How-To: Install Backup Camera With Or Without Factory Nav GMT900.

[clintg]

Due to an unfortunate incident with a fire hydrant, I decided to install a backup camera in my Sierra. My requirements were to keep the truck looking stock, without losing onstar functionality, and no wire taps / splicing of the factory harness.

 

My truck does not have the nav system or the Bose system in it, but does have onstar. I did not want to install a screen on the dash, could not afford to put in the factory nav unit, and did not want to go with an after deck.

 

On the GM accessory website, they list an option to install a backup camera that is displayed on the rear view mirror. The problem with is that it require RPO code YE9 (Comfort and Convenience Package, which my truck doesn't have), and is $1000. For that price, I might as well install a factor nav unit from eBay.

 

So I looked into a kit from Mito corp. (gentex reseller). Mito offers a kit for about $450, but does not include the camera itself, so add about $90. Autostrata also offers what they refer to as the "factory original" camera system. This kit is listed at $399, plus an additional $200 if you don't have the factory nav unit (since they need to supply the rear view mirror with the kit). These both seemed too expensive.

 

For anyone looking into the Gentex kits, there are two that will work for the GMT-900's, 50-GENK356a and 50-GENK356b. 50-GENK356a is described as being plug and play, were the 50-GENK356b uses flying leads. The Mito rep told me that the plug and play will require having a large connector that is visible, but is recommended for self installs, where the flying leads were leant more for professional installs. Both these kits looks like good options, I just didn't want to spend that much money.

 

So I started watching eBay, and spotted what looked like the same rear view mirror in the Mito kit. The part is Gentex GNTX-657 and GM part number 25794381. This is the same mirror that GM has in their $1000 kit. So I purchased this, and started looking into how to make it work with my truck. My first problem that I encountered was that the wiring harness that plugs into my mirror only has pins 8, 11, 12, 14 and 15. Looking up only, I found out that pin 8 is ground and pin 11, 12, 14 and 15 are all used for onstar.

 

I think this is where the YE9 - Comfort and Convenience Package option comes in. My truck does not have the required pin 9 (reverse) and pin 13 (ignition switch 12 volt) that are required for the auto dimming and auto dimming suppression when backing up functionality. In the past, this is all that these two pins did, but now that there is a LCD screen in the mirror, pin 9 activates the screen (and still suppresses auto dimming in reverse). Using the gmupfitter electrical manuals, I discovered that pin 9 on the back of the mirror needs to be connected to MBEC X10 connector, cavity 8 and pin 13 on the back of the mirror should be connected to MBEC X9 connector, cavity 1. When looking at the MBEC, the X10 connector is the grey connector in the top right. X9 is the Black connector below X10. If you already have an auto dimming mirror, or have the appropriate option packages, you likely already have these two connectors installed.

 

After connecting these two, I now have a functioning auto dimming mirror.

 

For the camera, I went with the same setup that rex-r-us used. I order a yantech CCD camera with LED nighttime lighting from eBay user yantechusa for $89.99 - $7.20 Bing bucks. This turned out to be a great camera, with excellent picture both day and night. I did have one problem when mounting the installing the camera. The threaded ring that holds the camera in kept jumping a tooth whenever it got close to being tight. I simply put a piece of electrical tape across the threads, making the threaded ring much tighter.

 

The wires then go from here, and are passed through the bottom of the tailgate and are run up to the driver's side kick panel, behind the MBEC through the firewall. Power also needs to be run for the camera. I connected the camera power to the same pin I used for reverse on the mirror, MBEC connector X10, cavity 8. For the video connection, under the truck bed, I converted it to two wires instead of RCA, and wrap a ground wire around it to shield from noise as recommended by grumman at acadiaforum.net.

 

From here, the two camera wires are routed up to the rear view mirror. These two wires are connected to the mirror using pin 7 and 8. Previously these two pins where used for connecting to the temperature probe on the front grill of the vehicle. Coincidentally, 2009 is the first year that GM offers the camera as an option, and it is the first time that the temperature is displayed in the DIC. I believe this is because the mirror harness pins have been re-assigned.

 

Supplies needed to hook this up:

 

Rear view mirror: you can either use one of the Gentex kits, or source out a used mirror from the wreckers by looking for part number 25794381 (GNTX-657).

 

Camera: I am very happy with the yantech camera. There are many different options that work, as long as there is RCA composite output.

