JDM Mirror Side Markers Installed

When you did this, there aren't any connectors of any kind? Just a "ball and socket" type connection? I take it they just snap back in when you're done. Thanks.

 

very nice install!

 

I just got my signal mirrors today. I saw in the installation you used some type of connector to connect the wires to the plug for the lights. What kind are they? and can't you run the cable from the plastic tube where the other original cable runs?

 

Thanks for the reply. I will go get the female spade connectors tomorrow. I think I will just do what you did for the wiring parts. Thank you.
BTW, do I have to take out the door panel to get the mirrors off? or I can just work from that black triangle plastic cover to remove the mirror?

 

Looks great. Two safety things I wish Toyota would have included: turn signal mirrors and daytime running lights!!

 

Thanks, I will do that when I have free time next week. About the mini spade female plug, is it the disconnector for 22-16 or I need a smaller one? That was the only one I can find from Home Depot, Habor Freight and Sears. OR I need one that is smaller? Where did you get your's from?

 

I installed mine today and I love them!! Will be washing the car and will take pics tomorrow. I did a couple of things different and seemed to make it a bit easier and makes for a very clean and relatively easy install.

To add to what you have already shown and discussed, I will add a couple of things to make it a little easier for future installs.

First off, when pulling the mirror lens out be sure to tilt it all the way up first and pull from the bottom of the lens. It has 2 clips on the bottom and slide-in holders at the top. Was a little nervous not knowing which side to pull up on. Got lucky. The other thing to make it easier on you is go to Home Depot and get a 50' spool of 18ga. speaker wire. Makes life easier as well when running through the factory grommet. If I wasn't in a hurry to get it done today I would have taken pics to supplement his, but will explain the best I can. I used silicone to seal the female spade plugs on the turn signal unit.

Stretch out the harness wire for the mirror to use as a guide as to where to cut the wire. You're gonna want a disconnect for the future if the mirror has to come off for any reason. Also you might want to use electrical tape to loom it to the main wire harness. Makes for a cleaner install that way. Run the wires back in the door to the factory spot and re-attach the mirror.

Now for the grommet that connects the door to the body. It really isn't that bad to get the wires through especially using the small gauge speaker wire. Un-bolt the door side with a 10mm short socket. Also you will need to remove the clips that hold the weather stripping on the top and bottom of that grommet. Pull the grommet back from the body. On the door side you will unclip the white plastic backplate and that will give you a fairly straight push for the wire to go through. Pull on the grommet enough to straighten it out and compact it to where you can slip your fingers in the back side(body side). Slide the wire through from the door side and fish it out the back side with your fingers. Remove the interior panels in the footwell if you haven't already. Pull the wire through and feed though the body side hole into the footwell. You will want to pull enough wire through to stretch the speaker wire about 3 feet or so past the back of the car. This should leave enough to play with. Once you have that length you'll need to get a length on the door side where the mirror wire comes out. Attach whatever type of small insulated connectors you'd like to make for a quick disconnect. Pop the grommet back into the body and snap the white plastic piece back together and reattach the grommet to the door with the bolts. The door section is done and you can reinstall the door panel.

Now, this is where I go a different direction and I think it makes for a pretty easy setup. Remove the rear door floor trim and pop the bottom of the center cover out that is between the doors. Go to the back of the car and remove the cargo cover, cargo tray, battery cover, side cover on the drivers side and remove that tray. Lower the rear seats to give you access to the floor to pass the wire through to the back. Once all that is done you can run the speaker wire along the loom in the clips or along side. Pass it through between the center pillar and do the same for the rear doors. Slide wire up the side of the rear seat behind the panel on each side and reach from the top side between the seat and side panel to pull the wire through. You're almost there. Continue running the wire along the floor toward the back of the car. Remove the covers for the taillights and feed the wire up through the holes in the panel.

Remove the turn signal bulb. Strip away a very small amount of the speaker wire so you can figure out what the polarity is for the mirror LED's. If you leave the bulb in the socket and turn it you will see two slots with exposed copper tabs. Turn on your signal or emergency flashers and touch the bare wire from the speaker wires to the copper tabs. Check and see which side makes the mirrors flash. Make a note of it so you know which one corresponds with right colors. I also used the red press on splice connectors. Don't recall the real term, but it's the ones where the wire you want to attach to slips into the side and the wire you're connecting to it goes in the other side. Use a pair of pliers and press the metal tab down. Secure the plastic clip and check to make sure your mirrors are flashing. If all is working you're done. Put everything back together and enjoy.

Hope this helps in addition to what RadioZero provided. I would say as long as you are fairly savvy when it comes to cars it is a fairly easy install. This way there is no need to get under the car or go into the engine compartment. All in all I would say it is about a 3 hour install give or a take a little. The clips on the mirror back are certainly the trickiest part to deal with. Have a lot of small screwdrivers. I think I used about 5. Good luck... Fell free to ask any questions for something I may have missed or didn't explain clearly enough. I'll be happy to answer when I have time. Just be aware, we are expecting a new addition to the family here any day now so it may take a little bit to get back to you.

 

Can someone kindly post the all-in cost to this mod???

TIA!

 

can you take a pic of an unused connector?

 

Thanks for a thorough writeup!

How well they are visible from the back of the car?

Anyone figured where the signal relays are located?

 

I'm going to install the LED signal & floor combo lights later. I believe there is a simply way to wire your signals by tapping into the rear signal lights sources to minimize wiring.
First, remove both left and right foot panels (you can get instructions from fog lights installation guide. Photos credit back to the good person who created the fog lights installation guide. Very helpful guide indeed!!). Find the biggest rectangular shape socket at the lower left. The 24-gauge YELLOW wire is for left turn signal. You just need to feed ONE wire through each door loom to power the signal light on each side. Optional floor light can be hooked up with the existing one on the front doors (unless you want to connect with the interior lighting). Right turn signal wire is green and located behind the passenger's side foot panel (as shown in the picture).

 

I was wondering if they also offered the auto-fold option? When I replace my Prius with a new one, and I do the turn-signal mirrors, I would like to have them auto-fold too.

It seems more and more asshats in SUV's can't seem to park or judge the width of their cars. I just replaced the drivers side mirror on my car because some asshat in an SUV drove passed the car and smacked the mirror and cracked the housing. I saw it happen but could not get out of the restaurant I was in in time to get a plate number. Cost me $175 for a new housing! I really do not like most SUV drivers.

 

I finally installed mine, and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out! This thread was an inspiration and a life saver. I used the pics from CivicSky and tapped the wires at the ECUs on each side of the car. I think these mirrors look awesome, but they are a tremendous safety feature as well, especially since the light can be seen a complete 180* around the side of the car (see video below).

Also, when I was trying to fish the wire in to the car, I tried to do it with the grommet (boot) attached to the door and the body. It's not going to work. Just disconnect it from the door and the body, and the wire will pass right through since you can squeeze the boot down in size. The boot easily reattaches to the car and door with no problems at all. That's really the only thing I can add.

Someone asked about the all in cost. Currently, it's around $350. I think the mirror covers and LED assemblies were $325, plus another $20 or so for the wire, taps, etc. Total time was around 3 hours. The first door took me about 2 hours and 15 minutes since I didn't know what I was doing. The second door took maybe 45 minutes since I knew what to do.

Some pics/video....


No exposed wires, looks 100% factory:


The video is not posting properly. If you want to see it, just click the writing in the blue section of the box below.
[ame="http://s520.photobucket.com/albums/w322/bchata1/?action=view&current=e6783a55.mp4"]e6783a55.mp4 video by bchata1 - Photobucket[/ame]