Upgrade to heated mirrors for $40
01-08-2004, 10:22 AM
#1
Member
Posts like a V-Tak
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Upgrade to heated mirrors for $40
Finally got a free day to try out my heated mirror install. The new mirrors havent frosted over yet, so im not positive everything is working correctly. I will go back and test more this weekend, but I wanted to get this posted up asap so everyone else can give it a try.
Here is the writeup for Tech Info, hopefully I will soon have a page up with pictures to go along with the walkthrough. I will post once I get it put together.
Equipment needed
8' 18gauge stranded wire
2 sets of 2 position interlocking connectors (radio shack 274-222) or equivalent
Solder
2 Proper mirror replacements
2 adhesive backed mirror heating elements
plastic epoxy or equivalent
Tools Needed:
t10 torx bit
7mm, 8mm & 10mm & 10mm deep sockets
Flat head screwdriver
Wire cutter
Wire stripper
Soldering iron
Multimeter
10mm wrench
Mirror & elements tip
I used burco for all the mirror glass and heating elements. It was the only place i could find the elements that would fit normal cars. Call around and ask all the auto places in your town if they have access to the burco line of products. Doing this i found one company that didn't deal in these products with their customers and gave me just a little bit above cost for all the mirror items I needed $8 per mirror and $7 per element. Talk about a deal! Salvage yards wanted me to pay $300 for the entire mirror assembly that i would still need to get painted. For the elements you want Burco Redi-Heat part number 3801. As for the mirrors, check out this page: http://www.burcoinc.com/Catalog2/RedicutsECatalog.aspx It will let you find the exact replacements for your automobile. Using this you should be able to add heated mirrors to any vehicle for somewhere around $40 in parts!
Process:
1) Disconnect your positive battery terminal. There is no need to drain your battery or kill yourself.
2) Follow previously documented "92-99 Interior Front Door Panel Removal" from tech info to remove both driver side door skins
3) Disconnect the connector for your mirror assemblies.
4) Compare the available connections in the connector inside the car (in my case 4) to the connections used by the wire running up to your mirror (in my case 3). If you have extra, you could be in luck. I drive a 93 Bonneville SE and it had an extra wire for heated mirrors pre-run. If not, you will need to open up your dash & bring out your climate control system. i will not cover the removal of your climate control system.
5) Now we test to make sure we have the correct wire. If you do not have the extra wire in your door, skip to step 6. Assuming you have the extra wire in your door, reconnect your battery. Using your multimeter, connect the positive side to the "extra" wires prong. Touch the negative side of your multimeter to a ground. Turn your car to the "run" position, there is no need to actually turn it on. While watching your multimeter, turn your rear defrost on and off. If this wire is connected for heated mirrors, you should see a jump in voltage and then it will even out at 12v when your defrost is turned on, then back down to 2 or 3volts when your defrost is off. If you found your wire, skip on to step 7, if none of the wires work, you will need to follow step 6. Don't forget to disconnect your battery again!
6) Assuming you do not have a pre-wired defrost to your mirror connection, all is not lost. I do not guarantee this will work, as I have not tested it myself, so if anyone does, please let me or a moderator know so the tech info can be updated. This being said, I did wire in a defrost button from my remote start, so this process should be relatively the same. If you are at this point, you will need some added parts. You will need 2 inline fuse holders, 2 fuses ( I cant say to what amp, but i would start with 5 and work up) and extra stranded wire. Unscrew and slide out your climate control system so that you have access to the connections behind your defrost button. Reconnect your battery and grab your multimeter. Connect the negative side of your multimeter to a ground, turn your key to the run position, again there is no need to start your car and begin testing the connections behind your defrost button. What you are looking for here is 12v whenever your defrost is turned on and 2-3v whenever it is off. Here you should be able to splice into the wire, run one to each door, add in your inline fuses somewhere that is accessible to you (not in the door, you don't want to have to take the skins off whenever one blows) and your ready to move on.
7) Ok, so now we know we have a defrost wire, its time to take off the mirrors. If someone has a better process for this, let me know, the method i use is pretty darn cramped. The mirror is attached to your car with 2 bolts, and they are tough to get at. For the one closest to the front of your car, use your 10mm deep socket and its not to difficult to remove. For the rear one, use your 10mm wrench to loosen it, and then get a buddy to apply a little bit of pressure on the top of the mirror and take it off the rest of the way with your hand, its difficult, but works.
