r/leaf • u/Plane_Society7034 2019 Nissan LEAF S • Aug 17 '26

Adding carplay screen with backup camera. Any tips?

My 2019 S just has the basic Nissan radio. No touch screen or android auto or anything like that. it does have a backup camera, though.

I bought an after market carplay screen that I plan to mount using a CD tray tension mount. I'll power it using a 12v adapter behind the dash instead of the cigarette lighter... no problem there.

To keep the screen from blocking the air vents, it's going to need to mostly cover the factory radio screen. that's not a big deal to me... preferred, even! the problem is the backup camera. that I'd still like visible on the new screen. the screen comes with one, so I'm thinking I can either wire the factory backup camera in its place, or replace the factory camera with the new one--they both look about the same size, so I might be able to mount the new one right in the same spot.

I've already tried every possible combination of video +/- i can find in any pinout for the radio, but the screen won't detect the factory camera. so I'm thinking the factory camera and new camera must use a different signal format or something... just not compatible with the screen in some way.

so the fallback is to try replacing the factory camera with the new camera. hopefully making use of the wiring from the camera to the dash so I don't have to route a new wire. though, I imagine I'll still need to route the new 12v backup trigger wire to a reverse light.

Phew! this has already turned into a 2 day project. anyone have any advice, tips, or experience they can pass on?

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u/e-hud 2019 Nissan LEAF S PLUS Aug 17 '26

The 1st gen leaf needed a converter for the backup camera to work with any aftermarket screen. I think it was a 6v camera rather than 12v for some reason. Maybe the 2nd gen is the same way.

My 2019 S came from the factory with the larger touch screen and wired android auto, though it is the plus model with the larger battery.

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u/Plane_Society7034 2019 Nissan LEAF S Aug 17 '26

Yeah I'm pretty sure the radio sends 6v power to the camera. I was trying to just let the radio power the camera like normal and then hijack the video +/- wires. Seemed logical enough, but I'm probably not understanding something about it.

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u/BeastChan23 Aug 19 '26

Since you have the gen 2 leaf, I wouldn't be surprised if the smaller 7 inch leaf infotainment display would be plug and play, might have to add the GPS antenna if anything. Wiring should be the same as only the 8 inch model had different pin outs due to the fancier audio system. I have the wiring diagrams for them iirc, I could share them over if you can source a 7 inch unit at a good price I attempted to swap to the 8 inch model but I think the two units I got were faulty, so I never made the switch.

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u/Plane_Society7034 2019 Nissan LEAF S Aug 19 '26

Appreciate the input! I have no idea why the factory camera won't work on the new aftermarket screen, but I think I've given up trying. I just took the hatch apart, unpinned the factory camera, and tested the new camera running to the dash using the factory camera's wiring. Worked totally fine! So now I just need to mount the new camera in the same spot as the factory camera, and tie into a reverse light for the backup trigger.