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Turn Signal Mirror wiring issue - help?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Danny, Jul 13, 2007.

  1. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    Ok, I received a set of the turn signal mirror casings from Tommy to "test" and "ensure that they are up to PriusChat standards" (that's how I sold it to Nichole, at least). I've got the physical installation of the mirror housing done, but now I have no idea what to do with the wiring. I looked back through previous threads (and read almost the whole huuuuge thread), but cvouldn't find exactly what i was looking for. The set I received only has 2 wires coming from the mirror - a red and a black. No wiring harness or anything like that that others had reported (it seemed like the harnesses were on both the JDM ones and the ones from our friend in HK, Tommy).

    So now I'm sitting with 2 bare wires and have no idea what to do with them. Should I add more wire to them and run them back to the rear turn signal wires?

    Ideas?

    And, just a bit of news, but the PriusChat Shop will soon be carrying them and we'll kick off selling them with a big Group Buy so that those who have waited can get a good price.
     
  2. Mr.07Prius

    Mr.07Prius New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny @ Jul 13 2007, 04:33 PM) [snapback]478356[/snapback]</div>
    This is great that hopefully soon you will be carying them. I've been wondering about these mirrors. Hopefully you will be able to post some pictures of the install and the wiring of these mirrors to make it easier to all of us in the near future. Good luck Danny.
     
  3. prberg

    prberg Member

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    Danny,

    Congrats on getting the new signal mirror covers. I bought a set about 6 months ago and they work great. I've attached the 2 documents that helped me when I did the install. You might have already seen these files but they helped me out alot.

    Basically you need to run the wire through the door, and into the rubber tube between the door and the frame (no easy task, at least the first time). Then you can patch the wire into the wiring block as shown in the documents. Obviously you need to be careful not to cut or pull any other wires or you might have problems. I'm sure some others can chime in with other tips as I know there was quite a few people who did the install.

    -Peter B
     

    Attached Files:

  4. FL Buckeye

    FL Buckeye Member

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    Danny, you should ask Tommy about including the wiring harness he supplied in his first kits. I tried to suggest back on Oct 30th that the instructions seemed to indicate plugging the turn signal relay into the harness and then plug the harness where the relay had been, but got no response from all the others so let it die. It actually worked very good in as far as I had to do no splices or taps into the OEM wiring. And the turn signal relay will mount to the side of the panel where it was removed from so its not loose nor has to be tied down. By using the supplied harness, to revert back to original just re-install the relay where it was and the mirror signal leds are out of the picture. The bad part of the harness Tommy supplied is that, for me anyway, the cable to the pass side is too short, the connectors wouldn't connect (male to male) and maybe the wiring to the drivers mirror was short too. What I did was shorten the cable intended for the pass side and use it for the drivers door mirror. Then I made up a new cable to run to the pass side. I replaced the mismatched connectors with ones from Radio Shack, about $6 for 3 sets. BTW, the red wire is +, you can touch the wires to a 9v battery to confirm and verify the leds work. Anyway, the short story is that the installer doesn't have to alter any Toyota wiring, just the signal mirror wiring, so less worry about messing it up.

    I'm on a trip now and won't be home until around August 1st, so can't add too much more now. If you want some help writing up install instuctions, and could get Tommy's harness, I would be glad to assist. I'd even like to buy another harness just to get the relay connectors in case I want to do this to another Prius in the future.
     
  5. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prberg @ Jul 13 2007, 05:34 PM) [snapback]478387[/snapback]</div>
    Can you put some arrows in that picture? I see a lot of yellow and green wires.

    Would anyone want to take on the task of step by step directions (with pictures) from taking the door panels and mirrors off to putting them back on again? Something like I did with the buzzer install? I want side signal mirrors but am going to have to do this myself and I need both pictures and step by step from very beginning to very end. Thanks.

    And thank you Danny, for the possible opportunity of a group buy on this. Question: do they come in our Prius colors or would I have to get them painted before installing?
     
  6. prberg

    prberg Member

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    Godiva,

    there is a pretty good step by step if you take a look at the attached word document in my first post. From my experience the mirror covers are already painted to match your car, so you just have to give them your paint code (or color name).

    -Peter B
     
  7. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prberg @ Jul 13 2007, 07:18 PM) [snapback]478415[/snapback]</div>
    Okay. Here are my issues.

    You doc show the panels under the steering wheel and on the driver's door already removed.

    So I have to hunt around somewhere for directions on how to do that because they're not included in this doc, but they're necessary to do this install. Your last picture still shows the housings on the ground not attached to the car. Is that because the mirrors come with directions on how to attach them to the car but NOT how to attach the wires? So...I'm looking at three different places to find three different sets of directions.

    Get it?

    I'm looking for a one-stop-doc.

    That's why I included how to disable the Prius reverse beep in my buzzer install directions, because you need to do it as part of the install.
     
