Quote:
Originally Posted by fullboogie
PJ - I don't think you understood my suggestion. It was not to use a dremmel to drill out the screw head. It is to use a cutoff wheel, slot the head, and use a flat screwdriver to back the screw out. 90% of the time the phillips head strips out on these rusty little screws, but the head is still there. Slotting with a dremmel is much cheaper and quicker.
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OK Bruin.... I'm
determined to help you on this one.
Try this instead... rip the old light bulb and housing out using any method of brute force that you desire... just don't mess up the metal on your rear gate.
Next... Pull the housing out as far as you can, and then CUT THE WIRES OFF...
Then order the four items shown below, and install them.
When you're done, you'll have a NEW light fixture with an LED light AND a high quality CCD rear view camera.
The first images is from AliExpress.com
It's a complete replacement for the light housing that fits exactly, includes an LED light for your license plate, AND a camera. I actually ordered this one shown in the photo and installed it in my old T4R.
This particular one uses a high quality CCD chip, and puts out a high quality 16x9 aspect ratio image. It was awesome both day and night. Almost all of the others I found had lower quality camera's using CMOS chips or some other type of technology that isn't as good especially at night.
The next two items are from Amazon.
The last item is a switch from ebay. Note that it's labeled "Camera".
I did this on my old T4R, wired it in with the rocker switch to activate the cameras on demand. It worked GREAT. The mirror is super-high OEM quality. You'd never know it's aftermarket. It even comes with a neat and clean channel to hide the wires going to it.
Plus, the mirror shown has two video inputs, so I mounted a second camera on the underside of my rear spoiler, and used the "Front" camera to show the high view, and the "Rear" camera to show the lower view.
When I was pulling my boat, the upper camera gave me a great view of what was going on behind me.... much better than the mirror alone. I could see the boat and everything above it... such as if my cover were flapping too much in the wind.
How's that for trying? Do I at least get an "E" for effort?
P.S. -- I sunk my old T4R, so I don't have any photos, but if you decide to do it, I can consult on the project to tell you what worked well, and what to avoid.
My new 4R has a factory camera, so I can't have the fun of doing THIS upgrade to it.
-Phil