El Cheapo Heated Mirrors

Nice write up. Good idea!

 

Would you use them much?

 

how r those heated mirrors holding up? i'm thinking of trying this one out for the future mods list

 

I've been using the heated mirrors for four months now, and no problems. I used exterior silicone as detailed in the original post.

 

Tremendous write up and work.

I'm just too lazy to do all that, sadly to say.

 

I've been using mine often for the last 4 months also, I used exterior grade silicon, no problems!

 

I also asked a friend, who installs auto glass as well, and he verified this. The reflective film is sandwiched between two pieces of glass.
He also suggested exterior grade adhesive over silicone for longevity, but that is like peanuts, since comparing 20 years of life to 25 years of life for a vehicle is null.

 

if i used a relay could i use the fog lights as the switch? just to avoid adding a switch

 

^ you could just wire it direct to the fog switch I would think. The heaters draw very little currant, however your fog lights would be on whenever your mirror heat is on!!

 

cool i'm going to try this when i get a chance

 

The Toyota Highlander switch works perfectly. The only bad, is it's about $60 bucks!
The part number is 84871-48030
The switch comes with a green colored background illumination light. You will need an amber bulb to match the Tacoma layout.

Just remember when your wiring the elements that the switch is a ground contact. I only ran one wire through the door to reduce clutter and grounded the other lead within the door. Therefore I was required to use a relay. If I would have known I would have ran both leads. I figured a $3 relay was easier than taking the door panels off again, so I just wired in a relay.
The switch will activate for 15 minutes per cycle, or until the vehicle is shut off.

Here are some images...

Edit: The switch will activate for 15 minutes, de-activate if pressed again, or de-activate when vehicle is turned off.

 

Nice switch! How may contacts does this switch have to connect to?

So you are saying the 15 minute timer is within the switch?

 

Yes, the timer is integrated into the switch itself.

There are a total of 5 connections.
You can get the factory connector for the switch, but I used the really small blade terminals (.11" width [2.8mm]). I added a picture, but I used uninsulated ones and covered them with shrink wrap so they could fit inside the switch. The cost for the plastic connector itself is only about $3.50, but each lead is $4 and for 5 of them, it was just more cost effective.

The five connections are...
1: Illumination Constant
2: Illumination Rheostat
3: Ground
4: Timed Ground
5: Accessory positive

I got a copy of the schematic from a 2003 Highlander FSM from my dealer.
If you don't have access to one, the numbers above correlate to 1 on the bottom and 5 being on top, with the switch mounted.

Just remember... The switch makes a ground contact to operate. If you fail to do this, you will blow every fuse in the system including the 50A under the hood!!

Edit: A have added a diagram to show how to integrate a relay into the system. In fact, I suggest all applications to use the relay.

 

future summer MOD comming up... SWEET and timer intergration

 

Bumping an old thread, but need a little more clarification.

So the +12v lead from the mirror would go to terminal #5 along with the switched power source? Or do you just tie the +12v in to an accessory fused location in the fuse box?

 

What you said will work. The positive to the heaters is switched with the key. The negative will be operated by the timed negative output of the switch.

 

tsilliker is correct.

For the cleanest install, Run both wires through the door to the switch. Then connect as above with the Positive (+) lead tied into the #5 slot on the switch. Actually it doesn't matter as long as you have both the wires at switch (+) or (-). There is no polarity to electric heaters.

1: Illumination Constant
2: Illumination Rheostat
3: Ground
4: Timed Ground (Connect to one lead from each heater) [2 wires total]
5: Accessory positive (Switched power) & (One lead from each heater) [3 wires total.]

 

Sounds good; thanks for the tips! I plan to use the Burco Redi Heat mirror elements as opposed to the motorcycle grip heaters. The only blank location I have for the switch is down near the lighter, so I'll probably just tie into it for the power source.

 

Hi

Sorry to bring up an old thread

When you hooked up the switch,did you use the constant illumination or the rheostat option?

I'm assuming the rheostat option would have to be tied to the dimmer?

Thanks

Shawn

 

What is frost and/or dew???