First of all try saying that title three times fast. Anyways down to business. I Just finished installing a Gentex 313 Autodim mirror with compass and homelink last night in my 2000 Solara SE. This is a pretty easy install, it just takes some time, patience and some basic wiring.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270721984/in/photostream[/URL]
I am going to outline the hard way to do this project. Reason being is you will have to run wires down to the fuse panel found behind your handy coin tray. An easier alternative is to tap the existing wire harnesses found connected to your overhead console. I know this would work on cars with a sunroof, as you need to tap continuous 12V and switched 12V. Continuous so that you can use homelink transmitter without having the car on, and switched 12V so that the autodim mirror will function and not drain your battery. You can find continuous 12V off of your map light harness, and switched of of the sunroof switch. If you go that route you only need to follow steps 1-7 and then use vampire clips.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270716032/in/photostream[/URL]
I went the route of running wires as I would not have to splice factory wiring, so if something happened I can simply remove the wiring and take the car back to factory. I like having an out should something happen. Or I screw something up.
List of supplies.
• Gentex mirror with WEDGE MOUNT
• Gentex pigtail that has the plug for the mirror, and hopefully roughly 6" of wire
• Small gauge wire, I had about 20 feet of 14 gauge left over from another wiring project.
• 5 1 1/2" long pieces of small heat shrink tubing. Plus heat gun. (optional for classy install)
• Crimp connectors if you are afraid of starting a fire
• Electrical tape
• Solder, flux and soldering iron
• Wire cutters/strippers
• Phillips head screw driver
• Small flat head screwdriver
• Old towel or shirts
• Cool helping hand thingy. (
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=360-670)
• Voltmeter - don't worry we wont get too technical, we just want to check continuity.
• One ring crimp terminal
• Labeling materials
• Extra human (optional)
1) remove the factory mirror by inserting a really small flat head screwdriver into the slot you find on the underside of the mirror mount on the windshield.
Press firmly until you feel the screwdriver release the spring tab.
2) Push the mirror up towards the headliner, it should slide right out leaving you with a tiny wedge mount on your windshield.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270187943/in/photostream[/URL]
3) Open the sunglasses/ remote holder on your overhead console.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270186865/in/photostream[/URL]
4) remove the two philips head screws located on the front of the console closest to the wind shield.
5) using the same tiny flat head screwdriver gently pry out the lens cover for your map lights. You should pry on the side farthest away from the wind shield, as the other side has two longer tabs the lens slots into.
6) Once the cover is removed, you will find one additional phillips screw, remove it.
7) Carefully pull down on the console on the front edge closest to the windshield. There are two spring like tabs that help hold it in place. Once the front is down, slide the console forwards towards the windshield as there are three longer tabs in the back that slot in underneath the headliner. Congrats! Take a quick break. You deserve it.
8) Done with your break? Good, now it gets a little more aggravating. Now you must remove some trim. Start with The piece that runs along the bottom drivers side floor. It should pop up if you pull straight up. It can be a little difficult to remove, its removal is also covered I believe on audio install guides.
9) remove the bulbous trim piece in the footwell by first removing the black plastic knob that tightens the trim piece to the firewall. Then you will have to release one plastic spring clip that attaches the trim piece to the side of the car, pull out towards the passenger side of the car to release this clip, it will take some force.
10) Remove or release the thin stupid plastic trim piece that runs between the door jam and the dashboard. I never got it all the way out, but just enough out of the way to run wires behind. Its truly and annoying PITA.
11) now pull the a pillar trim piece loose, not out. I managed to get the A pillar pulled far enough away that I could run the wires without having to completely remove it. It is held in by a bunch of tabs along the top side and a plastic christmas tree clip (I hate those things) located on the A pillar just below where it meets the roof.
12) Take another break, this has been frustrating and you may have hurt your fingers, go have a drink or some cheez its/ chilli cheese fritos.
13) Now that you back in a rational state of mind its time to wire!
14) measure your wire into 3 equal length pieces.
15) Now feed the wire under the headliner starting at the console and run about 8" out of the hole for the center console.
16) Carefully route the wire (I did one at a time) under the headliner over to the edge where it meets the A pillar.
17) taking all of the wires together run it down the center of the A pillar and down behind that annoying thin piece of trim.
18) This will get you to where the lower dash meets the car and there is an opening through which you can feed the three wires.
19) now they will come out close to another wire harness and a few plugs.
20) The ground wire will find a home near the floorboard where there is already a ground bolt. Go ahead and route that wire, strip the end and crimp on your connector.
21) Remove the ground bolt with your phillips screwdriver and replace with your ground wire. (your 1/6 of the way done with your wiring)
22) route your other two wires up between the dash and your fuse box and pull out through the opening, leaving about 4" of extra cut of the wires and unroute the wires back to the footwell. (you do not have to do this, but I didn't have a helper and needed more wire length to work with when soldering.
23) Strip the two wires and you can either crimp on the add a circuit fuse connectors, or do like I did and cut the crimps of and solder the wires together (takes more time, but I think it is a lot cleaner, and sturdier). Go ahead and reroute the wires to the fuse box.
24) Congrats your half way done with your wiring! Might want to take time to find someone with steady hands, and grab some more cheez its.
25) Back to work! Now you need to make sure you determine which wire goes to what. Again you will have Ground, constant 12, and switched 12V.
On my mirror a gentex 313 out of a nissan maxima, the solid black wire is ground, the orange wire was switched 12V, and the black red stripe wire was constant 12V.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270189167/in/photostream[/URL]
26) Place towels over your interior, and possibly your helper, avoiding burns or fire is a good thing today. Solder or crimp those three connections depending on how daring you feel. Sweet 95% done wiring!
27) I should probably tell you what fuses I used. Fuse location 30 and 36 is what you will tap into. Fuse 30 is for On Board Diagnostics, or so it says, and supplies 12V with key out of the ignition, this lets you open your garage door without the car being on or the key being in which is nice. Fuse 36 is a fuse for your radio, it is switched on when you turn the key to accessory or obviously when the car is on. You use this to run the autodim feature and compass/temp if your mirror is equipped.
28) Pull those two fuses, watch out its kind of a pain. They are both 7.5A fuses. Place them into the first position into your add a circuit link, and then a 10A fuse in the second position (I used this as it is what other people I read who put fusible links in used, you could probably use a much lower amperage fuse should you feel it is necessary). Again make sure autodim wire is in fuse 36 and homelink is in fuse 30.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270183171/in/photostream[/URL]
29) Hang your mirror on the wedge mount and test it out! Reflect in the glory of a job well done (had to get a pun in somewhere)
30) Route the wire into the headliner and optionally hide with the cable tray piece gentex makes.
[/URL]http://www.flickr.com/photos/68194130@N07/6270190379/in/photostream[/URL]
31) Carefully reassemble your trim pieces using zip ties as necessary to secure cables. Go for a drive, as it is probably dark out and check out your new toy!
Additional steps are required to program the homelink features as well as calibrate certain models compasses. On mine I pressed and held the homelink buttons 1 and 3 for about 20 seconds until it flashed, then held the remote transmitter to the mirror and hit homelink button 1 and the transmitter at the same time until the light on the mirror flashed rapidly. If you are lucky this will be it test out your mirror and the door opens. If you are me you have a rolling code garage door opener. You then must exit the car go up on the opener, press the program button on the opener, then you have 30 seconds to go back to the car, and press the home link firmly three times I believe, and this will "Sync" your mirror to the opener. Now you should be opening/closing like nobodies business.
Linear Mode
