Rear Side View Camera Trick

ArTurf · May 22, 2020

The camera I'm talking about is the one that comes on when you have a trailer connected and a turn signal is on. I recently installed a camper top so I thought this camera view might be handy since I don't have a good rear view mirror picture. I took a test plug for the 7 wire trailer connector and hooked it up and now the truck thinks a trailer is hooked up so the camera comes on when a turn signal is activated. I think this will come in handy when changing lanes on the highway. Not breaking news but thought I'd let everyone know

OnTheReel · May 22, 2020

Doesn’t that also disable rear park assist, cross traffic alert and lane change alert though? Every time I plug a trailer into my 19, that stuff is automatically turned off.

Bluecon1 · May 23, 2020

Following this thread as well. I tried a digital trailer plug tester and it did not trigger my cameras to come on with the turn signal. A great feature but not at the expense of turning off other features. I'm interested in what others find here.

BigMick2023 · May 23, 2020

I'm very interested in this....

I don't have the safety package so not concerned about that.......does this work on every Silverado with the 7-pin trailer connector?

Anything else it might affect?

Cool....

Edited May 23, 2020 by BigMick2020

morrislee · May 28, 2020

I am sure this does disable bunch of features too, but I am wondering if there is a better way than leaving something plugged in. Maybe wire of the ground to something will make it think something is connected.

2020 SLT owner · June 3, 2020

I did not have a front camera so I did a similar thing using the interior trailer input for the front camera. Since the camera will not work without a trailer hooked up, I have a toggle switch under the dash connecting a light to the trailer harness that turns the camera on and off. The only time I use the front camera is off road to see what is right in front of the bumper. Leaving the switch off keeps the rear park alert system working and you can turn the camera on and off at anytime. Only bad thing is the interior trailer camera input is inverted like the rear trailer camera. Don't have a fix for that.

morrislee · June 3, 2020

9 hours ago, 2020 SLT owner said:

I did not have a front camera so I did a similar thing using the interior trailer input for the front camera. Since the camera will not work without a trailer hooked up, I have a toggle switch under the dash connecting a light to the trailer harness that turns the camera on and off. The only time I use the front camera is off road to see what is right in front of the bumper. Leaving the switch off keeps the rear park alert system working and you can turn the camera on and off at anytime. Only bad thing is the interior trailer camera input is inverted like the rear trailer camera. Don't have a fix for that.

Would you mind identifying which pins triggers the vehicle for trailer hookup?

2020 SLT owner · June 4, 2020

#1 white is ground. #3 brown tail light. #5 Left turn. #6 green Right turn. Any one of the lights to ground using a non LED or an LED with enough load will trigger the trailer cameras. I used a 3 pole switch and switched all 3 lights. I found you get a couple more light error messages. the messages do not affect anything. Just ignore or dismiss. When you turn the switch off, the trailer disconnected message appears.

I used a Curt connector that gives you the jack in the bed of the truck for 5th wheel hook up. I spliced into those wires so there is no disturbing factory wiring. The four conductor shielded wire ran with the wiring along the passenger side and came up thru the passenger side panel and over to the drivers side under the dash. I made an angle iron bracket that I drilled to match a plastic bracket that is there and has a 3/8 hole.

I wish I would have located the 5th wheel trailer jack on the same side as the 110 volt outlet. I positioned the jack so the swing up handle would miss it, but if a plug is in there the handle cannot be swung up without removing it. I don't have a 5th wheel but a 7 pin to 12 volt adapter gives me a source for my electric refer or coffee pot since the 110 volt 400 watt inverter outlet is too wimpy to do much.

I have a 2020 1500 SLT without the Tech package. I do have the bed view camera with the two trailer camera inputs. Reading all the post, it seems the cameras work different for different trims.

morrislee · October 7, 2021

On 6/3/2020 at 6:03 PM, 2020 SLT owner said:

#1 white is ground. #3 brown tail light. #5 Left turn. #6 green Right turn. Any one of the lights to ground using a non LED or an LED with enough load will trigger the trailer cameras. I used a 3 pole switch and switched all 3 lights. I found you get a couple more light error messages. the messages do not affect anything. Just ignore or dismiss. When you turn the switch off, the trailer disconnected message appears.

I used a Curt connector that gives you the jack in the bed of the truck for 5th wheel hook up. I spliced into those wires so there is no disturbing factory wiring. The four conductor shielded wire ran with the wiring along the passenger side and came up thru the passenger side panel and over to the drivers side under the dash. I made an angle iron bracket that I drilled to match a plastic bracket that is there and has a 3/8 hole.

