this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2025
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Mechanic Advice

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2014 GMC Savanah keep backup camera on all the time (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 day ago by Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/mechanicadvice@lemmy.world
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I drive a 2014 GMC Savanah cargo van for work. It has a handy backup camera display built into the rearview mirror. However the camera is only on when the truck is in reverse. Seeing as how this is a cargo van with a solid wall directly behind the seats, the rearview mirror is useless for anything besides that backup camera display and checking my hair. I figure if I could get it to leave the backup camera on whenever the truck is on then I could also see whatever is directly behing me when just driving normally far more effectively than I can with just the side mirrors.

Is there any way to just keep the backup camera on whenenever the truck is on? Is there any reason why doing so would be a bad idea?

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[–] Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 20 hours ago

It's factory unfortunately so I currently have no idea how it's wired. I was going to go hunting for wiring diagrams but I figured I'd check here first to see if anyone here had already done this on one of these before.

If it's as simple as moving a power wire to a switched circuit I can definitely do that. I'm just concerned that, with it being factory and there being built in diagnostics for this camera, it won't be quite that easy. Looking at the manual it says there can be an warning thrown for the camera being on too long so I'm not sure if that's going to be an issue or not. However it also looks like that warning is what pops up and shuts down the camera only if it gets too hot. So maybe theres thermal issues with it being on too long. Next time I'm in it I'll have to try just sitting stopped in reverse for a bit and see if it throws a warning at me. If it overheats when it runs too long then my idea of just keeping it on is pretty dead in the water.

Honestly the more I dig into the camera system on this thing the more overengineered and janky it looks.