Auto-Dimming/Homelink mirror

Here's a different viewpoint that will probably get pushed aside as unworthy for consideration, but here goes...

What if 3 months from now the eBay purchased, local mod-shop installed Homelink mirror stops working? Do you go back to the installer? If his wiring is good, then it's the mirror. Back to eBay? Anyway, you get the idea. Hassle.

This probably won't happen, but if it does, $450 will seem like small beans. With the dealer purchase/install, at least you have a single point of contact, so to speak...

Good luck with your new mirror, I love mine!

 

There is a small connector on the back of the mirror - pretty easy to unplug and plug in a new mirror. No need for new wiring or a new foot on the glass.

I paid $65 for this junkyard mirror - so if it croaks, I won't feel bad about getting another junkyard mirror. That is one reason I started swapping wires around until I found out what works - I figured if I reversed something and it fried - oh well: $65 and a lesson learned.

This mirror seems to be pretty common - the Gentex GNTX-453 (50-GENK40A, 50-GENK41A, 50-GENK45A, 50-GENK50A, 50-GENK51A) was listed for Ford, Nissan, Honda, Toyota - and a few others. I think it would be pretty easy to find a replacement.

And... more than anything - there was NO option for this mirror on my Prius. I have a Gen III w/ Sunroof & Solar - the dealer said "No way, no how - forgetaboutit".

 

I picked my mirror up of a fellow PCer for $35, spent $8 for a wiring harness and cover online somewhere almost 18-20 months ago, and all is well. My connections are up in the map light area.

 

let me preface this by i am a complete noob at this, but it sounded fun, so i bought the mirror, a set of molding removers, and a multimeter. i immediately ran into problems.

1) i was unable to pry the cover off the overhead dome light. it seemed to make an ominous creaking noise when i yanked on it with both hands. any tips for this? any catches to undo?

i was successful at prying off the molding around the A frame on the driver's side, and managed to pull off some other panels around the parking brake. i tucked the wires under the headliner and dropped them through into that area.

2) unable to find a good ground. there were two to the right of the parking brake, but the ground loop in the kit was too small to fit on top of the screw in both cases. can i hook this to any piece of metal with a bolt on it?

3) i am unfamiliar with wiring harnesses. i presume i cannot pull the wires out to test the voltage right? does that mean i have to strip each wire a little bit to test the voltage?? i was loathe to do this without having at least some idea where there might be an always-on wire.

there are a billion different harnesses under there. i figured the wiring harness to the sideview mirrors were pretty reliable, so i blindly tapped into the yellow wire on the far left. i blindly tapped into a harness that was up just to the left of the steering column, and into a second wire that was light green (based on a priuschat reference). when all was said and done, the rearview mirror didn't work. but at least the car still does...

i have a bunch of pics, but for some reason, they're not showing up. i'll see if i can get those uploaded...

any help? should i just bag it and take it to a car shop, as suggested in prior posts?

thanks,
andrew.

 

I just bought a used 2012 Prius 3 and had looked at several that day. Most, if not all had Homelink in the auto-dimming mirror (something I've had in my last 3 cars). I was driving home and went to adjust my mirror and was aghast to see that the car I had picked up was one that didn't have it. Cursing my unobservant self, I'm taken to the Internet. I'm so glad I found this thread because I was confused as to the many eBay or Amazon listings that say it won't work with the moonroof. I would figure it would be easy because you can use the wiring that's already conveniently located up there for you.

Before I grab a generic Gentex off eBay or Amazon, I just wanted to ask a couple of quick questions.
1-Is there any wiring diagram that Craigmri or others have used to tap directly to the moonroof wiring?
2-Are all Gentex footers a match for the factory mirror footer?
3-Any other challenges or notes before I tackle this?

I've installed plenty of car stereos and other electronics so I'm no stranger to tapping into existing wiring and testing for switched/unswitched. I'm assuming the prohibition against the sunroof is just because there isn't some easy harness to tap into? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have a 2013 Four, not IV since it is not a 2010, with the sunroof and it included the auto dimming mirror with the buttons to control a garage door opener. So I, like you would assume that the wiring is already in place. People on this forum know virtually everything about this car and are willing to freely share. Good luck!