I wish I would have located the 5th wheel trailer jack on the same side as the 110 volt outlet. I positioned the jack so the swing up handle would miss it, but if a plug is in there the handle cannot be swung up without removing it. I don't have a 5th wheel but a 7 pin to 12 volt adapter gives me a source for my electric refer or coffee pot since the 110 volt 400 watt inverter outlet is too wimpy to do much.

I have a 2020 1500 SLT without the Tech package. I do have the bed view camera with the two trailer camera inputs. Reading all the post, it seems the cameras work different for different trims.

I have purchased Tow Ready 20142 7-Way as you have suggested from another post, this works flawless! Do you have a picture, part number or a link to purchase the curt connector you are referring to? I also want to do a switch, but maybe using the signal switch with relay, so they work without needing to flip a switch

Dufus · December 27, 2021

Which plug did you use? My test plug doesnt work?

Tom L M · May 2, 2023

I have been trying several things and I finally was able to make it work. For a temp test I took an adapter plug that was 7 pin to a flat four. I then took a wire harness for a flat four and plugged it into it after I wired all four leads. The three hot leads (2 turn signals, 1 run light) with 3 bulbs. Then took the second wire from each bulb and connected all three together to the ground wire on the flat four harness. So you end up with 3 bulbs wired to 3 diff leads, and all three wired together to one ground. This does not stop my back up censors or any other part of my safety features. ( I have the safety package on a 2023 AT4 ) After testing I took off all that and instead of wiring three bulbs through the adaptor and the flat four harness, I wired the 3 bulbs to the truck leads coming in from the back side of the truck receptacle just as the manufactures came into it to wire it in the first place. Now I have 3 bulbs tucked up into the back side of my bumper that nobody can see and nothing plugged in my receptacle of the truck. You must buy bulbs with two wires ( one to hot lead, one to grounds ) If you dont wire all three hot leads you will get faults telling you something is wrong with the ones you dont wire.

On 5/28/2020 at 6:57 PM, morrislee said:

I am sure this does disable bunch of features too, but I am wondering if there is a better way than leaving something plugged in. Maybe wire of the ground to something will make it think something is connected.

Louis Haney · June 2, 2023

On 5/1/2023 at 6:02 PM, Tom L M said:

I have been trying several things and I finally was able to make it work. For a temp test I took an adapter plug that was 7 pin to a flat four. I then took a wire harness for a flat four and plugged it into it after I wired all four leads. The three hot leads (2 turn signals, 1 run light) with 3 bulbs. Then took the second wire from each bulb and connected all three together to the ground wire on the flat four harness. So you end up with 3 bulbs wired to 3 diff leads, and all three wired together to one ground. This does not stop my back up censors or any other part of my safety features. ( I have the safety package on a 2023 AT4 ) After testing I took off all that and instead of wiring three bulbs through the adaptor and the flat four harness, I wired the 3 bulbs to the truck leads coming in from the back side of the truck receptacle just as the manufactures came into it to wire it in the first place. Now I have 3 bulbs tucked up into the back side of my bumper that nobody can see and nothing plugged in my receptacle of the truck. You must buy bulbs with two wires ( one to hot lead, one to grounds ) If you dont wire all three hot leads you will get faults telling you something is wrong with the ones you dont wire.

Add a normally closed relay in series with ground and controlled by a lead from backup light.

Louis Haney · June 2, 2023

On 5/1/2023 at 6:02 PM, Tom L M said:

I have been trying several things and I finally was able to make it work. For a temp test I took an adapter plug that was 7 pin to a flat four. I then took a wire harness for a flat four and plugged it into it after I wired all four leads. The three hot leads (2 turn signals, 1 run light) with 3 bulbs. Then took the second wire from each bulb and connected all three together to the ground wire on the flat four harness. So you end up with 3 bulbs wired to 3 diff leads, and all three wired together to one ground. This does not stop my back up censors or any other part of my safety features. ( I have the safety package on a 2023 AT4 ) After testing I took off all that and instead of wiring three bulbs through the adaptor and the flat four harness, I wired the 3 bulbs to the truck leads coming in from the back side of the truck receptacle just as the manufactures came into it to wire it in the first place. Now I have 3 bulbs tucked up into the back side of my bumper that nobody can see and nothing plugged in my receptacle of the truck. You must buy bulbs with two wires ( one to hot lead, one to grounds ) If you dont wire all three hot leads you will get faults telling you something is wrong with the ones you dont wire.

Louis Haney · June 2, 2023

Install a normally closed contact relay in series with the ground and light leads connected together. Connect the relay coil to the backup light switched lead.

While driving forward ground is connected to three bypass lights. While in reverse backup light circuit is activated thereby activating NC relay which opens ground to the three bypass lights, WALAA, disconnecting cameras and the system no longer thinks there is a trailer back there.