Replacment Rearview Mirror For Homelink, Compass and or Temperature Display

[griffbl]

Hey Gents!

I did a quick search on our posts, but nothing came up......Anybody have a recommendation as to a replacement mirror with lights, Homelink feature, (so I can quit keeping a garage door opener on the visor!) and maybe a compass feature? I like the exterior temperature readout also on my other cars, but that would certainly make the install more difficult. Ditto on the backup camera...what i really want is just lights, homelink and compass.

I asked Shelby, and much to my surprise, he has never had anyone ask to have this done to a car! I wished I had it done the last time my car was in his shop!

Cheers,

Bradford aka Griffbl

 

[twobjshelbys]

You can get this mirror from Ford. I put one in my Mustang. You can also just buy the Gentex mirror from Mito Corp, which is where I bought the one for my truck. The difference will be that the Ford wiring harness will dress nicer than the generic one from Gentex/Mito.

http://www.mitocorp.com/

The weak link is in the wiring. Mito and Ford want you to run switched and unswitched power from the fuse block. The fuse buddy thing they send doesn't work well - the fuses don't seat well and vibrate loose. I used a regular fuse buddy that works better. On my truck I found switched and unswitched power in the overhead console and just tapped there. It only takes a couple of hundred milliwatts so it's not like you need a big fuse.

I put the temp/compass/homelink in the Mustang and homelink only in the truck since it already had compass/temp in the overhead. Either requires you to pull the molding from the A-pillar to route cables. Temp requries you go go through the passenger compartment to get to the front of the vehicle to mount the sensor near the front lower bumper.

P.S. They have a backup camera version that will be on the top of my list.

Edit: I would recommend the Mito version. The Ford mirror came with a spring clip to mount on the slug that is glued to the windshield. It vibrates. The mirror is a lot heavier than the original. The stock one from Gentex/Mito connects to the slug with a hex-head screw and is a solid connection.

 

[BlackICE]

Hey Gents!

I did a quick search on our posts, but nothing came up......Anybody have a recommendation as to a replacement mirror with lights, Homelink feature, (so I can quit keeping a garage door opener on the visor!) and maybe a compass feature? I like the exterior temperature readout also on my other cars, but that would certainly make the install more difficult. Ditto on the backup camera...what i really want is just lights, homelink and compass.

I asked Shelby, and much to my surprise, he has never had anyone ask to have this done to a car! I wished I had it done the last time my car was in his shop!

Cheers,

Bradford aka Griffbl

I am very pleased with my Homelink mirror that has a 3 buttons for remotes, a temp gauge and compass. As for the light, I did a Shadowman dome light conversion. Shadowman supplied me with the necessary parts and more importantly walked me through the entire installation procedure. I am not very comfortable with interior work where the aesthetics are important, but with Shadowman's support the results were nothing short of fantastic. I added a dome light switch in the headliner as well and it was works and looks OEM IMO.

 

[griffbl]

You can get this mirror from Ford. I put one in my Mustang. You can also just buy the Gentex mirror from Mito Corp, which is where I bought the one for my truck. The difference will be that the Ford wiring harness will dress nicer than the generic one from Gentex/Mito.

http://www.mitocorp.com/

The weak link is in the wiring. Mito and Ford want you to run switched and unswitched power from the fuse block. The fuse buddy thing they send doesn't work well - the fuses don't seat well and vibrate loose. I used a regular fuse buddy that works better. On my truck I found switched and unswitched power in the overhead console and just tapped there. It only takes a couple of hundred milliwatts so it's not like you need a big fuse.

I put the temp/compass/homelink in the Mustang and homelink only in the truck since it already had compass/temp in the overhead. Either requires you to pull the molding from the A-pillar to route cables. Temp requries you go go through the passenger compartment to get to the front of the vehicle to mount the sensor near the front lower bumper.

P.S. They have a backup camera version that will be on the top of my list.

Edit: I would recommend the Mito version. The Ford mirror came with a spring clip to mount on the slug that is glued to the windshield. It vibrates. The mirror is a lot heavier than the original. The stock one from Gentex/Mito connects to the slug with a hex-head screw and is a solid connection.

Can the existing power to the lights in the mirror be used, and if it only a compass and homelink, wouldn't that avoid any a pillar work or additional wiring?

 

[BlackICE]

I believe that can be done. If I recall correctly the OEM power to the mirror is always on and the ground is controlled. However the power wll be cut after about 10 minutes by the control module so that the battery isn't drained. If you decide to do a dome light you have to remove both A pillar anyway and the temp sensor should be routed in front of the radiator.

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Call the GT Guys - Rich did a few year before last. Including a GT specific wiring kit.

 

[twobjshelbys]

Can the existing power to the lights in the mirror be used, and if it only a compass and homelink, wouldn't that avoid any a pillar work or additional wiring?

I don't know what the FGT mirror looks like - are there lights in the rear-view? In that configuration it is true you only need power so you might be able avoid going into the pillars if there is power in the area. If so then I recommend trying to use it. Be careful when tapping power lines in the headliner area. Some of them are "dimmed" before they get to the lights. Avoid power to any light that "fades" when you open or close the door or turn on/off the key. So be sure to use a DVM on the wire with the switch on and off, then switch on and use the instrument panel dimmer, etc. to be sure the voltage doesn't drop when things are on or off. My truck ran raw switched and unswitched to the overhead and dims from there.

Of course if you have a wiring diagram its easy - look for something going to the area that comes straight from the fuse block.

if there are vanity lights in the visors that might be a power source - you'd have to go along the top headliner transition, but you can usually tuck wires back there. The power to them might have the concerns in the above paragraph.

Some pundits think everything, including homelink, should be switched - this prevents someone from using the unlocked car to open the garage door. Kind of a moot point if the garage door opener is hanging off the visor.

 

[Kayvan]

Be VERY careful removing OEM mirror...adhesive can remove chunk of windshield glass; and then you are stuck, replacing windshield and not being able to pass inspection. Happened to someone here

 

[DanQ]

The difficult part of replacing the GT mirror is the dome lights built into the mirror. There is no dome light, so a replacement gentek or mito mirror with map lights just doesn't have the same light intensity to see anything inside the interior.
I haven't see the mustang part referred to by twobjshelbys. I bought a junk GT mirror with hopes of opening the case to add a 3 button homelink remote, but I can't figure out how to remove the glass from the OEM Donnelly mirror.
Maybe I'll look into getting brighter LEDs from the gentek mirror I have too...

 

[BlackICE]

The difficult part of replacing the GT mirror is the dome lights built into the mirror. There is no dome light, so a replacement gentek or mito mirror with map lights just doesn't have the same light intensity to see anything inside the interior.
I haven't see the mustang part referred to by twobjshelbys. I bought a junk GT mirror with hopes of opening the case to add a 3 button homelink remote, but I can't figure out how to remove the glass from the OEM Donnelly mirror.
Maybe I'll look into getting brighter LEDs from the gentek mirror I have too...

You can do something like this to replace the mirror lights then any aftermarket mirror will work fine. Works much better than the OEM mirror lights and now you can have your interior lights and homelink, compass and temperature.