An IQ-CAM install is the one that most repays doing properly. The camera has to see the road correctly to judge what happened, it has to be wired safely around airbags and fused circuits, and it has to be mounted somewhere the law where you operate actually allows.
This page tells you what the appointment involves and what you do afterwards. It is not the fitting procedure, and it is not a substitute for a qualified technician. Client Care sends the full install guide to your installer on request. Call 1-888-606-6444.
Before the appointment
- Start the vehicle and confirm the dash is clear of check-engine lights, error codes and warnings.
- Confirm the other electrical systems work, and note any existing body, interior or windshield damage.
- Check the windshield for chips and cracks. If there are any, get the owner's agreement in writing before anything is mounted to the glass.
- If the camera is going to use the diagnostic port, make sure nothing else is already plugged into it. Two devices cannot share that port.
- Check the rules where your vehicles run. Some states and countries restrict what can be attached to a windshield and where.
What the installer does
The camera interfaces with the vehicle's electrical system without becoming part of it. Every wire carrying current to the camera is fused. Wire runs through metal get a grommet, runs outside the cab get a loom with a drip loop where it re-enters, and the whole run is secured at least every foot so nothing chafes.
Connections are made by an approved method for that vehicle, soldered, sealed crimp, Add-A-Circuit, Posi-Tap or a manufacturer connector. Insulation displacement connectors are not used unless the vehicle manufacturer specifically requires them.
Nothing about the install may interfere with an airbag, its sensors or its deployment path. On vehicles with side and curtain airbags, the trim clips are often single-use and get replaced rather than reseated.
Aiming it
A camera pointed at the sky or the hood is worse than no camera, because it looks like coverage and is not. The final viewing angle gets set at the end of the install, with the road filling the frame the way it will when the truck is loaded and moving.
Then calibrate it, from your desk
The physical install is only half of it. Until the camera is calibrated in your dashboard you will not get live video, and it will not report harsh braking, rapid acceleration or sharp turns at all.
Calibration takes about a minute, and you do it yourself with the vehicle parked on flat, level ground. The walkthrough is here, and it is the first thing to do once the installer hands the vehicle back.
Keeping it working
Check the camera and its wiring whenever the vehicle has its normal preventive maintenance, and again any time the camera or its connections have been moved, refitted or altered.