  8. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    Danny, you are going to love those new LED mirror signals. Call me crazy, but I enjoy changing lanes whenever I am near another Prius so they can see my Mirror Signals and know they are special. I am alway hoping one of the will flag me down and ask about them, but without the mirrow signals, they cannot flag me down. Ironic, isn't it. I better not add a sunroof, or I might be sticking my head up through the roof whenever I pas another Prius. P.S. I love ALL Prii!

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prberg @ Jul 13 2007, 03:34 PM) [snapback]478387[/snapback]</div>
    Peter, I noticed that your Red wire appears to be a larger AWG than your Blue wire, and I was wondering from an electrical engineering standpoint, does that cause the car to pull harder in one direction than the other? Using "Monster Cable Logic", it would, and maybe cause uneven tire wear as well.
     
  9. prberg

    prberg Member

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    It's true that the info is scattered over a few different documents, I guess I was surprised that the info even existed and it was enough for me to get them installed pretty easily.

    As FL Buckeye says, it would be great if they had wiring harnesses that just plugged in somewhere. Would make it alot easier. I included another document (it's probably somewhere on the board already) that shows a full teardown of the dashboard. I was able to see how to get the panels off with those 2 documents. But I agree that it would be easier if all the info was included in one easy document. It would be great if the covers actually came with instructions that were as detailed. The info that came with mine was very vague and did not help me much.

    oh and I can't take credit for creating these documents... I just found them here on Priuschat. The good breakdown of the wiring for the signal mirrors was thanks to Horacio.

    good luck,

    -Peter B
     

    Attached Files:

  10. ceric

    ceric New Member

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    I did my wiring by running the red/back wire pairs all the way to the rear backup lights.
    Of course, they are NOT visible in plain sight. :D

    If you got a signal tracer, you may be able to tap into wires near the front doors.
     
  11. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    ceric, your step-by-step instructions were the ones that I used to do the physical installation and have gotten me to where I am so far. Thanks for those instructions.

    Once I do this one time, I'll tear it all apart again and work on putting together a how-to doc on the installation. But I have to get mine working first.

    Thank you for the suggestions - I'll hopefully have some time to work on this some more tomorrow.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jul 13 2007, 07:57 PM) [snapback]478408[/snapback]</div>
    They will come pre-painted in any of the Prius colors. He currently only sells the JDM colors, I believe, but he is going to be able to replicate any color for the PriusChat Shop.

    And they do look very slick installed. Even more than I thought they would.
     
  12. topkick

    topkick Member

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    Danny,

    Any status reports on the Signal Mirrors? This seems to be mod. that a lot of people want. Thanks for any feedback.
     
  13. kinged

    kinged New Member

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    I also bought the mirrors from E-bay, but the directions I download from Horatio (Long island Prius group) seems to be different than the mirrors that I received. I got very confused looking at these directions. I have been asking auto shops around LA to see if they can install for me. Most said no, but one shop want $300!, and I am not even sure if I can trust them to do it. I hope someone can put together installation instructions.
     
  14. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NoMoShocks @ Jul 13 2007, 06:01 PM) [snapback]478441[/snapback]</div>
    ROFLMAO!!! :lol:
     
  15. prius62

    prius62 Junior Member

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    I ran my wires to the rear tail lights as well.
     
  16. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    Ok, quick update. I'm done with the installation on the driver's door. Now that it's complete, I think doing the passenger side will be a breeze.

    I'll be sure to document it with pictures and possibly video to help future installers.
     
  17. treehggr

    treehggr New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny @ Jul 25 2007, 02:20 PM) [snapback]484866[/snapback]</div>
    That would be great. I plan on doing this mod here in the near future and any guide or help would be awesome. Good luck on the passenger side.
     
  18. sparkyAZ

    sparkyAZ übergeek

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    Ok, I've been way overdue in posting to this thread. I installed my turn signal mirrors back in February and just now got around to finishing the write-up. Anyways, I collected all the information in the various threads and added some new tips I found helpful. I hope it covers the installation process and that I didn't leave out any small details.

    Here it is, enjoy!
     
  19. howardbc

    howardbc Member

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    Thank you so much, SparkyAZ, for the excellent instructions! It's obvious you are a pro at writing instructions. I have saved them and will contact companies who may install the mirrors for me, as I am mechanically and electronically challenged. I will first try Arizona Sun Tops, as they did an excellent job installing my sunroof and HomeLink rear-view mirror. If they can't/won't do it, I will keep looking. So if anyone out there can recommend a place to have the installation done, please let me know. It's not urgent, but I would like to eventually have them installed. Thanks again, SparkyAZ!:)
     
  20. exbauer

    exbauer Active Member

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    I had installed these and would not recommend the KTDreamworks ones. After removing the mirror glass and putting it back on it would shake. I was careful in removing and putting it back on.

    Did anybody else run into this problem. I should have just purchased the JDM ones and do the auto fold also.