D.I.Y Heated Mirrors :)

Charb was asking if I've done heated mirrors before.. I've done them on my 4x4, so thought it would be a good idea for the RT.. so here's the write up :)

I went to the wrecker and started popping lens, I found the first gen acura tl and 96+ acura El both had heated elements.. I snipped the wires and brought them home. I ended up using the Acura El they fit well with a little trimming. When I have a chance to go back and look for different models I will update the thread with them.

1: Remove the door panel, and mirror arm cap then the screw inside, slide the knob off and then the mirror garnish, there is 4 screws to remove- 3 behind the garnish and one to the right of the door seal

2 : Once the mirror is off you will see a hole in the bottom of the frame, use a phillips screwdriver to loosen the screw, once done use a flat head screwdriver to "pop" the glass frame off the ball and then slide it off the arm


3: Now to remove the lens from the frame is simply done by using a heat gun to soften the plastic frame and adhesive that holds them together, once the lens is popped out of the frame, use the heat gun again on the front of mirror to loosen the plastic backing from the lens, the same thing is done for the acura lens and heater element



4: Once you have the element off the donor glass and the ef mirror clean, test fit the element and trim if needed, I used a 2 part instant CA glue, I spread the glue on the glass and the activator on the element, you then line up the location of where the element wires go thru the frame and drill it out accordingly. Once this is done heat up the plastic frame and snap the lens back into it. I used a thin strip of double sided tape on the back of the element to stick it to the frame again



5: for the wiring I folded open the mirror mount and drilled the hole right beside the manual arm. I drilled thru the rubber gasket at the same time so I could then remove it and use it to line up the hole in the door frame, I used a push in plastic grommet on the mirror and door frame so the wire would not short out at all.



6: I then soldered the and extended the wires on the heater element using 18awg speaker wire and ran it thru the mirror frame making sure it does not pinch when the mirror mount is folded. I then bolted it back up the wagon and ran a wire thru the stock door loom to the drivers kick panel.



7: Once the wire is ran inside I located the oem rear defrost wire in the kickpanel, it's in the loom running to the rear, it's a 14awg green/black wire. I soldered a inline fuse holder to it with a 10amp fuse. I then taped up the oem wires and soldered the fuse holder to my leads from both doors, I grounded both sides at the same point using the dash support bolt. I left the fuse holder accessible above the carpet below the fuse box.The element wiring can be connected in either direction it will work both ways :)



Now repeat for the passenger door and you have yourself a pair of heated mirrors! they work great I ran the rear defrost for about 10 minutes and you can physically feel the heat on the glass.. bring on the cold!

Comments

  • CharbCharb Administrator
    Oh man this is soooo awesome! Thanks for sharing buddy!
  • ^^^^^ THIS is why I LOVE this site and I LOVE you guys! Thanks for the thorough write up Old Skool :encouragement:
  • AbideAbide Council Member
    fantastic writeup. thanks buddy!
  • TerminusVoxTerminusVox Senior Wagonist
    Great idea for our frozen brethren! Might even be handy on those foggy mornings when the rear defogger is useful down here in the South.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    Impressive. But...

    if I find myself in need of heated mirrors, I'm going to invest my time in the rentatruckloadmystuffandmovewaaysouth mod.
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