Rear view mirror w/ Compass install?
- Thread starter JPL
- Start date
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Installed mine last night! I picked one up on Ebay for 69$ .HERE . It was not too hard. I think it took me about 45 minutes to have it up and running. The trickiest part was finding 12V that was hot only when ignition switch was on.
In a nut shell:
1. Remove old mirror
2. Install new mirror
3. Connect wire harness to new mirror
4. Remove driver side A pillar grab handle and cover
5. Tuck wire harness under head liner and run towards driver side A pillar
6. Run wires down allong air bag harness and into the dash. Just drop them down throuugh the opening below the a pillar and crawl under the dash and grab 'em and pull through.
7. Connect ground to one of the support bolts under dash. They are 12mm so they are easy to spot just behind the brake pedal.
8. Now find a 12v hot that is only on when the key is on. I used a Multimeter and just started checking them at the back of plugs until I found one.
9. Now that the hot wire has been ID'd, use one of those splice connectors (can remember the real name) and clamp the mirror hot (white) to the hot wire you found.
10. At the plug end on the mirror,, make sure the pin one wire is white (hot) and the pin 2 wire is brown (ground). for some reason theye were reversed on my plug and it took a bit of troubleshooting to figure it out.
Hope that helps!!
In a nut shell:
1. Remove old mirror
2. Install new mirror
3. Connect wire harness to new mirror
4. Remove driver side A pillar grab handle and cover
5. Tuck wire harness under head liner and run towards driver side A pillar
6. Run wires down allong air bag harness and into the dash. Just drop them down throuugh the opening below the a pillar and crawl under the dash and grab 'em and pull through.
7. Connect ground to one of the support bolts under dash. They are 12mm so they are easy to spot just behind the brake pedal.
8. Now find a 12v hot that is only on when the key is on. I used a Multimeter and just started checking them at the back of plugs until I found one.
9. Now that the hot wire has been ID'd, use one of those splice connectors (can remember the real name) and clamp the mirror hot (white) to the hot wire you found.
10. At the plug end on the mirror,, make sure the pin one wire is white (hot) and the pin 2 wire is brown (ground). for some reason theye were reversed on my plug and it took a bit of troubleshooting to figure it out.
Hope that helps!!
Scoobs
Member
Rather than running wires all over the place can you not just splice into the power for the sunroof switch up where the map lights are? ( assuming you have one)
In the current generation of RAV4 it's a simple matter of splicing into the sunroof power where the sunroof controls and map lights are.
In the current generation of RAV4 it's a simple matter of splicing into the sunroof power where the sunroof controls and map lights are.
drmorbius
New member
I bought mine here. http://www.brandsport.com/gntx-50-genk5.htmlAnnoyed said:
Scoobs
Member
Can also buy here
Wembleysells
I bought the Gentex 50-GENK41A, autodimming and 3 homelink buttons, no compass.
Wembleysells
I bought the Gentex 50-GENK41A, autodimming and 3 homelink buttons, no compass.
Scoobs
Member
installation instructions
good link to installing an autodimming/homelink mirror with or without compass yourself
good link to installing an autodimming/homelink mirror with or without compass yourself
MileHi 4R
New member
Pretty simple install. I bought mine from E-bay for $74 shipped and it included the wiring harness and instructions. The easiest way to get to the wire in A9 is to remove the plug by loosening the screw that holds the plug in, remove the plug and then peeling back some of the electrical tape. This gives you pretty easy access to the wire (brown/red stripe). Splice in the power wire from the mirror and then ground the other wire and you're set. Seems to work just fine and it's less than an hour start to finish.
FireEngineer
New member
Bringing this one back from the dead! Does anyone have pictures of this install? Does it require removing of internal trim? I'm not familiar with electrical mods and would appreciate a more detailed write up with pics of this install if anyone has them...
Thanks!
-Brandon
Thanks!
-Brandon
FireEngineer
New member
Found these install instructions, for those of you that have done this - are these pretty accurate? Did you have to tape the wire up behind your headliner?
Auto Dimming Mirror Installation Instructions - Gentex
Auto Dimming Mirror Installation Instructions - Gentex
I hate to sound like an idiot here but are there any adhesive compasses, electric or traditional, that you could just stick on the dash? Like under the rear power window button? It might not look as classy as the electronic ones, but I don't use a compass for the way it looks.
If no-one has ever heard of this I'll make one this weekend and post some pics.
Edit* It turns out you need a digital electronic compass, a traditional would encounter interference.
If no-one has ever heard of this I'll make one this weekend and post some pics.
Edit* It turns out you need a digital electronic compass, a traditional would encounter interference.
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Scoobs
Member
If you have a sunroof, which I see you do FireEngineer, you can splice into the sunroof switch power up in behind the switch. once you are done you just push the switch housing back up into the ceiling and the wires are behind it and not going anywhere. The link I posted is for installing a mirror in a RAV4, but it should be the same procedure when tapping into the sunroof power on a 4R, and the link has pictures. I did it in my RAV and it took @ 1 hour I think, and I was taking my time. I used vampire clips to tap into the power.
These instructions should work for auto dimming mirrors with or without a compass. If you get a mirror with outside temp then it will be more complicated to route the temp sensor, but you should still be able to use the sunroof power.
http://sumbiz03.home.comcast.net/~sumbiz03/ECMirror.pdf
These instructions should work for auto dimming mirrors with or without a compass. If you get a mirror with outside temp then it will be more complicated to route the temp sensor, but you should still be able to use the sunroof power.
http://sumbiz03.home.comcast.net/~sumbiz03/ECMirror.pdf
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FireEngineer
New member
Awesome info Scoobs! I think I can handle that install. I just need to find a good cheap mirror with compass now!
Thanks again for the very helpful response!
-Brandon
