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I installed a Gentex-177 mirror with Compass (EASY)

M

m4gician

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jun 5, 2006
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Location
Toronto (Woodbridge)
Okay well I'll post pics in the morning, but here's how the basics of it go,

Obtain a Gentex or similar mirror with at least the Compass feature. (Those with temperature feature will be a little more complicated because of the fact you will need to install a sensor which will probably be inaccurate anyways and will not factor in wind chill and humidity.)

Here's a basic how-to

The mirror, depending on the one you get (got mine off a 2000 Crown Vic), will have a power harness wire attached to the mirror and that's it. Depending on which mirror it is again, that will determine what and how many wires are connected to that harness.

Step 1, make sure there is enough length of that harness as you'll need to strip the wiring and solder (or connect using electrical tape and some bending of the wires)

Step 2, if you have a sunroof, great because you're not going to have to try and run wires to the dash or ignition coil.

Step 3, remove sunroof panel and find the cable connecting to the sunroof motor (not the one connecting from the switch to the motor).

Step 4, strip a little of the wiring off each wire (one should be black, the other should have a purple and black combo or similar).

Step 5, Look at your mirror and locate the wires coming out of the FIRST and SECOND spots, if you have a gentex mirror, it'll be marked 1,2,3,4,5..etc. Wire #1 IS ALWAYS THE 12v connector, and having that connected to the sunroof wire will ensure that whenver the ignition is turned on the mirror is on. I originally had it wrapped around the dome light and it stayed on at a reduced output which wasn't good.

Step 6, do the same as step 5 for the black wire, and any black wire will do.

Step 7, mount the mirror onto your bracket and use either goop or a good long lasting TOUGH adhesive as it will benefit you in the end when your mirror doesn't shake.

Voila, done and done :).
 
I have been seriously thinking about getting a 'high feature' rear view mirror too.

I really miss the temp. and compass features that I had in my last car. Autoanything.com has them for almost $200 with all the features...sort of steep but I am still considering it.

Thanks for the how-to. I'll refer to it if and when I do get the mirror!
 
I've personally posted 2 FAQs on the old forums, but for S&G, I'll do one here.

You have to figure out what you want first.

There are 2 major OEM manufacturers, Gentex (covered here) and Donnelly. Donnelly mirrors are not as popular, as most manufacturers use a Gentex mirror. Only car I've seen with a Donnelly Dim/Compass/Temp was my sister's 2001 Subaru Legacy Outback LL Bean, and it didn't work!

Here are the different types of mirrors you can get:
  • Auto dim only
  • Auto dim + Compass
  • Auto dim + Compass + Temp
There are other variations like OnStar, Homelink, and Autolamp that all need the respective electronics in the car to operate, so steer clear of these unless you can get the rest of the stuff with it!

The electrochromatic Auto dim feature is nothing like the manual dim you currently have. Manual dim mirrors work by reflecting off the reflective stuff behind the glass normally. When you flip the lever, the mirror tilts to a certain degree and then everything reflects off the face of the glass itself, effectively dimming (since the glass is reflective, but not nearly as much as the reflective material behind the glass).

Electrochromatic dimming works by applying voltage to a special glass. It works just like an LCD panel. Depending on how much power you supply to the glass, it will either be clear (no power) or will start to dim progressively up to a certain point (max dim). It accomplishes this with a light sensor that picks up on headlights. It will dim to a certain point with dim light behind it, but if someone has their brights on, it will go to fully dim. It has another light sensor in the front to disable dimming during daylight hours. I believe Maybach has this sort of tinting on it's normal windows.

Anyway, back to the mirrors.

There are 3 ways to get one of these mirrors:
  • Authorized Retailer (like Mito). Will charge up to the MSRP of $249 (for compass/temp)
  • Dealer. WILL charge the MSRP for the "dealer installed accessory" kit.
    • Ford XF2Z-17700-AA Auto Dim/Compass/Temp
    • Ford F6AZ-17700-AC Auto dim/Compass
  • Ebay, in which there are 2 ways to get it
    • Vendor such as Ddave57, who sells a complete kit for just over $100
    • Junkyard such as LKQ (search each one for "compass"), who will sell you individual components
    • Stay away from anything else, they are overcharging!
Run away from mirrors pulled from imports, unless you can see that it uses a US style wedge mount (like your Contour has), assume it has a cam mount, which WILL NOT work on a US car!

I've personally dealt with Ddave57 (purchasing a kit similar to this), and his install kit is top notch. He gets the mirror and sensor, then builds a wiring kit for it. He also includes instructions for installation. This is the way to go unless you find a stellar deal like an LKQ auction that includes the harness and sensor. Ddave57 also sells a piece that will allow you to put a wedge mount mirror into a car with a cam mount on the windshield.

Of course, if you just want the Compass or plain Auto dim, go with LKQ and get one with a harness! LKQ mirrors are always less than $30... if it's not, or someone is already bidding on it, look some more! You'll find what you want.

If you do choose to get a mirror with the Temperature display that isn't in a kit, you will need the sensor from either GM or Ford (they work exactly the same!). GM Part number is 15047946 for the sensor, and 12101856 for the sensor harness (you need both! dunno what the Ford #s are)

If you search around LKQ enough, you will find what you want. Just make sure you get one that has a harness with it! If you don't, and it has a 16 pin connector, you will need to buy another mirror just for the harness (believe me, I know from experience! :blackeye:)

If you went the LKQ way, you will need to wire it up. These pinouts were obtained from searching "Gentex" on the12volt.