 

Pins for the back of the mirror: even though the connector says Delphi on it, it actually used AMP / TYCO terminals 175265-1. These are available on mouser.com for very cheap.

 

Pins for the MBEC connectors:

 

Delphi part numbers 15304710 and 15304720. 15304710 used for the 20 gauge wire running up to the mirror. 15304720 is used if both the mirror and backup camera are to connect to the same pin on the MBEC. These parts can be ordered from mouser as well.

 

If you want to install waterproof connectors at the back of the truck (so you can remove your tailgate), they can e ordered from mouser as well. I have not looked into the exact items yet though, so you will need to figure this out.

 

Total cost for everything is at about $300, including mirror and camera.

 

What's left:

 

I still need to find a large grommet for the end of the truck bed that will allow for two sealed connectors to pass through. I also have to order the sealed connectors for the same location. Until I figure this out, I can't take off my tailgate.

 

Sorry if this seemed really long winded, but the information that I gathered here was not all brought together anywhere else to be a working solution.

 

BTW, this solution will work for anyone that has a nav unit as well, in case you don't want to deal with the lock pick interface or gm to re-program their nav unit to get the backup camera working. I actually came across a study that GM did that stated the backup camera is more effective when in the rear view mirror since it is more intuitive to look there.

 

References and thanks:

 

Thank to Grumman from acadiaforum.net for discovering that the Gentex 356 mirrors are the same as the Gentex 657 mirror that is offered on eBay.

 

Rex-r-us for a great camera solution.

 

Autostrata.com for publishing what seems to be the GM manual for installing their $1000 kit.

 

Mito for answering one of my questions, and answering other users question that are posted online.

 

GMupfitter.com for supplying all the electrical manuals.

 

Please use the information in this post as informational, I cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or damage that results of it. Also, disconnect the battery whenever messing around with the electrical stuff.

 

[omlifecrew]

Hey,

Towards the end of your post you state to connect the two camera wires to pin 7 and 8 of the ISRVM. As I was reading the Autostrata guide it says to repin into cavity 6 and 7. Did you come across this issue? or is this a typo?

 

Thanks

Chris

Due to an unfortunate incident with a fire hydrant, I decided to install a backup camera in my Sierra. My requirements were to keep the truck looking stock, without losing onstar functionality, and no wire taps / splicing of the factory harness.

 

My truck does not have the nav system or the Bose system in it, but does have onstar. I did not want to install a screen on the dash, could not afford to put in the factory nav unit, and did not want to go with an after deck.

 

On the GM accessory website, they list an option to install a backup camera that is displayed on the rear view mirror. The problem with is that it require RPO code YE9 (Comfort and Convenience Package, which my truck doesn't have), and is $1000. For that price, I might as well install a factor nav unit from eBay.

 

So I looked into a kit from Mito corp. (gentex reseller). Mito offers a kit for about $450, but does not include the camera itself, so add about $90. Autostrata also offers what they refer to as the "factory original" camera system. This kit is listed at $399, plus an additional $200 if you don't have the factory nav unit (since they need to supply the rear view mirror with the kit). These both seemed too expensive.

 

For anyone looking into the Gentex kits, there are two that will work for the GMT-900's, 50-GENK356a and 50-GENK356b. 50-GENK356a is described as being plug and play, were the 50-GENK356b uses flying leads. The Mito rep told me that the plug and play will require having a large connector that is visible, but is recommended for self installs, where the flying leads were leant more for professional installs. Both these kits looks like good options, I just didn't want to spend that much money.

 

So I started watching eBay, and spotted what looked like the same rear view mirror in the Mito kit. The part is Gentex GNTX-657 and GM part number 25794381. This is the same mirror that GM has in their $1000 kit. So I purchased this, and started looking into how to make it work with my truck. My first problem that I encountered was that the wiring harness that plugs into my mirror only has pins 8, 11, 12, 14 and 15. Looking up only, I found out that pin 8 is ground and pin 11, 12, 14 and 15 are all used for onstar.

