Fitting mirror heaters - removing the glass

[tfmorton]

Has anyone tried removing the door mirror glass to fit mirror heaters?
I'm thinking about giving it a go since the heaters are only a fiver on eBay and it's an easy and useful mod.
I'm just worried about getting the glass out - any tips/advice?

[Fin]

Have a read through this one

 l viewtopic.php?f=9&t=63065&p=736295&hilit=Heated+mirror#p736295 l

[tfmorton]

Thanks for the link - I figured it out.
It's actually really easy once you apply a little heat.
I'll order some heater pads. I think the hardest part is running the wires into the mirror!

[tfmorton]

Well, that was a very easy but useful mod.
I can go into more detail if anyone is interested...but in a nutshell
1] Get some mirror heaters from eBay. Search 'WING MIRROR GLASS HEATER 8 cm x 14 cm car side mirrors SELF-ADHESIVE 12V' £4.38 for a pair so very cheap.
2] Pull out the driver side kick panel (the bit of plastic moulding right by your right foot) and get your head up in the void - you will see two relays. The lower of the two is the rear window heater relay (it'll click on as you turn on the rear demister) Locate the large black wire. This will go live when you switch on the demister.
3] You will need to run a cable all the way from this relay to the left and right hand mirrors. You don't need thick cable. The mirror heaters pull about 600mA (7.2 watts) each so you could do what I did and buy a few meters of red and black speaker cable from Wilkinsons.
Whip the door card off, remove the woofer and tweeter and gently peel back the splash screen from the top left corner (a little heat helps).
Locate the thick wire running into the door from the A pillar. Use this as a route finder to tie your new cable to.
The rubber cable channel can be easily pulled back so you can feed your cable from the A post (footwell) into the door. Secure the cable to the thick wire bundle so it doesn't flap around. I fitted a pair of bullet plugs up near the existing mirror plug to terminate the cable.
4] Remove the mirror completely. Lower the window all the way down and undo the two 10mm bolts.
5] The glass is removed by gently prising from the bottom and pulling out from the bottom.
6] Remove the actual glass from the plastic backing. Apply moderate heat from a heatgun and prise the glass out from one corner - it'll come out easily.
7] Remove the white gunky glue from the back of the mirror. Apply some heat and scrape off with a plastic scraper - be very careful not to scratch the thin metal underneath! Clean up with white spirit (again - be very careful not to scratch the delicate reflective coating).
8] Stick the mirror heater to the glass (ensure the connectors face inwards to the mirror housing)
9] Drill two holes in the plastic mirror backing to allow access to the power terminals (use some bluetac to locate where to drill the holes)
10] Unscrew the motor from the mirror housing. You now need to run two wires up the inside on the plastic tube where the motor wires run. This is quite tricky, but easy if you feed a smaller cable though first and use it to pull your cable through. A little oil for lubrication also helps. Reseal the tube with electrical tape.
11] Connect the wires to the mirror heater and terminate with 2.8mm spade plugs.
12] Refit the mirror and put everything back as it was.
13] Do the same for the passengers side. You will need a longer cable. I removed the glovebox and ran the cable neatly along the back folowing existing cable runs.
14] Enjoy your cheap and useful mod!

[StuC]

Well done on completing the mod.
I found the hardest part was routing the wires back into the car.
For those that haven't done the mod, I'd suggest your idea of a termination/connection point on the inside of the door aperture. This will be invaluable if the mirror ever needs to be serviced.

[CrazySX]

I want to do this but maybe going a different route. Quick question. What is a banana plug?

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[lamcote]

See:

 m https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&key ... to4k_e_p28 m

[CrazySX]

Am I being thick or is there supposed to be an earth wire for the heater element Too?

Did i miss detail about it? I got that you took the live from the relay. Did you just piggy back the earth of one of the existing wires in the mirror? And use one banana plug?

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[StuC]

There is a solid earth at the bottom of the a-post (footwell area). You can use that no problem.

[CrazySX]

There is a solid earth at the bottom of the a-post (footwell area). You can use that no problem.

Thanks for the pointer Stu, but I wanted to know how the OP did it. Having to banana plugs in the door is a bit bulky imo. One would be ok.

[StuC]

Using a couple of bullet connectors works just as well in fairness.

[tfmorton]

There is a solid earth at the bottom of the a-post (footwell area). You can use that no problem.

Thanks for the pointer Stu, but I wanted to know how the OP did it. Having to banana plugs in the door is a bit bulky imo. One would be ok.

Yes I used the earth at the bottom of the A pillar (in the footwell)
You must fit some form of plug inside the door, otherwise if you need to remove the wing mirror you'll have to cut the cable. I used Japanese bullet connectors like you find on Motorbikes - see link.
 m https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Japanese-3-9 ... 0009.m1982 m

[CrazySX]

There is a solid earth at the bottom of the a-post (footwell area). You can use that no problem.

Thanks for the pointer Stu, but I wanted to know how the OP did it. Having to banana plugs in the door is a bit bulky imo. One would be ok.

Yes I used the earth at the bottom of the A pillar (in the footwell)
You must fit some form of plug inside the door, otherwise if you need to remove the wing mirror you'll have to cut the cable. I used Japanese bullet connectors like you find on Motorbikes - see link.
 m https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Japanese-3-9 ... 0009.m1982 m

Cool! That makes sense now. Thanks.

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[tfmorton]

Thanks for the pointer Stu, but I wanted to know how the OP did it. Having to banana plugs in the door is a bit bulky imo. One would be ok.

Yes I used the earth at the bottom of the A pillar (in the footwell)
You must fit some form of plug inside the door, otherwise if you need to remove the wing mirror you'll have to cut the cable. I used Japanese bullet connectors like you find on Motorbikes - see link.
 m https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Japanese-3-9 ... 0009.m1982 m

Cool! That makes sense now. Thanks.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

No worries.
I've edited my instructions to make it a little clearer.
Now the cold weather has arrived you really appreciate heated mirrors!

[Enjay]

I might be being thick here but... if heat is needed to soften the white gunk that hold the mirrors on to the plastic backing (I've had my mirrors apart so I know the stuff people are talking about) is there not a risk that the heated mirror element will also soften the gunk and risk the mirror dropping off the backing?  Or do they simply not get warm enough to do this (like a heated rear screen never feels warm to the touch)?

[StuC]

Mine has never fallen off!

I'd agree that it just does not get hot enough.

[Smcknighty]

Last year I got as far as running the cables and fitting for the drivers mirror, this year I might plug it in! Weather is pretty mild down south and I don't drive the mr2 enough


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