Turboencabulator
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Howdy, I don't post much but I've found lots of helpful ideas on this forum so I figure I would share how I added a sprayer to my rear (backup) camera if someone might be interested. One thing I've noticed after owning my Jeep JL for a few winters is just how dirty and hard to see the backup camera image gets with all the dust, dirt, and road salt. So, I wondered if there was a way to add a washer nozzle to my rear view camera. ? Well after doing a little tinkering on it and testing out the results for the past few months, the answer is Yes. Here is what I came up with if someone wants to do something similar.
I figured out that on my Jeep the windshield washer system has 2 separate pumps, one for the windshield and one for the rear glass (and forward camera sprayer installed at the factory). I decided to tap into the hose that runs to the rear glass just upstream of the quick disconnect connections that go up to the hard top. I chose to use a ¼ Outside Diameter Push connect T-fitting because they are super easy to connect and disconnect. However, to get it to fit I did have to sand down the factory hose a wee bit to be able to plug it into the slightly smaller ¼" OD T-fitting. This is definitely a pain but to me it was well worth it to run all connection using ¼ push connect fittings.
From there I ran ¼" OD (⅛" ID) kink free silicone tubing down the drivers side of the cargo area, across the inside of the car jack storage cubby then up to the fabric sleeve that connects the wire harness from the cargo area to the tailgate. The pinch point created when closing the tailgate was the biggest obstacle to this project. To prevent the hose from kinking when the tailgate is shut I added a spring inside the factory sleeve to allow a slight curve to be maintained even when fully closed.
I also modified the tailgate panel by creating a cutout to allow the wire sleeve to enter a bit farther away from the hinge, this combined with using silicone tubing helped a lot with preventing the hose from getting pinched and cutting off fluid flow. I'm planning on eventually adding a tailgate table like those from Goose or AAL and they use this same cutout design. I ran the silicone tubing across the tailgate to where the camera and 3rd brake light wires have quick disconnects. There I added a 1-way check valve and quick disconnect L fitting allowing the tire carrier to be completely removed if needed. The check valve is important to keep fluid near the rear camera sprayer which sprays instantly without any delay.
I then switched over from silicone to nylon ¼" OD air brake tubing and ran that through the grommet on the tailgate to keep everything nice and weathertight. I covered both the wires and tubing in a braided cable sleeve and ran it to the tire career to keep it looking like it came that way from the factory.
In order to run the hose in a way that would not interfere with pulling off the spare tire, I routed it inside camera housing and out though a hole in the bottom. The tube has some slack so it can be pulled out or pushed in as needed.
I modified the rear tire camera cover by removing the locking mechanism and adding a sprayer (same one used on the back lift gate glass.) The angle of this sprayer is just about perfect and it's Mopar so that's makes it an OEM option that I am sure Jeep would charge $799 for
. To the sprayer I connected a ¼" pneumatic push connect L-fitting. This lets me easily remove the camera cover/sprayer anytime I need to access the spare tire. I'm thinking about upgrading to the TeraFlex Alpha hinge and mount and I feel confident this could be even better integrated into that setup.
In the end I'm happy with the way it turned out. It turned out nice and clean and kinda OEM looking. Being able to quickly clean the rear camera when backing up has had a dramatic impact on camera image quality (plus it's cool to see the water spraying the camera ). I've been running it all winter and it's worked very well, it was a bit of work to setup but I find I use it all the time now.
I figure i would post this little camera washer mod on here just in case it might be useful to someone else. I've been slowly upgrading my Jeep with helpful little things like backseat heaters, hood struts, key fob controlled hood latch, and now a rear view camera washer nozzle to make up for some of the little stuff Jeep forgot to install at the factory in Toledo. Kinda like that old Johnny Cash song, I building my Jeep "one piece at a time".
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I figured out that on my Jeep the windshield washer system has 2 separate pumps, one for the windshield and one for the rear glass (and forward camera sprayer installed at the factory). I decided to tap into the hose that runs to the rear glass just upstream of the quick disconnect connections that go up to the hard top. I chose to use a ¼ Outside Diameter Push connect T-fitting because they are super easy to connect and disconnect. However, to get it to fit I did have to sand down the factory hose a wee bit to be able to plug it into the slightly smaller ¼" OD T-fitting. This is definitely a pain but to me it was well worth it to run all connection using ¼ push connect fittings.
From there I ran ¼" OD (⅛" ID) kink free silicone tubing down the drivers side of the cargo area, across the inside of the car jack storage cubby then up to the fabric sleeve that connects the wire harness from the cargo area to the tailgate. The pinch point created when closing the tailgate was the biggest obstacle to this project. To prevent the hose from kinking when the tailgate is shut I added a spring inside the factory sleeve to allow a slight curve to be maintained even when fully closed.
I also modified the tailgate panel by creating a cutout to allow the wire sleeve to enter a bit farther away from the hinge, this combined with using silicone tubing helped a lot with preventing the hose from getting pinched and cutting off fluid flow. I'm planning on eventually adding a tailgate table like those from Goose or AAL and they use this same cutout design. I ran the silicone tubing across the tailgate to where the camera and 3rd brake light wires have quick disconnects. There I added a 1-way check valve and quick disconnect L fitting allowing the tire carrier to be completely removed if needed. The check valve is important to keep fluid near the rear camera sprayer which sprays instantly without any delay.
I then switched over from silicone to nylon ¼" OD air brake tubing and ran that through the grommet on the tailgate to keep everything nice and weathertight. I covered both the wires and tubing in a braided cable sleeve and ran it to the tire career to keep it looking like it came that way from the factory.
In order to run the hose in a way that would not interfere with pulling off the spare tire, I routed it inside camera housing and out though a hole in the bottom. The tube has some slack so it can be pulled out or pushed in as needed.
I modified the rear tire camera cover by removing the locking mechanism and adding a sprayer (same one used on the back lift gate glass.) The angle of this sprayer is just about perfect and it's Mopar so that's makes it an OEM option that I am sure Jeep would charge $799 for
. To the sprayer I connected a ¼" pneumatic push connect L-fitting. This lets me easily remove the camera cover/sprayer anytime I need to access the spare tire. I'm thinking about upgrading to the TeraFlex Alpha hinge and mount and I feel confident this could be even better integrated into that setup.
In the end I'm happy with the way it turned out. It turned out nice and clean and kinda OEM looking. Being able to quickly clean the rear camera when backing up has had a dramatic impact on camera image quality (plus it's cool to see the water spraying the camera
). I've been running it all winter and it's worked very well, it was a bit of work to setup but I find I use it all the time now.
I figure i would post this little camera washer mod on here just in case it might be useful to someone else. I've been slowly upgrading my Jeep with helpful little things like backseat heaters, hood struts, key fob controlled hood latch, and now a rear view camera washer nozzle to make up for some of the little stuff Jeep forgot to install at the factory in Toledo. Kinda like that old Johnny Cash song, I building my Jeep "one piece at a time".
?Sponsored
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