Ford s-max reverse camera

[Scott79]

I've recently bought Ford s-max 2018 2.0 TDCi. Car came in without reverse camera which I am trying to rectify for the sake of my wife. 
Which camera would you recommend? 
Recently I've purchased interface unit and again I am not sure which camera will work with it.

[Paulius55]

I have the same car and went to these for a reversing camera:

 

https://www.carcommunications.co.uk/ford-s-max-reverse-camera/ford-s-max-reversing-rear-view-camera-kit-sync-3

 

Quite expensive but works well.

[Scott79]

Thank you for your comment and recommendation. I was actually looking at the same product yesterday. Have you had to drill any holes in the car in order to install the camera. And how is the quality of the picture at night time? 

[Paulius55]

No holes were drilled in metal The night vision is excellent, the camera automatically increases in sensitivity when it is dark.

[Scott79]

Would you mind then tell me, how was it attached, is it directly fites where the registration light is?

[Paulius55]

dead centre in the black plastic blanking plate above the number plate

[Scott79]

I am getting my install tomorrow. Would minde to send a photo of the back of your car.

[Paulius55]

will do in the morning

[Paulius55]

Pretty tricky to get a good picture due to light issues.

[Scott79]

Looks good, I've got my done about an hour ago, very pleased.

[Paulius55]

Excellent, it does make a difference when reversing, especially when combined with the all-round sensors.

[Scott79]

I meant to ask you, as I was reading your previous posts regarding heated front windscreen not working- did you actually get it to work?

[Paulius55]

I have reset the battery Monitor (BMS) with FORSCAN and also charged the battery for a day. This then brings the screen heater and stop/start back into operation. There is nothing physically wrong with the screen, it is just the "brain" of the car disabling things if it thinks the battery charge is too low. Of course, in very cold weather the battery charge will be lower as it is a chemical reaction that slows down with colder temperature, so the very time that you need a screen heater the system switches it off to save battery. I suspect that when it gets warmer there will be no problem at all.

[bobmarley2021]

Hi folks. 
 

I have a 20 plate S-Max but I am not entirely sure if this kit is what I need as I believe the 20 is a bit different (facelift?). It’s the S-Line EcoBlue 190 Auto. 
 

I was reading in one of the Focus threads that it’s possible to fit the camera if there is a grey connector present in the wing, then just activate with Forscan. Does anyone know if this is possible on on the 20 plates or if the above kit is needed?
 

This will be the first modification I’ve made to a car in some time, so would appreciate any insight. 🙂

[bobmarley2021]

So having done some research it looks like this is the kit I need, but I would also like to point out that the same kit can be found on AliExpress. Here is one for the Focus: https://a.aliexpress.com/_vLoTh9 it costs £76.84

Or for the S-Max:

1. APIM cable with RCA: https://a.aliexpress.com/_uRxo8r £25.65

2. Camera:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_uzrjFD (Black 8 IR) £9.66

3. Programmer:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_vTa611 £32.20 (Or Forscan!)

 

Total: ~£67.51

 

Notes: that programmer seems to set the Sync3 language choices to English or Mandarin (only those 2 choices are available) so it’s not ideal. 1yr Forscan and OBD adapter is cheaper than that anyway!

 

£67.51 is a pretty penny cheaper than £400 🤔 these guys are making a killing and their camera is inferior to the £9.66 one linked above. Hope this helps someone else!

[31faeefa-f3d1-11eb-9a03-02]

On 4/21/2021 at 11:24 PM, bobmarley2021 said:

So having done some research it looks like this is the kit I need, but I would also like to point out that the same kit can be found on AliExpress. Here is one for the Focus: https://a.aliexpress.com/_vLoTh9 it costs £76.84

Or for the S-Max:

1. APIM cable with RCA: https://a.aliexpress.com/_uRxo8r £25.65

2. Camera:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_uzrjFD (Black 8 IR) £9.66

3. Programmer:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_vTa611 £32.20 (Or Forscan!)

 

Total: ~£67.51

 

Notes: that programmer seems to set the Sync3 language choices to English or Mandarin (only those 2 choices are available) so it’s not ideal. 1yr Forscan and OBD adapter is cheaper than that anyway!

 

£67.51 is a pretty penny cheaper than £400 🤔 these guys are making a killing and their camera is inferior to the £9.66 one linked above. Hope this helps someone else!

I assume with this you still need to run an RCA cable from the dash through to the boot and also pull a power feed from somewhere like the reverse light?

I am very tempted but not keen on ripping the interior apart to do it