 

I think this is where the YE9 - Comfort and Convenience Package option comes in. My truck does not have the required pin 9 (reverse) and pin 13 (ignition switch 12 volt) that are required for the auto dimming and auto dimming suppression when backing up functionality. In the past, this is all that these two pins did, but now that there is a LCD screen in the mirror, pin 9 activates the screen (and still suppresses auto dimming in reverse). Using the gmupfitter electrical manuals, I discovered that pin 9 on the back of the mirror needs to be connected to MBEC X10 connector, cavity 8 and pin 13 on the back of the mirror should be connected to MBEC X9 connector, cavity 1. When looking at the MBEC, the X10 connector is the grey connector in the top right. X9 is the Black connector below X10. If you already have an auto dimming mirror, or have the appropriate option packages, you likely already have these two connectors installed.

 

After connecting these two, I now have a functioning auto dimming mirror.

 

For the camera, I went with the same setup that rex-r-us used. I order a yantech CCD camera with LED nighttime lighting from eBay user yantechusa for $89.99 - $7.20 Bing bucks. This turned out to be a great camera, with excellent picture both day and night. I did have one problem when mounting the installing the camera. The threaded ring that holds the camera in kept jumping a tooth whenever it got close to being tight. I simply put a piece of electrical tape across the threads, making the threaded ring much tighter.

 

The wires then go from here, and are passed through the bottom of the tailgate and are run up to the driver's side kick panel, behind the MBEC through the firewall. Power also needs to be run for the camera. I connected the camera power to the same pin I used for reverse on the mirror, MBEC connector X10, cavity 8. For the video connection, under the truck bed, I converted it to two wires instead of RCA, and wrap a ground wire around it to shield from noise as recommended by grumman at acadiaforum.net.

 

From here, the two camera wires are routed up to the rear view mirror. These two wires are connected to the mirror using pin 7 and 8. Previously these two pins where used for connecting to the temperature probe on the front grill of the vehicle. Coincidentally, 2009 is the first year that GM offers the camera as an option, and it is the first time that the temperature is displayed in the DIC. I believe this is because the mirror harness pins have been re-assigned.

 

Supplies needed to hook this up:

 

Rear view mirror: you can either use one of the Gentex kits, or source out a used mirror from the wreckers by looking for part number 25794381 (GNTX-657).

 

Camera: I am very happy with the yantech camera. There are many different options that work, as long as there is RCA composite output.

 

Pins for the back of the mirror: even though the connector says Delphi on it, it actually used AMP / TYCO terminals 175265-1. These are available on mouser.com for very cheap.

 

Pins for the MBEC connectors:

 

Delphi part numbers 15304710 and 15304720. 15304710 used for the 20 gauge wire running up to the mirror. 15304720 is used if both the mirror and backup camera are to connect to the same pin on the MBEC. These parts can be ordered from mouser as well.

 

If you want to install waterproof connectors at the back of the truck (so you can remove your tailgate), they can e ordered from mouser as well. I have not looked into the exact items yet though, so you will need to figure this out.

 

Total cost for everything is at about $300, including mirror and camera.

 

What's left:

 

I still need to find a large grommet for the end of the truck bed that will allow for two sealed connectors to pass through. I also have to order the sealed connectors for the same location. Until I figure this out, I can't take off my tailgate.

 

Sorry if this seemed really long winded, but the information that I gathered here was not all brought together anywhere else to be a working solution.

 

BTW, this solution will work for anyone that has a nav unit as well, in case you don't want to deal with the lock pick interface or gm to re-program their nav unit to get the backup camera working. I actually came across a study that GM did that stated the backup camera is more effective when in the rear view mirror since it is more intuitive to look there.

 

References and thanks:

 

Thank to Grumman from acadiaforum.net for discovering that the Gentex 356 mirrors are the same as the Gentex 657 mirror that is offered on eBay.

 

Rex-r-us for a great camera solution.

 

Autostrata.com for publishing what seems to be the GM manual for installing their $1000 kit.

 

Mito for answering one of my questions, and answering other users question that are posted online.

 

GMupfitter.com for supplying all the electrical manuals.

 

Please use the information in this post as informational, I cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or damage that results of it. Also, disconnect the battery whenever messing around with the electrical stuff.

 

[Gregorio]

Thanks for all the details!

[C. Charles Hahn]

Excellent information here! Do you by chance have any pics you can share as well?

[rick08]

Excellent post clintq, very informative. I have the ye9 comfort and convenience package and a auto dim rear view mirror. Are you saying that this will work for backup cam lcd screen, or would I need a different mirror.

Again, thank's alot for taking the time to post all of your facts and findings.

