Audi TT (8S) Reversing Camera retrofit

[moonstone]

I did this myself at the weekend and thought I’d share. Photos are quite big so all of them are thumbnails. Click on them for full-size images.

The Kit:

I bought this one. It comes pre-calibrated and parameterised for the TT so there no additional work needed after installation: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272685391506

Tools needed:

• Trim removal tools
• Pliers
• Radio Removal Keys
• Electrical cable feeding rod (or a coat hanger or similar)
• Fabric Tape
• A means to join electrical cables (soldering iron or cable taps etc)
• Spanner or socket to disconnect the battery
• OBDeleven, VCDS or similar for coding

Summary of steps:
Here's an outline of the steps required before I get into the specifics.

1. Removal of existing boot handle/registration plate light assembly
2. Removal of interior boot lid trim to route new cable
3. Run cable along the roofline and down the a pillar on the passenger side to reach behind the glove box
4. Removal of multimedia unit inside glove box and and disassembly of the quad-lock connector
5. Splicing 4 wires on the back of the quad lock and the insertion of 2 new ones
6. Reassembly of everything
7. Coding

Method:
Removal of boot lid trim and trunk handle.
1. Remove the cover on boot lock mechanism by releasing two clips on either side using your trim removal tools.



2. Remove the main large plastic cover section from the inside of the boot lid by first releasing the two push-fit fixings. Long-nosed pliers are handy for this as you can first pull out the centre section and then pull out the main part of the fixing. After these two are removed, you should remove the cover for the emergency boot release on the left hand side. It just levers out, if you can get a small flat head screw driver in to unclip it. You then pull the T-shaped part of the cable out of it. Now this has been done just unclip the entire main trim piece by working your way around the edges with your trim removal tools.



3. Next up you want to remove the rest of the boot lid trim that goes around the window etc. There are two more push fit fixings at the bottom of the trim on either side (revealed by the removal of the main section that you've just taken off. After you remove these you work way around both sides with your trim removal tool to release the clips and then just pull it off.



4. Now that the trim is off, you'll want to remove the existing boot handle/license plate light assembly. You do this by releasing the two triangular shaped sections at each end. Don't pull them all the way out as you may snap the clips inside. You just release then and then you can remove the whole assembly. It has a sticky waterproof seal around the back of it so it might be a bit stubborn to remove. Just use a trim removal tool to pry it off. You can then disconnect the existing electrical connector.

 

[moonstone]

5. Now you'll want to start running the new wiring loom that came with the camera kit. A tidy way of doing this is to follow the path of the existing loom. There's a plastic section that acts as a cable guide that unclips. I then used fabric tape to attach it to the existing loom, before connecting it to the two new connectors on the camera assembly before plugging in the existing connector and clipping the new camera/boot handle assembly in place.

 

[moonstone]

6. Now you'll want to run the new loom into the car. You need to get it to the glove box area. First carefully remove the left hand section of trim around the rubber cable gland from the top of the car and free the gland from the body. Do the same with the side on the inside of the boot lid and then run the cable through the gland. Next up I used a cable rod to feed through into the roof section of the car and taped the cable to it before pulling it into the cabin the roof section. Wen running the cable be careful to make sure it doesn't end up in front of the curtain airbags


7. Now you want to remove the trim from the side of the glove box and the bit below the bottom of the A-Pillar trim, so that you can route the cable in behind the glove box and out from behind where the main head unit sits. You'll need standard radio removal keys to get the head unit out and remove all the connections from the back to make access a bit easier.

 

[moonstone]

8. This is where things get a bit fiddly. ***PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL ON YOUR BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED BEFORE GOING FURTHER***

We're now going to release the individual connectors from the main "quadlock" connector so we can get access to the wires behind. We're splicing four cables and inserting two new ones into one of the blocks.

You can use whatever method you like for the splices but I like to use these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rfvtgb-Connectors-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B09BB7V7RQ/ref=sr_1_7 They let you feed in your cables and then use a heatgun to shrink wrap the connection and melt a block of solder inside, so you end up with the wires soldered and heat-shrinked at the same time.

Wiring instructions are as follows:

New Wire from Camera Loom	Existing Car Wiring
Red (+12v power cable)	Red/Yellow
Brown or (Ground) - Note this wire may be black in some kits	Brown (Pin 17)
Orange & Violet (CAN High)	Orange & Violet (Pin 6 on the connector)
Orange & Brown (CAN Low)	Orange & Brown (Pin 12 on the connector)
White (Camera signal)	This plugs into pin 6 on the blue connector
Black (Camera RF shield)	This plugs into pin 12 on the blue connector

When plugging the pins of the white & black cables into the blue connector, you need to use a small flat-head to release the sides of on the top and bottom of the connector, so you can push the pins in. You then squeeze them back into place with your finger and thumb. This stops the pins from falling back out.



Once complete reassemble the quadlock connector by pushing the individual connectors back into place until they click. Pull through any spare length on the new wiring loom back through the side of the dash and connect everything back up to the head unit before slotting it into place.

 

[moonstone]

9. Now you want to tidy up the rest of the cable. I simply bundled it together with fabric tape and then pushed it into the void in the side of the dash before refitting the trims. You'll also want to run a trim removal tool along the A-pillar and roof line to put it all back in place and then reconnect your battery.



PART 2 - CODING

Now the physical install is done, you need to carry out some coding steps so that the car will recognise that the camera is installed and it knows what to do with it. The specific instructions for coding will vary depending on what tool you use (i.e. VCDS or OBDeleven). I used OBDeleven but by following these steps its not too hard to work out where the relevant sections are on VCDS and vice versa.

Each coding step involved a specific control unit as follows:

Control Unit	Action
5F - Multimedia	Under Adaption find "Car Function List" or something similar and look for VPS_0x0B and set it to "Active" Next find VPS_0x0B_msg_bus and set it to "Terminal 15" Once you've done this it might be necessary to reboot the car (power it down and lock it etc) and then re-start before the remaining options show up.
76 - Parking Assistant	Under Long coding, select Byte 2 and then activate Bit 4
19 - Gateway	Activate Address "6C - Reversing Camera" in the installed equipment list
6C - Reversing Camera	You can set various options here if you like but the camera is already parametrised so should work as is.

You're all set!

 

[Denso]

Awesome, will be getting this done next week once i am back in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Denso