Has anyone tapped into the camera input for the 7" Uconnect?

[Eternity]

https://www.zautomotive.com/zpu/instructions/HDMI-AV-Kit.pdf
If I’m understanding you correctly this is all you need to do what you are trying to accomplish.

The concept is right, but that pretty clearly says that it is for the 8.4" Uconnect. If you have the 8.4", you have more video inputs....front, bed, rear. The 7" ONLY have rear...to my knowledge and research. Don't know what the resolution, cable connectors, any other differences might be.

That appears to plug directly into the head unit to A/V inputs. If so, I am definitely taking the right approach as they show a standard signal converter going to RCA video output cables. HDMI to A/V is pretty cheap and available on Amazon for a fraction of that. I think I have a PI with video out, but a simple HDMI->A/V is not hard to do. If I get parts that all work, I'll post the material list for a lot less.

Sponsored

 

[Jimmy07]

Not positive. Another person just posted that it is a standard video...but don't know if that is standard digital or analog. Either way, i can first test the camera with the PI to determine which input works and then know what signal to output from the PI

The rear camera on all JTs (regardless of radio) is in fact digital, and uses a single coax cable to the red fakra connector input on the back of the radio. This is similar to what it looks like (it will be pink, and a little smaller)-

There are two different types of digital rear cameras used on the JTs- the one I have pictured above, which is used when equipped with the integrated trail camera system, or a similar pink one that is used on non trail camera JTs. The rear digital camera used for the integrated trail camera system is processed through a video processing module first, before being sent to the radio. The radio can’t process the image of that camera when plugged directly into the radio camera input, and conversely, the video processing module can’t process the image of the regular rear view camera that is equipped on a non trail camera JT.
You *could* use a standard analog backup camera, instead (like the ones used on previous FCA vehicles), and use pins 31,32,&33 on the big radio connector (which is the radio’s analog backup camera input), but you will have to use AlfaOBD to configure the BCM to have the radio use it’s analog camera input instead of it’s digital input.

 

[Eternity]

The rear camera on all JTs (regardless of radio) is in fact digital, and uses a single coax cable to the red fakra connector input on the back of the radio. This is similar to what it looks like (it will be pink, and a little smaller)-
There are two different types of digital rear cameras used on the JTs- the one I have pictured above, which is used when equipped with the integrated trail camera system, or a similar pink one that is used on non trail camera JTs. The rear digital camera used for the integrated trail camera system is processed through a video processing module first, before being sent to the radio. The radio can’t process the image of that camera when plugged directly into the radio camera input, and conversely, the video processing module can’t process the image of the regular rear view camera that is equipped on a non trail camera JT.
You *could* use a standard analog backup camera, instead (like the ones used on previous FCA vehicles), and use pins 31,32,&33 on the big radio connector (which is the radio’s analog backup camera input), but you will have to use AlfaOBD to configure the BCM to have the radio use it’s analog camera input instead of it’s digital input.

Thanks. Either digital or analog, the signal should be something that can be interrupted with a switch that has A/B settings, but as you state that there is a digital processor before that.

Either way, it may be easiest and safest to do this switch on the analog wiring side. That tends to be a little more uniform than digital, but I would also need that signal processor. Little nervous about taping into digital signal and I'm not sure about the power in the lines and output from Raspberry PI.

 

[mbush91]

It seems like you should be able to run the output of that camera to a 2way switch and feed in the RPi video before it gets to the signal processing. Would have to figure out what the output of that camera is though... Doesn't look like it has any other connector so the power and signal must travel on the same line?

 

[RiderDad27]

@Eternity did you play with the setup finally? Im looking to add a rear-view camera to my trailer

 

[Eternity]

No. I ended up not bothering with it. The front camera is kinda "cheating" anyway. A part of the skill is looking and scoping out your path and doing the best you can from the driver's seat.

In my reearch there was some power specific to the camera and then the rear camera provide a tracking curve that is reversed from the front camera. So it would end up being confusing and not showing the track anyway.

I think the best is just to have a separate camera and monitor for trailer or front cam.

 

[Mopar_less_chevette]

I have an idea to add a Raspberry PI and a switch to go between the backup camera and the PI on the 7" Uconnect display. I would like to assume that the camera used on the 7" uses a somewhat standard signal. The display appears to be a 1080P resolution. If I found the connectors on Digikey and added a switch that could connect either the rear backup camera or a PI as the input to the head unit, I think that would be pretty cool. Could not only have all the functionality of a computer available (with a bluetooth mini keyboard/touchpad, GPS), but be able to cast from Android phone using GAIA maps. Also would like to then add a front camera through the PI so a DIY trail cam could be added to the 7"

Has anyone done anything like this? Any ideas or problems you know of? Does anyone know more of the technical side of the backup camera output?

I know this is a year old, but the thing I’m gonna tell you about idk if anyone mentioned or you already knew of… costal tech makes a thinly called a lock pic. It’s an inline harness tap that plug to plug runs inline with the oem stuff losing nothing and unlocking the head unit to everything. More cameras, video in motion gps I’d equipped in motion phone access ect.

Sponsored