By shoving a rigid copper 8-gauge wire through the same conduit and taping it to the end of my cut cable, I was able to coax the camera wire through and into the vehicle interior. The camera cable includes a very small connecter, but it's not quite small enough to fit through the rubber conduit containing the rest of the tailgate's electrical leads, so I cut off the connector leaving enough wire to solder it back together. The camera attaches with adhesive, though it is possible to drill tiny holes for small screws if the adhesive ever gives up. Mounting the camera next to a license-plate lamp presented an opportunity to simply select a drill bit the size of my wiring cable and force said spinning drill bit into the corner of the lamp's rectangular hole, creating a void for the cable to pass through next to the lamp bezel. They all come off easily (thanks to YouTube tutorials) using TX10 and/or TX20 Torx fasteners. This being a Smart car, such installations involve removing the plastic OUTER panel in question, never the inner panel. My skim of the instructions missed the explanation that to use a camera you must go into a settings menu and turn on the camera input jack. With the stereo up and running, the camera image still refused to appear on the screen. Moving these adapter-kit leads required using a super-skinny eyeglass-repair screwdriver to depress the retainer tang on the connectors that needed to move, clicking them back into their new spots. Turns out a power lead and the ground were swapped, which blew a fuse. A big raspberry to the Metra Turbo Wire folks! Using a voltage meter, I determined which leads on the Smart harness supplied constant battery voltage, ignition-on voltage, and ground. Comparing the install kit's harness against the end connected to the car, I discovered that both sides had several voids-in different locations. So I ordered a Pioneer MVH-1400NEX head unit, a Pioneer ND-BC8 rear-view camera ($100), and the requisite installation kits to adapt the head unit to the dash and to the stereo's wiring and antenna to the Smart's wiring (sites like sell these separately for $15, $13, and $8 but they typically throw them in for free when purchasing the stereo).īefore mounting a new stereo, always double-check connections, plug everything in, reconnect the battery, key the ignition on, and try everything out. A Korean-made Dual brand unit at Walmart sells for $184 and matches most features with a bit more power output than the Thai-manufactured Pioneer (240 watts versus 200), but the Dual lacks an Aux-jack input-still a useful feature for connecting the oldest devices like a Walkman, Discman, vintage iPod, or our portable SiriusXM player. Priced at $349 on popular catalogue sites, it's not the cheapest way to get these features. Weeks later at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, I discovered a new entry-level stereo on the lavish Pioneer stand featuring Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and rearview camera compatibility, with a big, bright, high-def 6.2-inch capacitive-touch screen.
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