Vehicle Camera Wiring - Please Help!

[XoVoX]

I'm not an electrical genius by any means so any assistance you can offer would be much appreciated! If I've posted this in the wrong section or I'm breaking any rules I apologize in advance



So my situation is I'd like to make a modification to my truck to have a forward facing camera. Currently the truck has a reverse camera that only displays when in reverse, the problem with this function is I can only see the ball hitch when in reverse and if I need to pull forward to re-align I lose track of the orientation.

Ultimately I'd like to wire a switch into my dash where I could have three positions. When I press "up" I'd like the forward camera to display in my mirror, when I press "down" I'd like the rear camera to display and in the center position I'd like it to default to normal operation. Then in the "center" position it would operate normally. Default operation has a bypass wire so that it only comes on in reverse, I don't know if the wire only supplies power to the display when in reverse or if it supplies power to both camera and monitor when in reverse.

If I cant keep this functionality being able to manually turn on and off would be fine. They are 12v cameras so I'm assuming I can wire it into any existing 12v supply that comes on with the key on, I wouldn't want to be able to "forget" they were on and kill my battery. I require this for parking situations and monitoring how close my grill guard is to bump gates (If you're unfamiliar with the gate its simply held closed under tension and you "bump" it with your vehicle to get it open so you can drive through.)

What type of switch would I need and can anyone shed light on how I'd have to wire it? Also if more information is needed I will do what I can to supply it, thanks again!

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Thinking out loud:

It should not be that difficult to find the reverse switch wire, but now days who knows it could be a CAN communications bus.
If you found the wire, it's not too hard to make it activate from two places independently, but you also have to figure out if it goes to ground or + to activate.

Another option is to delay the off signal for the camera, say for a few minutes. So, it just stays on. A cooler, but more difficult OFF would be to turn off after 10 minutes or if the vehicle reaches 10 mph. Again, much harder but maybe more convenient and maybe impossible. It's just an idea.

Your other problem has two issues: 1) Switching video feeds and 2) The front camera would be non mirror image.
I think the camera or the monitor can do the reversal depending on the camera.

Can we assume NTSC or PAL standards or something else?

This could be really tough.

Here is an example of what's called a DIODE OR: **broken link removed**
Say the camera comes on when ground is supplied from the reverse switch. A diode can isolate the reverse switch and isolate your switch. SO, the switches don't interact. It may already have a diode there and you need to add an extra one.

See this: http://www.clarkwire.com/TX-MVXManualRmtControlledVideoSwitch-2x1-BNC.htm

I'll add this as well: **broken link removed**

 

[dr pepper]

I think I have this straight,
You want the system to work as it should with the switch centred, with the switch up you want to view the forward cam as long as the ign is on, and with the switch down you want the rear cam as long as the switch is on.
You could do this with a switch and a relay, or you could do it with a rotary switch with 'normal', 'front' and 'rear' positions, the wiring would be a little tricky, however if I got your description correct I think you'll be able to do this without any electronics.