I installed a backup cam on my truck. I picked up power at the backup light fuse, I just shoved the wire in the fuse connector along with the fuse. It's been 11 years and still works.

 

Rear of car on the drivers side there is a panel that can be removed that has fuses, more than likely its one of those.

 

Looks like the backup light fuse is in the front and powers some other stuff. Perhaps I can pull the backup bulb socket and hook in there.

Clay

 

What monitor option are you going with? Did you get a rear-view with built in or an external one?

 

I got this:

http://www.tadibrothers.com/Catalog...CameraKits/35-Monitor-with-Wireless-CCD-Black-License-Plate-Frame-Backup-Camera

Clay

 

According to the manual there is no single dedicated fuse for the backup lite. I removed the several screws that are under the bumper that attach the bumper to the black plastic air spoiler beneath the car. When separated this allows access to the wiring behind the lite. The green wire is hot. I tapped into that and covered the tap with silastic. I drilled a hole in the middle of an accessable rubber plug to get the wire into the trunk and sealed that also. Although it seemed possible to rout the wire from the camera into the trunk I eventually drilled holes in the bumper and the metal body to get the wire in. I sealed these also to prevent leaks but more so to prevent rust. I used a Magellan GPS for video. The plug for that is not wired in the usual way and needed some research. It is satisfactory. I considered using a wireless camera but reviews on amazon were not enthusiastic for the quality of wireless.

 

What was the route from the trunk to the monitor (GPS) for the video wire?

Clay

 

Ok. I got the camera in and wired to the backup light. Fairly straight forward. Now I need to get power to the camera. I know there a lot of empty fuse spots in the front fuse blocks. Are these typically hot where I could just add a fuse holder with a pigtail or are they typically unwired and dead? Thanks for any help

Clay

 

What you say makes no sense.

If you wired into the backup light. You HAVE power. What are you talking about? The camera only needs to be powered during back up.

 

Power to the monitor. It is a wireless install

 

Where did you put the display? How did you get power to the display?

 

I just installed a back up camera on my Volt last week. Just wanted to share my experience since my Google search for help turned up this thread. I'm sure more people will be looking for this information, and I wasn't able to find any good sources in my quick searches.

To answer the original poster's question: My experience, after trying several methods, was to just tap into the back up light wiring under the rear bumper. Better said, right before the plug for the back up lamp. I tapped into the wires just before the plug, and soldered my taps on, then covered with heat shrink tubing. I ran the tap wires (power for the camera and monitor) up behind the bumper.
The bumper does NOT need to be removed to do this (tapping into the back up lamp), however the lower "aero" tray should be removed or at least moved out of the way. The tap wires can be run through an existing plastic grommet that is accessed inside the hatch, once the rearmost panel is removed. I also ran the camera's video feed cable through that hole/grommet.

My particular camera had a single cable to the front of the car, which I routed under the driver's side sill panels, which are pretty easy to remove. Then routed behind the dash and up through the fuse panel door between the dash and car door. No drilling of the dash was needed. This particular camera suction cups onto the windshield.

I did try tapping into the fuse panel in the hatch, but those fuses seem to be always powered, so the camera was on regardless of the ignition state. I also did try to remove the bumper to make this whole process easier, but chickened out after removing all clips except the ones right under the taillights, which seemed to require more force or knowledge than I felt like applying.
I should note that the camera does turn on when locking the vehicle, since the back up light is illuminated (along with the headlights) for 30 seconds when the car is locked. This can be changed in the car's settings.

 

Reviving an old thread here, but I have a specific question about running the tap and camera wires through the hole/grommet. Silly question, do you remove the grommet, then run the cables through the hole in the metal, then drill/run wires through the grommet, then reinsert grommet? Or am I not thinking about this correctly? Seems like if you don't remove the grommet temporarily, it would be difficult to fish the camera wire through the license plate light hole and into/through the grommet.

 

I almost always end up putting the grommet back in place as basically the last step, after making sure the hookup actually works. It's just there to limit chafe and maybe limit a little water movement, so it only matters when the car is moving.

 

Thank you @hellsop ! Follow up question for anyone with knowledge: I purchased one of those rear view mirror backup cameras, so ideally I would like to route the cable along the top side/headliner of the back of the vehicle. Should I be concerned about interfering with the side curtain airbag operation going this route?

 

route it along the quarter, over the rear wheel, along the rear seat/door opening trim, then along the door sill all the way to the front. Super easy, no airbag to worry about.

 

Thanks @MikeBCo. Did you remove the lower sill pieces or just tuck under with a trim tool?

 

removed. I used a electrical fish tape to pull the wires, but a hangar would work as well.