El Cheapo Heated Mirrors

Then would it be easier if I put the two mirrors in series bc I ran the two Wires from each mirror to the relay anyway. You think the mirrors will get hot enough?

 

I would leave them in parallel.
I don't think you will tell any difference if they're in series vs. parallel. Yes there will be some reduction, but none that you will actually be able to feel. The amp draw we're dealing with is just not that much.

Did you use the Toyota mirrors or the handlebar grip heaters?
I would leave the Toyota ones the way they are. They were designed to be fed with 12 volts to begin with.
If you used the handlebar ones, they should have included a 5 watt resistor. If not, let me know. I believe I should have one around (or someone else on here) that I'll freely ship out to you, or I can possibly get a PN for one from Radio shack that you can buy and install. I'm not at a user friendly computer to lookup right now. Just remember that it gets warm. It will have to be mounted in a safe manner, away from heat sensitive areas.

 

Anybody know where I could find similar pads but larger than what OP had used?

 

i looked for a while and didn't come up with anything when i did mine. Although the pads are smaller than the entire mirror they heat up the entire mirror in about a minute and a half

 

i got the ones like the OP on ebay.. guy is in poland but they get here fast.

they might actually be a bit bigger than the OP's and they have adhesive already on them

search mirror heat grid

 

Burco sells redi-heat grids that might work. I ordered the entire redi-cuts replacement mirrors for 2006 Sienna. They have stick-on grids on the back. I am sure they must be the same as the redi-heat grids.

 

Anyone try these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Driver-Side...pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

 

for what are heated mirors used for?

 

to remove condensation and frost....

 

subbed

 

This is ingenious!!!! I really want to do this.... just nervous that I'll melt the mirror housing in the oven.......

 

No need to use the oven, I just gently pried the mirror off.

Shawn.

 

so you can ask dumb questions

 

alright i finally broke down and ordered a set of handlebar heat pads today from Amazon.

I've been trying to decide how I want them to be wired up.

skimmed through some pages here and it looks like some people are against having them on for an extended period of time? I was thinking about wiring them so they are on anytime the defroster is on. If anyone feels that would not be a good idea please respond explaining why.

 

They might heat up too much, I'm guessing you don't need them too much when you're driving since the snow and rain will be hitting the front of the mirror housing so it will mostly be when you jump in your truck and the mirrors are iced over. Because of the heat issue I would not do it with the defroster because when it is cold outside, I'll run my heater with the defroster and the blower at the feet at least on low the entire time. You will need the defroster the entire time you are driving because the second you turn it off your windows will start fogging up (but I'm guessing you already know that).

I may be wrong, but most cars with them stock should have timers on their mirror defrosters.

Edit: Just saw that a 4runner has them tied to the defroster, but maybe the heating element on that is specifically made for the housing so it is safe

 

Might just wire them to a toggle switch in the coin pocket then. Unless anyone else chimes in

 

Look into the highlander heated mirror switch. It has a timer built in, fits into the factory blanks with very little adjustment and matches the other dash switches. I believe it's timed for 15 minutes then automatically shuts off. I'm in the same boat and also came across this:
http://www.wolstentech.com/products/timedelayrelay/basic-instructions.php

I think that's a timer relay that will do the same thing, let power be on for a set amount of time, then shut the device off. You could then get any rocker switch that resets itself (momentary switch) to trigger the power to turn on and the relay will shut it off at whatever time interval you set. Look specifically at the TDR-M or TDR-MC relays.

 

Is there a way to turn these off before the time ends just in case?

 

I was going to call the company when I got a minute because I've got a lot of questions about the setup.

With the Highlander switch, just press the button again and they shut off.

 

Screwed up typing on my phone but you can see what I wrote in the quote