How to Add a Wireless Backup Camera to a Garmin GPS
By Dan Harkins
Back-up cameras can help you see what you can't from the driver's seat--like your child's skateboard or the garbage cans. To use a wireless backup camera with a Garmin GPS navigation system, though, it won't be as simple as installing the camera in the back of the vehicle and turning it on. You'll have to install an integration box from Garmin behind the car stereo, then run a cable from it to the camera in the back--usually by the license plate.
Step 1
Attach your Garmin integrated mount to your four-hole bracket with the four included screws. The "ball socket" in the front of the Garmin mount should be facing the driver.
Step 2
Attach your mount bracket to its windshield mount following your manufacturer's instructions.
Step 3
Remove your car battery's negative (red) then positive (black) leads with an adjustable wrench. Remove your car's stereo, following your particular model's specifications and mounting diagram. Remove the stereo's antenna cable and wiring harness.
Step 4
Connect your new vehicle integration box's wiring harness to your car's harness for power, stereo and speakers. Hook up the AV cables to the back of the box to listen to music or watch video through your Garmin device. (If you have the VIB11, there is a "traffic receiver" that must also be connected at this point with its antenna adapter cables.) Reconnect your antenna cable.
Step 5
Attach your GPS reverse camera's wiring cable to the corresponding port (labeled PND) on the integration box. Run the cable along with your rear speaker wiring to the back of the car, and tie the cable with wire ties to other cabling to secure it along the way. Return the stereo carefully to its slot in the dash and reconnect the car battery.
Step 6
Connect your power cable running from the integration box to your mounted reverse camera. Snap your Garmin device into its cradle and turn it on. Test out the video image.
References
Writer Bio
Dan Harkins has been a full-time journalist since 1997. Prior to working in the alternative press, he served as a staff writer and editor for daily publications such as the "St. Petersburg Times" and "Elyria Chronicle-Telegram." Harkins holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of South Florida.