Marco#1
Well-Known Member
TL/DR: Factory retrofit would require replacing or modifying the wiring harness.
I personally don't believe this is going to happen. There are a couple sections of the wiring harness not installed in our vehicles that the retrofitting would need and wouldn't be easy to incorporate. I've read about someone who did it, but they ended up spending $1200 on the parts, and at least half of that cost was to buy a new wiring harness that has the connections in it for the front camera. The sections we need are not manufactured and sold as separate items.
The issue we are faced with is our head units have one HD video input, which is a Fakra connection. Our Wranglers are equipped with a wire harness that sends the video signal from the rear camera directly to the head unit. In the Gladiator the video switching is done by an external device located behind the rear seats, then that signal is sent to the head unit. Our Wranglers simply don't have the sections of the wiring harness that would run from the rear camera to the video switcher, from the front camera to the video switcher, and from the video switcher to the head unit. Even if you located the video switcher very close to the head unit, it would not be easy to add the wiring to connect the front camera. It's simply not a plug and play type thing, which makes me believe we won't see a factory retrofit. A clean, high quality, OEM looking install would not be possible.
TL/DR: Aftermarket systems use CVBS cameras, while OEM systems use LVDS cameras.
Aside from not having the necessary wiring in the vehicle, the problem is complicated by the fact that the head unit needs to receive an LVDS video signal, but virtually all affordable aftermarket vehicle cameras deliver a CVBS signal. The two standards are incompatible with each other. Plugging a CVBS camera into an LVDS head unit is like putting a CD on a record player. It just doesn't work.
You could use a digital converter, but that's more money and a degradation of signal if you get something cheap. Even if you got a quality converter, CVBS camera signals are susceptible to transmitting and receiving electromagnetic and RF interference, which can degrade video quality or degrade the signal of other information-carrying wires running parallel to the CVBS wires. This is why auto manufacturers have gone to LVDS. CVBS is not suitable given the amount of information that is being transmitted through the many wires in our vehicles. Our cars are becoming more like computers and less like mechanical machines. Electromagnetic & RF interference is an issue. CVBS works, as evidenced by the many aftermarket systems available, but LVDS is better and auto manufacturers have rightfully decided to abandon the cheap option.
Aside from buying OEM cameras, there are other LVDS cameras available, but they are expensive and not designed for vehicle applications. They are used in high quality CCTV systems like in the machine room of a nuclear submarine, a difficult to access area in a manufacturing facility, or to monitor a patient in a CT machine. They are also used in our laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices. From what I've found, these cameras are either too expensive or just not well-suited for our application.
Also LVDS cameras have a wide array of non-standard connections, which further complicates the problem. You can't simply slap a Fakra connection to the end of a couple wires and expect it to work, so whatever camera you buy will usually have a proprietary connection that will need an adapter to convert it to Fakra (actually, to whatever connections the video switcher uses). Most of the time these adapters simply don't exist. If they do, you have to be careful about introducing excessive impedance or interference into the signal. Just because you can make the physical connection doesn't mean it will work.
I believe the best solution (but not the most cost efficient) is to purchase another OEM camera and the wire that plugs into it, then wire it into an aftermarket LVDS switcher. From there, the video signal would be sent to the head unit via a something-to-Fakra adapter. The video switcher can be controlled remotely by a small mechanical switch mounted in an inconspicuous location on the dash or the back of the steering wheel.
I currently have in my possession a couple video switchers that I believe will work and all the necessary wires and adapters, but I just need another OEM camera to test it for a proof of concept (I also have a whole bunch of cameras, switches, and adapters that I've proven don't work). I just don't have the motivation right now to spend another $150 on this experiment. When I get the urge to spend some more money on this, or if someone offers to send me a camera for a few days to test with, I'll have some conclusive results. If my theory is correct and this works, I'll reverse engineer the video switcher and produce a small batch of ready to install kits that have the correct length wires, Fakra connections, and a mechanical switch so others can have a plug & play solution and I can hopefully recoup some of the money I've spent buying all the numerous wires, cameras, switches, and adapters that didn't work. My kit plus an OEM camera should be the easiest and most cost effective multiple camera option out there. Honestly, I'm pretty confident it will be the only option.
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