1990 Warrior and backup cam

[brianokeefe]

I'm trying to hook up my TopDawg cam to my 1990 Toyota Warrior. I wanted to connect to back up lite so cam only functioned in reverse. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have it on continuously as I can't see the road with the rear view mirror. Anyway, the backup light has one wire and is grounded. the other 2 lites in the housing use the same ground but only the brake/running lite has 2 wires plus the ground. I don't know how to make this work. I tried the backup lite by connecting the hot cam wire to the one wire and grounded the other-nothing. Now I'm so unsure that I don't want to screw up. I have a vehicle wiring diagram and attach it here.

Thanks for any help!

Brian
[IMG][img]I'm trying to hook up my TopDawg cam to my 1990 Toyota Warrior. I wanted to connect to back up lite so cam only functioned in reverse. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have it on continuously as I can't see the road with the rear view mirror. Anyway, the backup light has one wire and is grounded. the other 2 lites in the housing use the same ground but only the brake/running lite has 2 wires plus the ground. I don't know how to make this work. I tried the backup lite by connecting the hot cam wire to the one wire and grounded the other-nothing. Now I'm so unsure that I don't want to screw up. I have a vehicle wiring diagram and attach it here. Thanks for any help! Brian

[westend]

For those wishing to follow along:
.pdf file of schematic
Yes, your reverse light layout is fairly straight forward, the reverse lamp being powered by a single (+) DC wire and ground. We don't know how that is switched or protected within the chassis but that's pretty much immaterial. It's been awhile since I did any rear lighting on Japanese vehicles but I'd suggest you consider another source for powering the camera and monitor. IIRC, using parts of the rear lighting (even for simple trailer lighting) was always a pain.
It's simple enough to grab either + ign. or constant with a fuse from somewhere else.

Have you tried powering the camera and monitor straight from a battery or some other 12V source?

[Clay_L]

Mine was connected so that when the key was on the camera was on. Helped me to see the toad and when I was far enough ahead of an adjacent car to pull into the lane beside me. I much prefer it that way.

[hedge]

While you're at it you may want to dual-feed it so that you can turn it on with a switch from the cab as well. Mine's wired this way on the back of my truck camper and I find it quite useful.

If you do, remember to put a blocking diode on the line to your backup lights or you'll backfeed them via the switch.

[brianokeefe]

Thanks for the quick reply!
I'll try on the image again but Ill post the URL to the list of diagrams. Mine is the first, WT319RB, on the list that when clicked will open a page that lists the type of diagram. Choose "automotive wiring diagram".
http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/1990/1990_Wiring_Models.htm

As I wrote, the backup lite lites up fine with just the one wire and the lite's box grounded in series with a metal bar to the next box. The boxes are metal. Eventually a ground wire, white leads from the "1st" box into the RV. You can see on the diagram. Does that help?

[westend]

Your image isn't viewable.

IIRC, Toyota (and other Japanese vehicles) use multiwire connections for rear lighting. Each function has a separate circuit. You'll probably need a meter to test the backup circuit for voltage presence. Another thing you could do is test the camera and monitor, grabbing power from another source, to see that the camera and monitor are functional.