El Cheapo Heated Mirrors

i dont know which vehicle the switch is from but its the part number posted up on the forum... 00550-35976

should be here tomorrow am.. for $20 so i cant go wrong.

is the Highlander switch have a built in timer cct so i dont have to built my own??

and Sonjay. i was planing on doing the same just hooking up to the acc line so that i cant 'forget' it on hopefully i'll have all the parts tomorrow and the mod done this weekend. As long as the the BC weather doesnt bury me in snow, or flood me out...

 

^^Be sure to post some Pic's of the finished Mod and your switch.

 

A picture of this switch was posted earlier in this thread. Check here:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/15958-el-cheapo-heated-mirrors-2.html#post202140

 

Well after alot of hunting around, i finally was able to find the heated grip kit without having to buy a snowmobile

Turns out that finding the kit locally is possible if you order it from the eastern Canada 5 days in advance?!?!?





So heres the pics of the gear and the switch, however the weather gods are angry as i have rain and snow at my house, so this mod will have to wait for some dryer weather, and time off.

 

Found them for sale here: http://www.sandhillspowersports.com...60011&actn=displayproductdetails&details=show

 

That's the stuff, bk1! For safety, at the same time you install the heaters, do the constant power mod to the 12v receptacles. Then, using the switched circuit from where that relay inserts, power a relay for the mirror heaters.

The constant power mod can be found in the "cheap mods" section.

 

i wasn't even planning on using a relay. the heaters use 3-4 amps to run, so i was just gonna us a 7.5-10amp fuse on the acc line and power the heaters. the switch is rated at 21amp at 14V DC no point having 2 types of differant switches to run 1 item. If the heaters required more current, then yeah..

however the weather and time arent permitting me to do this right away, so gonna have to wait for better weather... unless someone close by has a garage and is willing to let me use it for a few hours

but the constant 12v is nice, i dont use the front 12v alot, as i have installed a constant 12v behind the bench seat for my rechargeable flashlight, but i'll do it while i'm back there just in case

 

ok, the weather dried up so i started the mod, got the mirrors out, heating element on, and waitin for the glue to dry.....

more details, pics, and tips to follow tomorrow

BK1

 

So here’s the mod so far..

Mirrors are out, found if you use a flat head screwdriver, there’s 2 little notches between the black mirror backing, and the white motor bracket, insert screwdriver and a bit of a twist and it’ll pop out and then just tilt up and out it comes







I didn’t end up using the oven to release the adhesive as I have a heat gun, so using that to gently warm up the adhesive and used a putty knife to separate the backing form the mirror, once I got one edge of the adhesive up, I just used a lil bit of heat to help remove the glue backing. So for the bits left over, I just used Goo Gone and a paper towel to clean it all up.





Used tsilliker’s marking, and gluing layout for reassembly. And of course, some clamps to help with the curing process. (I know the clamps are overkill, but I didn’t have anything smaller that wouldn’t risk scratching the mirror)








So while waiting for the glue to cure, I took out the door panels and mirror housing, and the kick panel out. Separating the mirror was straight forward, theres 3 Trox screws on the underside of the mirror, 2 are under an oval cover (T25 screwdriver) and then theres a small screw near the motor’s wires which needs to come out and separate the housing from the sail.








The switch was a lil bit more involved as it doesn’t quite fit in the cutouts, I don’t know if they’ve changed something between the previous models, but with the use of a utility knife, and a small file, I trimmed some of the plastic and voila switch fits perfectly. It doesn’t lock in place, but it’s a snug fit, so I’ll just some hot glue and help secure it in place











More to follow tomorrow...

 

Good write-up. FWIW, I used the same switch, and it pushed right into place with no trimming at all. At first I didn't think it would quite fit, but it wasn't going in square. Minor adjustment, and Bingo! I used the middle slot in the row you are using, not that that should make any difference.

 

Nice work, bk1! Don't forget to save that Canadian Tire money!

 

ok, so as promised here the rest of the mod.



mirrors went back together easy, just remember to follow the wires from the motor. I used a drop of thread lock on the 3 trox screws on the underside, as Toyota had done that originally. everything snapped back together, just take ur time putting the door panel and sails back on. . Theres 3 small clips on the back side of the sail that clip to the door, i found that if you remove them from the door, place em on the sail and then clip the whole piece in, works better as the clips tend to push thru (sorry theres not many pics, as most of this work was done in the rain)

Running the wires took the longest. I used a 2 foot zap strap with a few holes in one end to feed the wires thru, flexible enuf to make the turns.

Did the constant 12 V mod while the fuse panel was down, and used the ACC switched line from the same relay to run the heated mirror. Toyota's relay had fatter blades on 2 of the 4 relay pins (not the ones for the Constant lighter plugs) so i used a dap of hot glue to help secure the blade in place.

finished off all the wiring and put everything back together, and it all works. Switch lights up when the heaters are on (couldnt test it much as there was no frost/condensation on the mirrors - But the water on the mirrors dried up pretty quick )

So heres what it looks like now.





I like the finished look, Wish Toyota had done this right the first time, but thats ok, makes the truck more unique

Thanks tsilliker for the orignal post, and the great guide to follow.

BK1

 

That's great! Any more snow in southern BC in the forecast? You guys had a lot! A friend in Vancouver said the place was shut down for a while!

 

I totally need to do this mod. We had sub zero temps for the last two weeks and I could not see anything out of them for most of the time. I can't wait for summer when I can do this so I have heated mirrors for next winter.

 

theres was mixed snow and rain the other day (Sat) so about 2 inchs of wet stuff.. and lots of rain... but the short term forcast looks good... just some rain. hopefully it'll stay that way.. this city doesnt function with snow... its horrible... ppl forget how to drive (or just dont know)

 

So what would it cost me for one of you guys to install this for me? That's a lot to remember! Im definately impressed with your guys ingenuity! Nice work.

 

if you were local, id definetly help you out, but the florida, and British Columbia are a long ways away... I think theres enuf info, pics and details to get you thru this. it doesnt need a whole lot of knowledge either its pretty simple... as for $$ $40 for the heaters, $20 for the switch, $3 for the fuse and holder and $5 for the adhesive... no bad

BK

 

so i finally got around to using the heated mirrors the other morning.. and had my camera handy, so here's pics.. the shots are about 20 seconds apart









and the entire glass was clear in about 4 min...

 

That looks exactly like what mine does... awesome!

 

Just a tally for the poll:
I used Liquid Nails brand Mirror Adhesive from Home Depot. I did this just before christmas, and no problems with the heat or the mirror backing, so far.