DIY: Reverse Camera and Display for Hyundai Genesis Coupe

A reverse camera is a neat feature I wanted in my car but it doesn't come stock for mine. Fortunately, there are third party options that can be installed on your own.

I ended up ordering from eBay a reverse camera that was was to be a plug in replacement for my car and a rearview mirror that acts as a 4.3 inch display when power and a video signal is applied to it. Both the camera and mirror need a 12V power supply so I tapped into the reverse light for the power. The reverse light only receives power when I shift into reverse so since the camera and mirror get their power from the reverse light, they only turn on when I'm in reverse. When not in reverse, the display on the mirror is off and it acts like a regular rearview mirror.

What you need:

- Reverse camera (bought from eBay)

- Rearview mirror display (bought from eBay)

-Wire (2 different colors recommended and around 6m in length as it has to be wired from the rear of the car to the front. I used 22 and 24 gauge wire.)

What to do:

Here is a picture of the camera I bought from http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Car-Rear-View-Reverse-Camera-for-Hyundai-Coupe-Genesis-/260656170303?pt=Car_Audio_Video&hash=item3cb051853f&vxp=mtr&_uhb=1#ht_5017wt_1163

If you can, test the camera and display to make sure they work before going through the trouble of installing it. Here I am testing the display with a Wii because I tested and installed the camera first.

The camera replaces the passenger side license plate light lens for the Genesis Coupe so the first thing you have to do is remove the original one in the car. To remove it, stick a flathead screwdriver in from the side and pry it off. When it is off, twist off the bulb and install it on the camera. You then have to route the video and power cables into the trunk of your car. Take the trunk liner out from the car and there will be a rubber plug with cables coming out of it. Pull out the plug and that is where you need to feed the wire to. Use a stiff wire such as thick soldering wire or a coat hanger, tape the ends of the cable to it, and feed it up to the trunk following the cable from the license plate light bulb.  If you can solder, an easier method is to cut the wires and resolder it after you've fed it to the trunk. 

After feeding the wires through the hole to the trunk, feed it through the hole in the rubber plug (which I didn't do until after I soldered the wires back together making it much harder to fit through). If you cut your wires you can solder it back together now.

Now to tap into the reverse light power. From the trunk, there is a panel right behind your tail lights that pops off. Find the orange wire and strip part of it.

To make sure that I got the correct wire, I attached a multimeter to the orange wire and the exposed bolt (which acts as the ground) and tested the voltage by shifting my car into reverse.

If the multimeter shows around 12 volts, then you have the right wire. You can now solder the red wires from the camera and display to the orange wire of the reverse light. 

Take the black wires and attach them to the exposed bolt to ground them. The easiest way is to attach the two grounds together, then unscrew the nut. Wrap the wires around the bolt and then screw the nut back on so it squishes the wires to the bolt and the metal frame of the car.

With that done you can now feed the mirror's power cables and the video out cable of the camera from the trunk to the front of the car. Fold the rear seats down and pull the cable out. You can hide the cables on the sides of the seats and in gaps in the plastic panels all the way to your rearview mirror.

To get from the floor to the roof, you can pull out the rubber trim on the side of the door and place the wires through there. The rubber then pops back in. You can also slide the wires in to the gap between the roof and the side door pillar and then hide the wires in the roof panel to the mirror. Now plug in cables in and shift your car into reverse to make sure it all still works.

Thanks to the gencoupe.com forums for the basic idea of how to do this!