8) Now we need to remove the mirrors. Before hand I had purchased replacement mirrors for both sides because they were so cheap (I paid $8 a piece), so I wasn't too worried about breaking the ones I had (there goes 14 years bad luck). I attempted to use the blow-dryer method where you try to heat the mirror enough to loosen the glue behind it to pry it off, I ended up shattering both, but I was very impatient and had extra mirrors anyways. It may work for you, but no promises. So I covered both with some masking tape, shattered away and then pried the last pieces off of housing. Using some sort of cleaner, remove all that you can from where you will attach your mirrors.
9) Now you need your T10 torx bit, and remove the 3 screws so that you can lift up your housing, this makes it a lot easier for passing the wires thru. Also, at the base of the mirror where it attaches to the car, you can pull out the plastic plug that covers the hole.
10) Check out your heating elements now; make sure they will fit properly into the housing. For the most part they fit well, but I had to dremel out a little bit so that I would have enough room for the prongs. Also make sure that where you will place them wont interfere with the movement of your mirrors. Solder your wire to the connectors, run the wire thru the housing and then connect the wires to your element.
11) Screw the housing back together with the 3 T10 screws
12) Using your epoxy, apply some to the back of the housing and attach your heating element.
13) Peel off the adhesive back of your heating element and attach your mirrors.
14) Using your interlocking connectors, Crimp your ends on to the 2 wires you added from your mirror assembly and add them to one side of the interlocking housing. The purpose of using the interlocking connectors makes it so you don't have to cut wires to remove your mirror later on. You could potentially find the correct pins (if anyone knows where to buy some, let me know, I would like to make this look as builtin as possible) and add them on to the connector that exists for your mirrors. Impatience and the fact I had no clue where to get those pins led me to use the interlocking connectors. Also, before doing this, make sure your interlocking connectors will fit thru the hole in your doors!
15) Next we wire into the doors. All you should need here is to wire a ground (i just used a bolt over an unpainted surface for wiring my grounds, and connecting to the defrost wire you found before. Here I just clipped the wire, the other option would be to strip part of the wire away and solder a new wire to it. Then crimp the ends on for the other side of your interlocking connector and attach them to your housing.
16) Follow the steps in reverse to put everything back together and enjoy your frostless mirrors.
Randy
Here is the writeup for Tech Info, hopefully I will soon have a page up with pictures to go along with the walkthrough. I will post once I get it put together.
Equipment needed
8' 18gauge stranded wire
2 sets of 2 position interlocking connectors (radio shack 274-222) or equivalent
Solder
2 Proper mirror replacements
2 adhesive backed mirror heating elements
plastic epoxy or equivalent
Tools Needed:
t10 torx bit
7mm, 8mm & 10mm & 10mm deep sockets
Flat head screwdriver
Wire cutter
Wire stripper
Soldering iron
Multimeter
10mm wrench
Mirror & elements tip
I used burco for all the mirror glass and heating elements. It was the only place i could find the elements that would fit normal cars. Call around and ask all the auto places in your town if they have access to the burco line of products. Doing this i found one company that didn't deal in these products with their customers and gave me just a little bit above cost for all the mirror items I needed $8 per mirror and $7 per element. Talk about a deal! Salvage yards wanted me to pay $300 for the entire mirror assembly that i would still need to get painted. For the elements you want Burco Redi-Heat part number 3801. As for the mirrors, check out this page: http://www.burcoinc.com/Catalog2/RedicutsECatalog.aspx It will let you find the exact replacements for your automobile. Using this you should be able to add heated mirrors to any vehicle for somewhere around $40 in parts!
Process:
1) Disconnect your positive battery terminal. There is no need to drain your battery or kill yourself.
2) Follow previously documented "92-99 Interior Front Door Panel Removal" from tech info to remove both driver side door skins
3) Disconnect the connector for your mirror assemblies.
4) Compare the available connections in the connector inside the car (in my case 4) to the connections used by the wire running up to your mirror (in my case 3). If you have extra, you could be in luck. I drive a 93 Bonneville SE and it had an extra wire for heated mirrors pre-run. If not, you will need to open up your dash & bring out your climate control system. i will not cover the removal of your climate control system.
