Auto-dim mirror install question

[TBoliv]

So I installed a Gentex 177 mirror today and I can't seem to get it working. Here's the details:

I purchased it on eBay, it is used, and cosmetically looks great. It included the 7 pin connector and wiring harness. There were 2 wires, red which I was told was power, and black which I was told was ground.

I followed the wiring and install instructions from the Toyota PDF in this thread (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/accessories/715-adding-auto-dimming-rear-view-mirror.html#post7114). I wired it to A9 per the instructions. The only area I deviated was in the grounding; instead of wiring to a ring under the grounding screw, i T-tapped a ground wire in the bundle below the screw.

I ran 20g solid wire from the mirror to the power source.

I know it's not connected backwards because I already tried flipping the connections and it still didn't work. The compass is blank and shining a light on the sensor does not appear to make the mirror dim.


So my questions are these:
1. Is there a secret to waking this thing up? It should turn on automatically, or at least the ones I've had in past vehicles have.

2. Grounding it where I did shouldn't have made a difference, right? It's tapped to a wire that is connected to the grounding screw, so it should still be grounded.

3. Do I need to run a heavier wire? The wire on the pigtail looked the same size when I compared it to the 20g.



I contacted the seller with much the same information, but thought I'd give here a shot too.

Thanks in advance!

-Patrick

 

[4RNNR]

*subscribed* as I have been thinking about this mod as well

Please keep us updated when you find something out

 

[TBoliv]

Done! Finally!

Apparently when I was rooting around in the footwell yesterday, I somehow caused my Always on 12v outlets mod to un-mod itself. Not sure exactly what happened, but I noticed I had no power to my outlets, so started digging deeper. In the end I re-wired the jumper for that mod, and now everything works great.

Except, one small thing...because I have constant power to my outlets....and my mirror is wired on my outlet circuit....my mirror is always on. :ybrick: So, back to Radioshack for another connector. I'm going with D5 instead of A9 this time as I saw that used in another thread.

So, in summary:

1. I got my mirror from this seller on ebay (eBay My World - cgshaw2010) and my experience with him was awesome. Reasonably priced, accurately described, shipped fast, packed well, and he included a little packet of connectors and pieces to facilitate the installation (basically everything but the wire to run from the mirror's connector to the power source). When I emailed him last night I got an immediate response offering advice on solving the problem, his phone number so I could call and get over-the-phone help troubleshooting, and a reassurance that if the mirror was in fact bad, he'd replace it for me.

2. 20g bell wire from home depot made it easy to run, since it's got 2 conductors already.

3. If you've wired up the Always on 12v Outlets mod, you need to pick a power source OTHER than A9 as instructed in the Toyota install guide unless you want your mirror on all the time as well.

4. I love my mirror.

5. I did this mod in conjunction with the homelink console mod, and it made it easy to hide my connections between the run wire and the mirror pigtail in the headliner. Having the overhead console out gave me some room to work, then tuck the wires back inside and reinstall the console.

 

[4RNNR]

sounds great

nice responsible ebay seller also

congrats