of the pdf show which connections to make.
It doesn't matter really if you have a RHD or LHD drive car the rear lamp clusters and wiring should be the same.
I fitted my relay on the L/H side as it is easier to find somewhere suitable to mount the relay.
Hope this has helped. I have more photos if you need them.

 

What a simple solution. Thank you. This is a big help.

Cheers,

Ron

 

You found a good solution to the backup light polarity problem by using a relay. You can also do it with a transistor and a resistor. See the diagram with the second posting in this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...lation-115861/

Ray

 

You're very welcome. I'm pleased you found it useful.