5) Now we test to make sure we have the correct wire. If you do not have the extra wire in your door, skip to step 6. Assuming you have the extra wire in your door, reconnect your battery. Using your multimeter, connect the positive side to the "extra" wires prong. Touch the negative side of your multimeter to a ground. Turn your car to the "run" position, there is no need to actually turn it on. While watching your multimeter, turn your rear defrost on and off. If this wire is connected for heated mirrors, you should see a jump in voltage and then it will even out at 12v when your defrost is turned on, then back down to 2 or 3volts when your defrost is off. If you found your wire, skip on to step 7, if none of the wires work, you will need to follow step 6. Don't forget to disconnect your battery again!
6) Assuming you do not have a pre-wired defrost to your mirror connection, all is not lost. I do not guarantee this will work, as I have not tested it myself, so if anyone does, please let me or a moderator know so the tech info can be updated. This being said, I did wire in a defrost button from my remote start, so this process should be relatively the same. If you are at this point, you will need some added parts. You will need 2 inline fuse holders, 2 fuses ( I cant say to what amp, but i would start with 5 and work up) and extra stranded wire. Unscrew and slide out your climate control system so that you have access to the connections behind your defrost button. Reconnect your battery and grab your multimeter. Connect the negative side of your multimeter to a ground, turn your key to the run position, again there is no need to start your car and begin testing the connections behind your defrost button. What you are looking for here is 12v whenever your defrost is turned on and 2-3v whenever it is off. Here you should be able to splice into the wire, run one to each door, add in your inline fuses somewhere that is accessible to you (not in the door, you don't want to have to take the skins off whenever one blows) and your ready to move on.
7) Ok, so now we know we have a defrost wire, its time to take off the mirrors. If someone has a better process for this, let me know, the method i use is pretty darn cramped. The mirror is attached to your car with 2 bolts, and they are tough to get at. For the one closest to the front of your car, use your 10mm deep socket and its not to difficult to remove. For the rear one, use your 10mm wrench to loosen it, and then get a buddy to apply a little bit of pressure on the top of the mirror and take it off the rest of the way with your hand, its difficult, but works.
8) Now we need to remove the mirrors. Before hand I had purchased replacement mirrors for both sides because they were so cheap (I paid $8 a piece), so I wasn't too worried about breaking the ones I had (there goes 14 years bad luck). I attempted to use the blow-dryer method where you try to heat the mirror enough to loosen the glue behind it to pry it off, I ended up shattering both, but I was very impatient and had extra mirrors anyways. It may work for you, but no promises. So I covered both with some masking tape, shattered away and then pried the last pieces off of housing. Using some sort of cleaner, remove all that you can from where you will attach your mirrors.
9) Now you need your T10 torx bit, and remove the 3 screws so that you can lift up your housing, this makes it a lot easier for passing the wires thru. Also, at the base of the mirror where it attaches to the car, you can pull out the plastic plug that covers the hole.
10) Check out your heating elements now; make sure they will fit properly into the housing. For the most part they fit well, but I had to dremel out a little bit so that I would have enough room for the prongs. Also make sure that where you will place them wont interfere with the movement of your mirrors. Solder your wire to the connectors, run the wire thru the housing and then connect the wires to your element.
11) Screw the housing back together with the 3 T10 screws
12) Using your epoxy, apply some to the back of the housing and attach your heating element.
13) Peel off the adhesive back of your heating element and attach your mirrors.
14) Using your interlocking connectors, Crimp your ends on to the 2 wires you added from your mirror assembly and add them to one side of the interlocking housing. The purpose of using the interlocking connectors makes it so you don't have to cut wires to remove your mirror later on. You could potentially find the correct pins (if anyone knows where to buy some, let me know, I would like to make this look as builtin as possible) and add them on to the connector that exists for your mirrors. Impatience and the fact I had no clue where to get those pins led me to use the interlocking connectors. Also, before doing this, make sure your interlocking connectors will fit thru the hole in your doors!
15) Next we wire into the doors. All you should need here is to wire a ground (i just used a bolt over an unpainted surface for wiring my grounds, and connecting to the defrost wire you found before. Here I just clipped the wire, the other option would be to strip part of the wire away and solder a new wire to it. Then crimp the ends on for the other side of your interlocking connector and attach them to your housing.
16) Follow the steps in reverse to put everything back together and enjoy your frostless mirrors.
