Success! RVC install into MK6 Cab :)

[The_Hawk]

After all my readings and ponderings I decided to take a bit of a leap of faith and see what was what in the world of RVC.

I got bored of waiting for ECS so ordered this kit on Tuesday night from Poland for ~AU$460 delivered
VW Rear Emblem Camera KIT - Retrofit - Golf 6

And wow was it well packed and hot damn did it get delivered quickly! It turned up at lunchtime today so was ready and waiting for me when I got home from work.' I really can't recommend these people enough. It really is just a box of awesome!



This kits comes with a full wiring loom and is almost plug and play. Compared to the ECS kit I was looking at before (and the instructions from the ECS website) the wiring seems to be a little different in that it doesn't come with a plug for the reverse light and it seems to have a ground not shown on the ECS diagram. In fact the power, earth and sense light are all bound together with the video line and come out at the front of the car... strange but there you go. Power I understand since it goes to the fuse box, ground… sure why not. But sense? I have to assume there is something you should be tapping it to behind the dash rather than the reverse light that all the other write ups I have read talk about. Sadly the kit didn't ship with instructions and I was too impatient to wait so gave it a bash anyway.





Sadly this is where the picture end as I didn't take the camera down stairs with me. I might be able to

So step 1 involved clearing enough space in the garage for the car to fit in so I could open the drivers door far enough. Damn rain.

Step 2 had me lay all the cables out across the car and test the new camera and opening switch. As it turns out the new part *requires* that additional power line to even open the boot mechanism (where the old stock unit didn't). Seems it must draw a little more much power?? In any case, tapping in some power saw everything working a treat. A few stabs at VCDS and the camera was working nicely too. So the easy part was done and it was time to run and hide all the cables.

Can I say, the wiring supplied is a little interesting. With everything neatly bound together it looks great… However it would be near impossible to run all the connectors through the car and even if you managed that, there is no way you could fit them through the rubber grommet/tube setup into the boot lid.

In my case I cut the ground and sense wire about 6 - 8" from the camera connectors so I could manually splice them into the back later. I also but the power cable leaving the 20 pin cable + a very long length of coax like cable (with everything else still bound together but bare wire ends. Great for threading through tight spots.

So behind the head unit, around the steering column, down past the fuse box, into the door sill/rail cavity (which takes a little squeezing and poking but completely conceals the wiring) the up beside the seat behind the trim, into the boot and up through the rubber grommet into the boot lid.

It sounds easy enough and in reality it was, but 4+ hours and my fingers are sort of numb and my mouth hurts a little from holding the torch (That said I think I could do it again in far far less time given a sunny day and a second pair of hands).

To remove the boot trim there is two screws in the hand holds (marked in yellow) and a whole bunch of metal clips (marked in red). As with most trim pieces it's one of those things you just need to grab and pull. It's a bit scary if you have never done it before, but it does come off pretty easily.



In the boot I re-soldered and heat shrunk the power cable back in place and soldered in the O connector for the ground and used one of the mounting bolts for the camera as a ground point (which seems to work OK). I had a punch down splice connector so used that for the sense wire on the reserving light which only left the power cable to be connected at the front end.

All installed:


Earth Wire:


Tap to the reverse light:

NOTE: I wouldn't usually use this type of connector as they are prone to rattle loose over time, but it was late, dark and I couldn't work out how to disconnect that plug Something I might look at fixing later… but then probably not since it works.


This kit comes with a special little connector so you can drop it into a vacant slot in the fuse box and have a dedicated fuse. I followed this guide here for the new power line:
Addition of extra circuits to the Volkswagen Golf / Jetta / Passat / EOS / Scirocco / Rabbit fuse box | my-gti.com
I couldn't quite get the box out, but did manage to remove the back cover and poke the wire in from behind. I'm not 100% convinced it clicked home completely into the socket, but it won't pull out and everything is working as intended. I only had a spare 15A fuse rather than the 20A all the writes ups I have read talk about so I will swap that out later, but 15A doesn't' seem to have any problems powering this unit in my very brief testing.


So bottom line, the unit seems genuine (it comes from around the corner from Wolfsburg ), it works and it's pretty damn cheap.

My concerns:
* my power wire connection and fuse, but they are easy enough to get at to make sure it's all 100% when I get some daylight.

