XCarLink questions, tips, tricks, and issues!

[vitchie]

I didn't install the camera in the bootlid yet, I had it in the front with me while testing the xcarlink unit.


Sent from my turbocharged iPhone

[vitchie]

I received the XCarLink unit today and attempted to install it. First I just connected a video source and not the rear view camera, it worked like a dream. Next I connected the rear view camera and when I switched the head unit on, I saw a spark inside the XCarLink unit and there was some smoke as well. The fuse was blown. I disconnected the rear view camera, replaced the fuse, but now it just keeps fuses. The camera’s power cable (red) was connected to the green cable on the xcarlink unit marked Camera +12v.
What is the procedure to follow? Shipping back to the UK will take quite a while and cost quite a bit. Wonder if a local electronics shop can fix it (and lose my warranty, I know) or should I ship it back to them?
I have not opened the unit, warranty seal is still in place, but if there is a change of fixing it locally I don’t mind paying someone here. Having to deal with SA customs is a nightmare.

I wish they will update the instructions as it clearly is meant for a previous version of the product and doesn’t match up with the unit provided.

[autobahnaudi]

You hooked the green +12v to the camera power cable?
The green should go to a 12v reverse switching source like your reverse lights.
Where is the power for the camera hooked to?

Ya but that sucks the fuse in mine was blown on first install it was a 1a fuse I now have 10a fuse and all is well.
You should maybe contact xcarlink and see what they suggest maybe they will cover the additional shipping cost or something under warranty.

[vitchie]

You hooked the green +12v to the camera power cable?
The green should go to a 12v reverse switching source like your reverse lights.
Where is the power for the camera hooked to?

Ya but that sucks the fuse in mine was blown on first install it was a 1a fuse I now have 10a fuse and all is well.
You should maybe contact xcarlink and see what they suggest maybe they will cover the additional shipping cost or something under warranty.

Yes the camera's red power was connected to the green cable and the camera's black cable to earth. The instructions mentions nothing about that cable. Doesn't it pick up that you're in reverse through the CAN interface?

[vitchie]

You hooked the green +12v to the camera power cable?
The green should go to a 12v reverse switching source like your reverse lights.
Where is the power for the camera hooked to?

Ya but that sucks the fuse in mine was blown on first install it was a 1a fuse I now have 10a fuse and all is well.
You should maybe contact xcarlink and see what they suggest maybe they will cover the additional shipping cost or something under warranty.

Yes the camera's red power was connected to the green cable and the camera's black cable to earth. The instructions mentions nothing about that cable. Doesn't it pick up that you're in reverse through the CAN interface?

[autobahnaudi]

Ya I thought that also, no it doesn't know you are reverse via the can-interface it needs to be told through a 12v reverese source (reverse lights).
This how I hooked my carmera up.
Red from camera to reverse lights to supply power only when in reverse.
Black to ground.
Then the green wire from the xcarlink, I added extra wire to run from the glovebox where I have it mounted to the trunck then hooked it to the reverse light also.
(Side Note) I would get a lot of video static, from the back up camera, line scrolling across the screen when the engine was running. Engine off was no problem.
I added dc to dc converter so that camera was only getting 12v dc instead of 13-14 which is what the car makes when engine is on.
This worked for me.

[vitchie]

Cool, thanks for the insight. Wish they explain this in their useless instructions. Did anybody ever open one of these units? Wonder if there is just a electronic component in there that I can replace to get it working again.

[quality_sound]

Ya but that sucks the fuse in mine was blown on first install it was a 1a fuse I now have 10a fuse and all is well.

You might want to rethink that decision. Replacing a fuze with one 10x the rating is not fixing the problem. It's like replacing a 30A fuse for an amp with a 300A fuse because the 30A keeps blowing. It's not safe.

OP - Send it back. It's not worth the risk to you or your car to fart around with something that should work fine and is under warranty.

[vitchie]

Problem is the shipping and duties, will almost cost the same as the unit to ship it back to UK and then back here afterwards.

[hazuremon]

I contacted xcarlink yesterday regarding the green cable (reverse +12), it's for wiring to car's reverse signal and not for camera use...

In my kenwood cmos-200 case, reverse signal detection is not needed as it will be detected by xcarlink...

[NJDeVsFaN]

how do you mount the kenwood? I'd like an OEM finish as xcarlink's camera has you replacing one of the license plate lights...and I have LED's on mine so I don't want to lose that.

