Can I Connect Wireless Back Up Camera To Running Light Circuit

Updated 07/03/2019 | Published 07/02/2019

Question:

I have a Yama digital wireless back up camera . I also want to hook it up to my trailer running lights . I have 3 wires brown , red and white . The camera has two wires black and red . The distance between the camera and the monitor is about 25 feet . Will this work and which wires should I use .

asked by: Richard

Expert Reply:

The wires from the wireless back up camera are ground and the other goes to the reverse light circuit. I am not sure which function is which color on your camera so you would want to check the installation manual for that information. You can connect to the running light circuit instead of the reverse light circuit so that you can use the running lights/head lights of your vehicle to activate it.

You would need to use a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 to test the wires on the trailer to see which one is the running light wire. Most often the running light wire is brown but it sounds like you may have two running light wires which can be common. You can test the wires by using a jumper wire from the positive pin of a 12V car battery to apply voltage to all the wires to see which functions apply. You may be able to trace the wires back to the tail lights as well to know where they go. If you do have 2 running light wires you can just splice into one of them.

expert reply by: Heather A