I wanted to do something similar to the JDM style mirrors but don't really care for how big that light assembly is in comparison to the rest of the mirror covers. So, I instead went on an odyssey to try to do my own thing. What got me thinking about this in the first place was the large amount of space between the outermost edge of the mirror and that edge of the mirror housing / cover. The video below shows the end result after trying 5 different LED options. I will post more details and pics of how I drilled the holes into the mirror housing and the LEDs used. I have also installed puddle lights but do not have them connected to the interior dome light just yet. I will post pics & a video when I get them connected. BTW, all of the turn signals are LEDs and you can get an idea of how bright the ones in front are by the illumination of the driveway.
Thanks spiderman. I used the 7440 ambers from Autolumination for the front turn signals. 12 Watt Eagle EYE SMT Tower 4x 3 Watt-3 Chip High Powered Rectangular Chip SMT LEDS These Bulbs have Advanced Surface Mount Technology LEDS + Advanced Patented Circuitry 3 high powered SMT side facing LEDS - 1 high powered SMT forward facing LED With Optical Lens Only 18mm diameter x 59mm overall - fits all stock housings $24.99 Ea. Amber 7440 Single Circuit
The light assembly is what makes the turn signal mirrors look cool. The stock mirror covers are plain boring in comparison.
I like it! Perfect positioning covering the blind spot area of the vehicle while changing lanes. Same type of safety feature I have on my touring motorcycle. Going to do your setup, can't wait for video!
Here is some more information and pics on the mod process. I followed CivicSky's excellent instructions on how to get to the mirrors: DIY JDM style side mirrors combo lights (Signal+Parking+Courtesy lights) | PriusChat Please note that this is about as "custom" of a mod that you may ever want to do. I wasn't 100% sure I could pull this off so I purchased new mirror housings and did the mod on those. I have tried to keep the orientations correct even though I have used pics from both the left and right side mirrors. Getting the mirror covers off was a bit of a pain but once I figured out how to do it then it was really easy to reproduce. Once the covers were off then I had access to the drill points. I drilled from the front side to make sure I got clean holes. Actually, I first drilled a pilot hole using a 1/16 inch bit, used a larger bit (3/32) for a second pass, and the final sized bit (9/64) for a third pass. Not sure if this is how it should have been done, but it seemed to work well. The puddle light hole was started with the 9/64 bit and then finished with a 3/8 inch bit. The pic below shows the holes before I cleaned off the "flashing" from the drilling process. I used 3mm NEOx instrument panel LED bulbs that I disassembled from the NeoWedge housing, then soldered 3 inch leads. All solder joints were covered with heat shrink tubing. Be careful with the leads coming out of the LED base because they are pretty fragile and can break off if subjected to too much back & forth action. I hot-glued the turn signal LEDs in place and then covered completely with black silicone sealant. I hope that makes all of the solder joints as waterproof as possible. I routed the wiring so it would not interfere with the motor movement or getting the mirror cover clips back in their proper locations. I added enough extra wiring to allow the mirrors to be retracted or pushed forward without binding on the wire connections. I settled on 4 LEDs on each side after doing some photoshop mock-ups of different configurations. Kind of used the Goldilocks approach for both numbers and patterns. I will post more pics once I get the puddle lights connected to the interior dome lights so they activate in the same manner. So far, this has been my most satisfying mod experience because it is totally custom and makes my car one of a kind.
Very nice, like the result. Just wish Toyota would save us the trouble of doing it ourselves. I cringe whenever I do any car work that requires disassembly of panels, wiring, etc. Hard to avoid a broken tab, clip or two. The newer the car, the worse it is.
Finished the wiring to connect the puddle lights. Very happy with the way those turned out. Followed CivicSky's directions on how to tap into the rear dome light. The puddle lights operate the same way as the interior overhead lighting (auto on, delayed off, etc.).
Original and looks great. Only issue I see here is that it may not be seen from the side. Overall, great job man.
Sorry to bring up an old thread but just wanted to caution anyone who wants to perform this mod. While I admire the creative way of installing side view turn signal, such method is illegal in the state of California. V C Section 24953 Turn Signal Lamps section D This is why the JDM LED turn signal mirror is designed with such angle that the driver can not see the LED lights. For me, I would have lean my head almost out of the window to see the turn signal LEDs on my mirror. Now in order for your mod to be legal in CA, the LED on the mirror has to cease operation when the normal front or back turn signal lamps burnt out. This is why I never even considered mounting turn signal LEDs to that portion of the mirror and installed the JDM LED turn signal mirror instead. Now, will the cops call you out on it? Probably not.