[MYFASTA4]

I contacted xcarlink yesterday regarding the green cable (reverse +12), it's for wiring to car's reverse signal and not for camera use...

In my kenwood cmos-200 case, reverse signal detection is not needed as it will be detected by xcarlink...

does that mean theres an additional connection to make the rear cam work? or does the unit automaticly knows?

[quality_sound]

Get in touch with them. They should cover at least the shipping back to you and you don't pay the customs/duties, they do. Use USPS Flat Rate boxes and shipping will be WAY less expensive. Look on the USPS site for the rates but you're going to be quite surprised about how much lower it is than UPS and FedEx.

[autobahnaudi]

[QUOTE=quality_sound;6419092]You might want to rethink that decision. Replacing a fuze with one 10x the rating is not fixing the problem. It's like replacing a 30A fuse for an amp with a 300A fuse because the 30A keeps blowing. It's not safe. [QUOTE]

Agreed I was not saying to do that I forgot to mention I have changed mine back to the 1a already I just had to order one off the net since I couldn't get one here.
Sorry if that was mis leading.

[vitchie]

Red from camera to reverse lights to supply power only when in reverse.
Then the green wire from the xcarlink, I added extra wire to run from the glove box where I have it mounted to the trunk then hooked it to the reverse light also.

Just a question, essentially that is what I did minus connecting to the reverse light, on yours green is essentially also connected to camera's red. Why would mine have blown then?

[pierbout]

This is how I understood that it works. Can someone confirm?

-AV1 and AV2 are selected via the button, and the camera video is selected when you give 12V to the green plug. This occurs, for example, if you put the green plug to permanent 12V (with a switch),
or if you plug it to the reverse 12v of the reverse light. Then, when you put the gear in reverse, you hear the xcarlink switch (and you get a black screen). If you change the gear again, you get the initial screen back.
So the green plug is used as a switch, but it doen't provide energy to anything.

-the camera needs the black plug to the ground and the red plug to 12v. One way to get 12v, as it will be used on reverse, is to plug it to reverse 12v of the reverse light

As a conclusion, the red plug of the camera and the green plug of xcarlink should be both connected to the reverse 12v of the reverse light


This is what I did. When I put in reverse, the screen switches, the IR lights of the camera switch on... but I don't get picture on the screen yet (but if I use the camera of my still camera, it works).
So I think I have a bad contact somewhere

[MYFASTA4]

dont you have to wire the rear cam to the stop light to keep the light that comes on over the lic plate?

i wouldnt wire them both together

[MYFASTA4]

VERSION 3 looks like this: but it doesnt have a connector for the gps ant, that part is empty. other difference i found is that the cable going to the lcd screen is pre wire for touch screen, i wonder if this is something in the works , or it was just cheaper to make like this and re use from

[pierbout]

dont you have to wire the rear cam to the stop light to keep the light that comes on over the lic plate?
i wouldnt wire them both together .

There are two kinds of rear cameras with leds:
-IR leds: switched on in the same time as the camera. It uses the same red and black cables as the camera
-white leds to light the plate: they use the oem cables of the plate light. They are used to light the plate and not to light what is in front of the camera

[malish]

Do you have an OEM reverse camera? Just wondering if Xcarlink displays these lines and adjusts them based on the steering input even if the car was not equiped with the reverse camera from the factory, or if its a plain video feed from the cam.

[vitchie]

Do you have an OEM reverse camera? Just wondering if Xcarlink displays these lines and adjusts them based on the steering input even if the car was not equiped with the reverse camera from the factory, or if its a plain video feed from the cam.

The camera that comes with the XCarLink unit outputs the lines, whether you connect it to xcarlink or just normal tv. The lines look different than the picture above, it has distances marked as well. It doesn't change direction with turning the steering wheel.

[fayazpunjani]

Hi ZLC022,

I have the same issue as you (no sound from av, no bluetooth sound). I have a new model (2008>) Audi A4 B8, with no AMI or MMI and no Aux input... will this solution work for my car ?

Thanks !

[nebuchadnezzar]

Me too. I have instaledl SKU2539 - Audi Multimedia Video Interface new Audi A4 A5 Q5 (B8) 2008> . Backup camera and video-in works fine, but I lost the sound from voice command and bluetooth. Please post detail solution if you have one. Thanks!