Rick08

[tehmonstar]

Great post, but how did you wrap the ground wire around after the RCA conversion to the two simple wires? Also how big of a hole did you drill into the tailgate spoiler to fit the camera inside? Did you use a unibit or a hole saw? I'm trying to do the same thing that you and rex-r-us did with your trucks on my 2010 silverado

 

Rick08: Since you have the comfort and convenience package, your truck should be prewired for the rear view camera with the lcd. You will have to purchase that mirror seperately (I suggest looking on eBay). There's an OEM mirror with all of the onstar functions or there is an aftermarket one without any onstar functions, either one will work. You should just plug that mirror in, install a camera and you're good to go. You won't have to do any wiring in the MBEC or on the mirror harness.

[jdewolfe]

My truck also has the YE9 RPO code. So, which part numbers do I need to find to make this work? I should just need the camera and the mirror correct? Also, where does the camera get plugged/wired into?

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[jdewolfe]

bump.

[tehmonstar]

Here is the eBay link to the mirror you need:Back up Mirror

 

There is the same mirror made by Gentex Model GNTX-657. They are the exact same mirror. I would search around on ebay to see if you can find one, but make sure it has onstar controls if you're wanting to keep the onstar option. As for the camera, for this particular setup clintq used the same setup rex-r-us did in this post: Back Up Camera Install

 

That camera is also availible on eBay if you conduct a search for a user named yantechusa, or click here as mentioned in clintq's post. You also have the option to install the tailgate handle camera which is made by GM. I do not know the part number, but it is a little more expensive.

 

As for the camera wiring, it runs down the tailgate, under the truck and to the MBEC and the mirror harness. Please read the end of clintq's post for details on this. You can also look at the wiring information at gmupfitter.com

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Edit: I noticed you drive a 2006 GMC Sierra. Note that this particular install is only for GM trucks 07-10. As for your particular vehicle, your wiring would be different so you would have to check the electrical manuals to see how this is compatible. Or you can search the forums for anyone who may have completed that install.

[j13smiley]

thanks for the info guys!

[JB Z71]

Great write up on the mirror upgrade. I am thinking about doing the same. I am lucky I found the ye9 code in my glove box. (especially since I started scanning the columns from right to left and it was like in about the last column I got to).

 

I have a couple of questions you might be able to answer. I had the dealer put in a homelink when I bought the truck. It is not factory it is 3 smaller butteons than factory but looks and works great. It is installed in the same area as stock. Do you think this has the potential to conflict with the mirror upgrade?

 

Its been a while now since you did yours. Any thing you'd do different or heads up I might think of before starting?

 

Thanks - J

[RW1982]

I'm a rookie with this stuff and have what is probably a dumb question. I have RPO YE9, so if I can get the plug-&-play rearview mirror, where will i have to route wires to? From tailgate to dash only? Or will I also have to route wires from dash to rearview mirror? My assumption is that if the mirror is plug-&-play, i'll only have to bring camera wires to dash panel.

 

Help!!!!!!

Thanks,

Walt

[AzDragonLord]

Good write-up!

[tehmonstar]

hokay, so. After about a year of putting this off, I finally shelled out the money and time to get this back up camera installed. I did a similar install as clintg, except I had the YE9 code, therefore my truck was prewired for the camera. I bought the mirror on eBay (Model GNTX-657). It is the OEM mirror, just in case I decide to renew my onstar I will have full functionality. For the wiring, the guy I bought the mirror from on eBay actually provided me with a RCA video to a positive and negative lead to tap into one of the harnesses on the driver's side kick panel. He was also nice enough to provide a guide for the install which was VERY helpful. It gave exact directions on where to run all the wiring. If you would like this, feel free to email me [email protected] and I'll see if I can scan it in and send you a copy.

 

I ran the video and power down the tailgate via clothes hanger (it was kind of tricky but doesn't take too much time). I then ran them up the grommet underneath the carpet on the driver's side up to the kick panel. Clintg's install was much more complicated because he did not have the YE9 code. If you have it, the install is 10x less of a hassle. I bought the same camera from yantechusa on eBay, which is an excellent camera. Everything is perfectly lit up day and night. Here are some pics, if you have any questions please feel free to ask

 

 

 

 

[LSUTiger]

How did you cut the holes in the bottom of the tailgate and the back of the bed for the wires?