* The drain pipe… seems the Cabriolet doesn't have one in stock form so I will have to look at getting one. On the assumption that it runs straight down to the little rubber grommet in my boot lid it shouldn't be a big job and one that other MK6'ers shouldn't have to worry about. But if you do:
Install drainage for the Golf Mark VI Rear View Camera (RVC) installed in a Golf Mark V | my-gti.com
SEE BELOW: Now fixed and installed.

* The image seems to have noise from the engine. Not a show stopper by any stretch, but something I want to look into in case I missed something.


But yeah, pretty happy with the outcome


EDIT: The drain pipe. I ordered one over the weekend and picked it up today for the grand sum of $14.65 Sure I could have probably made something up on the cheap… but really, it's under $15.



It looks very easy to install, pull the bung:


Stick the pipe into the hole:


then simply connect it up…
…
…
Then try removing the badge and trying with it all disconnected for a little extra slack…
…
…
Then ask you wife to try since she has small hands…
…
…
Then finally give up and do what I probably should have done in the first place. Unscrew the little white bit and put it onto the pipe, you will need a *tiny* torx bit (the T10 is too big). Luckily I have various bit sets and happened to have one small enough:


And



So now it's all back together and tested working. After a few trips out and about I'm very happy with it. The only thing I need to do is get something behind the car and reference just how close to things I can (or should) be reversing.

On a side note, I don't understand why dealerships don't want to do this install. With the right trim removing tools + some experience + a decent well lit space to work it shouldn't take too long at all to install and it really isn't overly complex. Even if they had to get a "specialist" in who could solder in a couple of wires it's really not rocket science. I had asked a couple of dealers if they could or would install the RVC as have a few people on these forums and everything they say they don't want to touch it?? What's the go there?

[Lucas_R]

Well done on the DIY. Roughly how long did it take you to do the install from start to finish? And are you running the RCD510 or the RNS510 head unit?

[The_Hawk]

I started at about 8pm and finished at about midnight. I think that more light and more space would have made it a whole heap quicker and an extra set of hands really wouldn't have gone astray when threading the cables to help with pulling and/or feeding the slack.

That said, I wouldn't plan on four hours and take any extra time as bonus drinking time

[Ryan_R]

Well done. I just got some old windscreen washer tubing that was from on older car which was a snug fit on the camera, and didn't require widening the exit hole.

[Rob_R]

Nice job and great write up. May I suggest buying a light weight led headlamp torch. It saves you having to hold one in your mouth. I find it much easier to use one when fiddling around with cars in poor light. It also allows me to talk to myself and swear easier when things gets frustrating, lol.

[Idle]

Looks like you did a good job there — it took me longer than that.

The long sense wire would be intended to connect to the reverse light circuit under the dash somewhere — you'd probably need the car's wiring diagram to find it (and most likely pull half the car apart...)

Also, I think the instructions gave you a bum steer on the fuse requirement — if it's the genuine VW part a 5A fuse is specified (the actual drain is no more than 2A when the flap motor is running, the camera's requirement is insignificant (milliamps.))

And yes, the drain goes to the hole filled by the rubber grommet — that's why it's there.

Clark Rubber carry a very suitable plastic tube (you'll have to buy a metre, but it's only cents.) Do install it — you'll get water buildup inside the lid if you don't.

[The_Hawk]

It also allows me to talk to myself and swear easier when things gets frustrating, lol.

I have that part down pat, although last night didn't have any swearing... clearly I was doing it wrong.

[Rob_R]

I have that part down pat, although last night didn't have any swearing... clearly I was doing it wrong.

I always get nervous if all goes too smoothly, haha! Good to hear it wasn't too painful of a fit.

[The_Hawk]

Also, I think the instructions gave you a bum steer on the fuse requirement — if it's the genuine VW part a 5A fuse is specified (the actual drain is no more than 2A when the flap motor is running, the camera's requirement is insignificant (milliamps.))

And yes, the drain goes to the hole filled by the rubber grommet — that's why it's there.

Yeah I figured 20A was a little overkill, but then the write up was talking about tapping into an existing fuse rather than adding your own. I do have some 10A fuses, so I might drop in the lower spec one and see how it goes.

As for the drain pipe, it's ~$15 for the genuine part (5K6 827 861) from the local dealer. The part is ordered so can be dropped in on Monday.

[The_Hawk]

I have updated the first post with some more pictures from the drain pipe install today