I'm currently in the process of installing a reverse camera for my car, and I've hit a bit of a roadblock. I need some assistance deciphering the wiring on my reverse light holder.

 

 

The reverse light holder has three wires attached to it, two black wires and one yellow wire. I'm assuming one of these wires is for the ground, one is for the power, and the other might be for something else entirely. However, without a wiring diagram or specific guidance, I'm hesitant to proceed. My goal is to tap into the 12VDC power from the reverse light in order to power the reverse camera. But with the presence of these multiple wires, I'm not quite sure which one to connect to.

 

If anyone has experience with installing reverse cameras or is knowledgeable about car wiring, I would greatly appreciate your input.

You sound a bit of a DIYer... Do you not own a multimeter? Easy to touch one lead to earth and use the other to touch each of the 3 wires in turn till you get a 12v supply that you seek when ignition on and reverse gear selected...

Both the black wires are ground (negative) they just loop through to the next light. The yellow is the live for the reverse light.

 

14 hours ago, StephenFord said:

You sound a bit of a DIYer... Do you not own a multimeter? Easy to touch one lead to earth and use the other to touch each of the 3 wires in turn till you get a 12v supply that you seek when ignition on and reverse gear selected...

Hi Stephen, thank you for your reply. Yes, I do have a multimeter, but it seems the wire connections are sealed pretty well, so there are no metal leads I can test. I'm just trying to play it safe by avoiding cutting the wire for a voltage test.

9 hours ago, unofix said:

Both the black wires are ground (negative) they just loop through to the next light. The yellow is the live for the reverse light.

 

Hi Unofix, thank you for your reply. If that's the case, I'm comfortable cutting one of the black wires for grounding.

8 hours ago, Adam.A said:

Hi Unofix, thank you for your reply. If that's the case, I'm comfortable cutting one of the black wires for grounding.

Just break into the yellow wire, ground the camera to the body

Personally I'd do as Dave has said and just ground the camera on any metal fixing rather than cutting either of the black wires. There's no harm if you do want to use the wire for the ground it just isn't necessary to do so.

9 hours ago, Adam.A said:

Hi Stephen, thank you for your reply. Yes, I do have a multimeter, but it seems the wire connections are sealed pretty well, so there are no metal leads I can test. I'm just trying to play it safe by avoiding cutting the wire for a voltage test.

Easiest way to test wires without damaging them is to push a pin or needle through the insulation then connect your meter to that.