7-pin: (*required connection; **required if you have a temp display)
  • PIN 1 = PINK = POWER = +12 volts*
  • PIN 2 = BLACK = CHASSIS, GROUND*
  • PIN 3 = LIGHT GREEN = BACKUP LIGHTS*
    • If not using the backup feature, connect this to ground otherwise auto dim will not function properly.
  • PIN 4 = GRAY = TO AUTO DIM OUTSIDE MIRROR
  • PIN 5 = PINK = TO AUTO DIM OUTSIDE MIRROR
  • PIN 6 = DARK GREEN/WHITE = TEMP SENSOR**
  • PIN 7 = BLACK/WHITE = TEMP SENSOR**
16 pin: (*required; **required if you have a temp display)
  • 1 = Grey = not used
  • 2 = Bare = Microphone
    • OnStar Mirrors
  • 3 = = "Passenger Air Bag on" notification
    • some GM trucks - ground pin to activate icon
  • 4 = = "Passenger Air Bag off" notification
    • some GM trucks - ground pin to activate icon
  • 5 = = auto day/night signal from LH outside mirror
    • If you have a dimmable mirror, the rearview mirror can dim it with this and pin 16
  • 6 = Brown = Temp probe connection**
  • 7 = Green/Black = Temp probe connection**
  • 8 = Black = Ground*
    • Common to Pin 9
  • 9 = Light Green = Reverse Dim Inhibit
    • Common to Pin 8, +12V from reverse lights to disable dimming
  • 10 = Gray = Microphone
    • OnStar
  • 11 = Dark Green/White = keypad signal (out)
    • OnStar - multiplexed signal
  • 12 = Light Green = keypad +5v supply (in)
    • OnStar
  • 13 = Yellow = +12V switched (ignition)*
  • 14 = Yellow/Black = Green LED signal
    • OnStar - apply 12v to light LED.
  • 15 = Brown/White = Red LED signal
    • OnStar - apply 12v to light LED.
  • 16 = = day/night signal to LH outside mirror
    • If you have a dimmable mirror, the rearview mirror can dim it with this and pin 5
If your colors are different, then you'll have to figure it out by the pin number! When I bought an LKQ mirror w/o a harness, I picked up a random OnStar/Compass mirror that had it. It had no wires where the temp pins are, so I had to disassemble the harness and move 2 of the [useless] OnStar wires to the temp hole. While you're doing this, might as well remove all the unnecessary wires so you can hide the wires better (I used heatshrink, just like the factory).

If you are using some oddity mirror (like an older style autodim), take the model number and search on Google and/or the12volt forums.

If you need a 16 pin connector, this thread says:
Call Waldoch Crafts 651-464-3215 and ask for the custom center. Tell them you need the harness kit w/ temp sensor, that will give you everything you need to wire your mirror in. Don't worry about the factory warranty with this either. I put these in for dealers all the time...
Click to expand...
 
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one additional point

one additional point

Big Daddy Kane gave an excellent accounting of the gentex mirror. I would like to add one more comment. I recently installed a used Gentex 261 with the passenger air bag indicator. The pigtail supplied with it had wires connected to pins 5 & 16. As Big Daddy points out, these can dim an outside mirror if you have one. The way this is accomplished is by putting the outside mirror's EC element in SERIES with the inside mirror's EC element. If you don't have an outside dim mirror, these wires must still be connected to allow the current to flow through the inside mirror's EC element. I found that by connecting a 10 ohm resistor between the wires coming off pins 5 & 16 that the circuit is complete and the mirror will dim. Hope this info helps someone out.
 
folks, i'm looking to install a gentex dimming mirror with compass and temp reading. i was looking at the genk20 and the genk21. i'm not quite sure what the difference is between them. can you guys suggest where to get it and if the tour already has a temp sensor and/or where to position the sensor if i need to get one?

also, do you think i'd be able to find a stock used one from a different model car that would work with the tour?
 
infratl said:
folks, i'm looking to install a gentex dimming mirror with compass and temp reading. i was looking at the genk20 and the genk21. i'm not quite sure what the difference is between them. can you guys suggest where to get it and if the tour already has a temp sensor and/or where to position the sensor if i need to get one?

also, do you think i'd be able to find a stock used one from a different model car that would work with the tour?
Click to expand...


Hmm... search Google for the differences between them. There's TONS of variations of these mirrors... like I mentioned in my post from 2 years ago.

Homelink would work if you also get the box from under the dash of the vehicle the mirror came out of. Onstar, on the other hand, is tied into a lot of components of the vehicle, and probly won't work out. Nor can you use a homelink or onstar mirror to control something else... when you push one of the buttons, they're not momentary switches but send a series of pulses of different voltages for the control box to decypher. So without the box, the buttons are useless.

Contour does not have a temp sensor, since it never had a temp readout. Install the temp sensor AHEAD of the radiator in a place it has access to outside air (if you put it behind the headlight, the heat of the headlight will throw it off). Best bet it behind the bumper or somewhere in those areas.

Best buy to not pay $250 for a new one is to search Ebay for "gentex" and you'll come across hundreds that are for sale. Make sure it comes with a harness (and temp sensor if a temp mirror) as well since, again, the Contour never had these mirrors.

Expect to pay roughly $100 for a complete used mirror/harness/sensor... even though you will see LKQ selling them for $30, make sure it at least has like 6" of harness so you can wire it up. And don't count on a temp sensor for that cheap, a new one will run you about $30 from a GM parts store (supposedly the Ford ones are even more expensive).

Oh, and what else you need to know... The mirror mounts are the same for the Contour and the GM mirrors. My Nissan has a Donnelly mirror with a narrower mount and the Gentex mirror falls off :(
 
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