I've wanted an electrochromic (auto-dimming) mirror for some time, and I saw a nice Gentex unit on eBay today that I picked up for $30 (it was pulled out of a salvaged '99 Infiniti.) It supposedly includes the wiring harness.
I know somebody on the LS forum mentioned putting in an electrochromic mirror with temp display. Has anyone here done it or known someone who has?
I believe it requires running wires into a 12V source (say the moonroof power feed), and here's the tricky part, into the back-up lamp circuit (so that the vehicles reverse lights don't dim the mirror). I don't know if there is a separate fuse for the backup lamps, if so, perhaps it could be spliced in near the fuse.
Also, the OEM mirror is glued directly to the windshield, as opposed to sliding on a button. I know I'll need to have a new one attached.
I'm inclined to have this professionally installed (a guy at my dealership gave me the card of a stereo shop that does installs. The wiring doesn't scare me as much as the risk of breaking a very expensive windshield pulling off my OEM mirror. Hopefully, the job will be quick, as there is no temp sensor that must be routed through the firewall.
I'm just looking to see if anybody has done this mod. The first guy I mentioned this to at the dealership looked at me as if I was trying to do something as complicated as dropping in a manual gearbox or new engine.

 

wow. that's a lot of work for...a rear view mirror. i don't use my stock rear view mirror anyway. i put on a big 320mm aftermarket and it's great cuz i don't need to use my side mirrors if i didn't want to (although i always do). i never understood auto-dimming electronic mirrors but you can find glare-coated mirrors for maybe $15. oh, and about the back-up lamp circuit, sounds like the brake light WILL cause dimming to some degree, no matter what. just my opinion. good luck on your mod, hope it turns out good.

 

i wanted one of those too, but it was 200 dollars. you need to heat the adhesive on the winsheild, use a heat gun and put it near the outside of your winshield and melt the glue through the glass. or you could just roll up the windows and seal up the ar on a reallly hot day and dont put up your window shade, the heat builds up in the car causing the adhesive to melt causing the mirror to fall down

 

Interesting idea about the heat gun. My car is black with black interior, and it's baking in the 87 degree sun right now. Hopefully, the old or new mirror won't fall off on its own
I didn't want to spend $200 plus for the part, either, so I started checking eBay for ones pulled off salvage vehicles. Unfortunately, they're usually these ugly, old-style mirrors out of late '80s Cadillacs. So when a modern looking one out of a '99 Infiniti popped up with a cheap buy-it-now, I jumped on it. (Still kicking myself for passing up the mirror with the built in Homelink transceivers (out of a wrecked C5 'Vette).
My dealer offered to get me their subcontractor price on the labor at the stereo shop (the guy thought it was $35/hr). If that's the case, I'll probably leave it to a pro, unless one of my friends who's always wiring cars for sound can help me with the harness (he happens to have a heat gun handy, too
I'll be sure to post some pics when it's done (and of the install if it's a DIY job).
For those wondering about the back-up lamp interface, it disables dimming while the circuit is hot (vehicle in reverse). That way, parking lot lights and the car's own reverse lights won't dim the mirror, which would make it dangerously hard to see objects that don't have lights on (like parked cars and pedestrians).

 

haha. back way back when, when we used to have a FORD, we went on a family outing one weekend and the rear view mirror just fell off. worst part, we couldn't find any pep boys open cuz it was a major holiday. FORD...Fix Or Repair Daily.

 

let us know if it works

 

Will do. Hopefully I'll have the part by later in the week.

 

I get a call from the mirror place saying they didn't take down my credit card number correctly. It would have been nice if they didn't wait over a week to admit this The guy apologized profusely (lest I give him a bad eBay feedback) and told me I should have it by Thursday. Well, Thursday's a holiday, so I'm not holding my breath

 

well that sucks, thats a reason why i dont like ebay a whole lot if you get a bad guy. which reminds me, i need to send an e-mail to a guy who still owes me $50 from ebay

 

The part showed up Wednesday. It's a nice gray color, close in color to the headliner. Unfortunately, they lied to me about having the complete harness. Luckily, these Gentex mirrors are used in all sorts of cars: Lexuses (same mirror as 02 ES without compass), Toyotas (newer, up-line Camry/Solara's have the same mirror), Nissan/Infinitis, GM's, etc. So I'm going to call various parts departments of local dealerships to get the other half of the harness (that plugs into the plug on the mirror). The connector only has two pins, so I'm not sure if it has a back-up lamp override or not. Hopefully the shop will know. I'll post some pics once it's in.

 

Well, the install shop refused to take off my old mirror because they didn't want to be liable if the heat gun damaged my windshield. They told me to call around to auto glass places. I did, and the first 4 or so I talked to refused to heat off the mirror, either. The 5th reluctantly agreed, but told me there was a "significant risk of ruining the windshield, and that I'd have to sign a waiver holding them not responsible if it broke. I turned them down, thinking they would be a little less than careful taking it off if they were trying to sell me a new windshield.
I'd rather flip the thingy back and forth on the mirror than replace the windshield.

 

Thats a lot of money just for a mirror. I think that I will stick with my old one.

Adam " Lexist "