Randy
01-08-2004, 01:41 PM
#2
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Re: Upgrade to heated mirrors for $40
Originally Posted by randy
As for the mirrors, check out this page: http://www.burcoinc.com/Catalog2/RedicutsECatalog.aspx It will let you find the exact replacements for your automobile. Using this you should be able to add heated mirrors to any vehicle for somewhere around $40 in parts!
01-08-2004, 03:09 PM
#3
Member
Posts like a V-Tak
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
To drill holes in a mirror, use a spear-point glass drill bit at a slow drill speed. Mark the hole position on the back of the mirror with a felt-tip pen, and drill a small starter hole. Then stick a ring of putty or modelling clay round it and pour in a little white spirit or light oil to lubricate the bit. Locate the drill tip in the starter hole and drill until the point just breaks through the surface of the glass. Then remove the putty and finish drilling the hole from the front side.
This, with a few 12v leds, a relay wired to its own power and the proper turn signal wire and you have yourself turn signal mirrors.
Personally, I would not drill all the way thru, just far enough to remove the backing and leave only glass.
Also you should be able to sand down a good portion of the top of the leds or buy squared leds so you can get a good flat top to match up to your mirror.
The problems you will have with this are:
If you have heated mirrors, or are adding heated mirrors, you will lose the element on the side where the leds are
You will need to find small enough leds so that you do not cut down the range of motion your mirrors have.
also, you will need to match up the pattern for your mirror where you will position your leds, with the portion of the mirror housing it attaches to since it is a pretty solid piece of plastic.
Without testing, I think your relay would be wired with 12v to pins 87 & 85, your turn signal input wire would be connected to pin 86 and your output to your leds would be pin 30. Then you would need to use the site http://www.bit-tech.net/article/68/ to figure out what resistors you need to wire in (based on the leds you buy), this would wire up in order from pin 30, to resistors, to the positive side of your leds, the negative side of each would then be wired to ground.
Always be sure to fuse your 12v input!
Total cost to you would be $20 for decent leds, $6 for relays, $5 for resistors, $5 for wire & solder, $4 for inline fuses, $3 for epoxy, $2 for fuses, and $16 for mirrors. So your looking at around $60 for a complete mod of turn signals in your mirrors.
If anyone tries this, let us know how it goes!
Randy
This, with a few 12v leds, a relay wired to its own power and the proper turn signal wire and you have yourself turn signal mirrors.
Personally, I would not drill all the way thru, just far enough to remove the backing and leave only glass.
Also you should be able to sand down a good portion of the top of the leds or buy squared leds so you can get a good flat top to match up to your mirror.
The problems you will have with this are:
If you have heated mirrors, or are adding heated mirrors, you will lose the element on the side where the leds are
You will need to find small enough leds so that you do not cut down the range of motion your mirrors have.
also, you will need to match up the pattern for your mirror where you will position your leds, with the portion of the mirror housing it attaches to since it is a pretty solid piece of plastic.
Without testing, I think your relay would be wired with 12v to pins 87 & 85, your turn signal input wire would be connected to pin 86 and your output to your leds would be pin 30. Then you would need to use the site http://www.bit-tech.net/article/68/ to figure out what resistors you need to wire in (based on the leds you buy), this would wire up in order from pin 30, to resistors, to the positive side of your leds, the negative side of each would then be wired to ground.
Always be sure to fuse your 12v input!
Total cost to you would be $20 for decent leds, $6 for relays, $5 for resistors, $5 for wire & solder, $4 for inline fuses, $3 for epoxy, $2 for fuses, and $16 for mirrors. So your looking at around $60 for a complete mod of turn signals in your mirrors.
If anyone tries this, let us know how it goes!
Randy
01-09-2004, 08:26 PM
#4
Senior Member
Certified GM nut
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 1,712
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Andy find ADbear, he put those led turn arrows on his side mirrors and they look really clean install, he said it wasn't that much are that hard and they looked great, saw them in person. He hasn'e been online too muchn lately so you might want to drop him a PM.
01-09-2004, 09:43 PM
#5
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Halifax, Canada 91SSE / 97SSEi
Posts: 5,857
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Randy... good write up on the how-to for heated mirrors.
You should ask about putting this in the Tech Info section.
Don't suppose you took any photos while doing the install?
You should ask about putting this in the Tech Info section.
Don't suppose you took any photos while doing the install?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post