[vitchie]

As ZLC022 said, you need to move the 2 connectors in the harness (blue and green) to the xcarlink connector that goes into the back of the radio. I did that and my oem bluetooth is working perfectly.

[autobahnaudi]

3) After about 30 seconds rolling white lines apear when car in reverse... it's starts off perfect picture, then the lines - about 2 - 3 cm- apart, starts rolling from the bottom...

You need a resistor for your back up cam to regulate volatge take it to your local car video/audio shop and they can do it for cheap I paid 30 dollars for them to fix the lines on mine.
I only paid cause I was tired of dealing with it my self. The lines where very annoying though.

[vitchie]

You need a resistor for your back up cam to regulate volatge take it to your local car video/audio shop and they can do it for cheap I paid 30 dollars for them to fix the lines on mine.
I only paid cause I was tired of dealing with it my self. The lines where very annoying though.

I tried a couple of capacitors and eventually gave up. Found a much easier solution, just took switched 12v from the rear fusebox instead. Works like a charm without any of the interference lines caused by the pulsated reverse light wire.

[autobahnaudi]

I tried a couple of capacitors and eventually gave up. Found a much easier solution, just took switched 12v from the rear fusebox instead. Works like a charm without any of the interference lines caused by the pulsated reverse light wire.

Just curious which 12v source you tapped in to I wanted to do that originally but since I didn't have the factory back up camera that fuse was missing. Is it a constanst 12v so your camera is always on or is a reverse only 12v source?

[frozone]

Do you have to have Navigation for a backup camera? I just bought an '09 Prestige (being shipped here). In the description it says it has navigation, but after looking at pictures and then comparing, it does not... and now the dealership just confirmed it does not have NAV. It supposedly has the B&O system, though...

[jaysen]

I'm in the middle of my install and cannot figure out how the hell to remove the Glovebox. I've got the AMI box out and a total of 9 screws; 7 inside and 2 underneath. It seems to be latched on at the top right however I can't seem to find any more screws holding it in place.

Any help would be appreciated - its 3am PST !!!

On a side note - before I began my install I went ahead and opened up the new Version 4 box I received... Check out the slot for SD + markings for GPS ANT. Curious if this is something we can eventually modify to output GPS or if XCarlink has future plans







Right corner is where I assume the female GPS ANT connector would go

[NJDeVsFaN]

Pop out the side panel where the fuse box is and there is a screw there that holds the glove box.

[jaysen]

ERRRR! I knew it, I was trying to pry it off but it wasn't coming off and eventually convinced myself it was suppose to come off when the glove came off. I'm gonna go back downstairs and fiddle with it.

[NJDeVsFaN]

What does the SD slot do?

[jaysen]

What does the SD slot do?

No Idea - Nothing, I'm assuming but haven't tested just yet and to be quite honest don't know what to test with...

[joshpbrown5]

I am installing a rear camera in my 2009 A4. I cant figure out if the camera i have is bad, or if i am not hooking up power correctly. I am trying to tap my right rear tail light. There are 4 wires...black w/ white stripe, brown and 2 grey wires. The black w/ white is the reverse power. I think I connect the red(positive) wire from the camera to the black w/ white. I am not sure where to plug the black(neg) from the camera, so i just tried the brown. I get a picture with a bunch of lines going through it, but no camera image... Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[joshpbrown5]

Also - i have the Xcarlink. thanks for any advice.

[MYFASTA4]

I use a tap a fuse, there's a fuse thing on the right side of the trunk, but if u must use the reverse light the brown is negative and white with a black stripe is positive

[joshpbrown5]

I use a tap a fuse, there's a fuse thing on the right side of the trunk, but if u must use the reverse light the brown is negative and white with a black stripe is positive

Great - thank you for clarifying. I will try the fuse tap. I suppose I can find the correct fuse to tap - but never having done this before - where does the negative (black) wire go? Can i just ground it to something or is there a better spot in the fuse box? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I appreciate your help.

[MYFASTA4]

There's a place really close to the box , you will see a screw with a bunch of brown wires attach to it near by , you can use that for ground, I'll see if if I can a picture

[DavidB8]

[MYFASTA4]

Great - thank you for clarifying. I will try the fuse tap. I suppose I can find the correct fuse to tap - but never having done this before - where does the negative (black) wire go? Can i just ground it to something or is there a better spot in the fuse box? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I appreciate your help.

make sure if you tap the fuse to use one that doesnt stay on all the time. i was going to copy the picture in website david, thats it