Lady72nRob71

Okay, since my inside rearview is water damaged and needs rework, I decided I want a nice auto-dimming one with the compass and temp displays. These are very useful when touring. Map lights would be nice, too, since my 'vert' lacks upper illumination.
The new mirrors from gentex cost about 200 bucks, so that is out.

My friendly junkyard told me any mirror for 5.99! ANY mirror they said!
I plan to go this Sat. AM to see what i can find.

SO, what GM cars have the auto dimming mirrors with compass display, separate temperature display, and the two map / courtesy lights at the bottom??
The electronics need to be self contained in the mirror (not connected to vehicle computer) and I do not really want the onstar buttons. I can make a wiring harness once I figure out the pinout. I will just have to also grab the donor's temp sensor near the grill.

I know these mirrors are out there on early-mid 2000 vehicles, as i remember a thread LONG ago on another site discussing the details on installing one into an 80's Olds. I was almost thinking the donor vehicle was an Impala...

Any ideas? What is on your newer GM cars?
Anyone know if the newer (late 2000) units have self contained electronics (less temp sensor)? I want to be able to just add constant power, switched power, ground, dome light input, and temperature sensor wires.

joe_padavano

Good news/bad news.

The good news is that all these mirrors are made by one of two companies, Gentex or Donnolly. All auto manufacturers pretty much used these two sources, so your search is not restricted to GMs. My Allante has a mirror from a Chrysler Sebring.

The bad news is that every one of these that I've seen uses the glue-on glass mounting. I have not seen one that will screw to the mirror arm on an A-body.

Lady72nRob71

Very good to know! I saw LOTS of Chrysler products in that yard... You even mean to say your two were plug and play?? Wow!

For six bucks I was not expecting a walk in the park. I do not mind working for it (by fabbing a custom bracket to mount on the new mirror...) I might grab several for only six apiece!

joe_padavano

I didn't say that...

Since I swapped a Donnelly for a Gentex, I needed to swap around some of the wires in the connector. The diagrams are available online.

The problem with fabbing a custom bracket is that the newer mirrors have swaged ball fittings at both ends of the mounting arm. There is no easy way to remove the windshield mount arm without damaging the mirror. I've been considering a way to use the windshield mount and just fab a cover for the hole in the windlace at the front edge of the headliner on an A-body.

Lady72nRob71

So Joe, do you prefer one brand over the other, and if so, why? I think i will have my choices at the yard...
I think imports have a nonstandard mount, requiring a special glass button.

From what I have seen online, It looks the Gentex has the display in the glass and the Donnelly has the display in the bottom plastic. Is this the general ID rules?

It looks like I might just mount mine to the glass and cover the upper arm hole. Mine being a convertible, that job will be easier as the hole is in a plastic cover! It will not be too conspicuous, even it I left it as is.

Thanks for the good info!

Olds luvr

Rob, I know this is an older post but did you do the mirror? I just bought one that is auto dim, compass and map lights but no temp. I will be looking to do the install and run the wires with the rest of the electrical. Wish I would have called a yard and went and looked but I got it for 25 shipped so not that big of a deal and came with the plug and part of the harness

Lady72nRob71

Not a prob replying to an older post!
I got the best I could find in that one yard and pulled it from a 96 Caddy and cost me 6 bucks.
It only has dimming & compass, so i am waiting for one that has map lights and temp.
(Also waiting to replace the windshield header strip.)
What did yours come off of, do you know??

On the back, look carefully for a brand name and number, then search online for a wiring diag. Or post what you find here or send a picture of the wiring.
I deciphered mine by just by looking in my 97 Caddy service manual.

Olds luvr

Mine was out of a 95 impala SS. If you look at one from a 05 yota matrix is had all four features and found a place online that sells it for $78 but $6 is very hard to beat. The only ones I found with the map lights were the one I ordered and the one from that yota and also from a sebring convertible. I wanted temp as well but chose the map lights over the temp. I will post pics when I get it. I

Lady72nRob71

Where online did you find it?
Thanks for the car line leads - I need to hit the yards again soon!
For 6 bucks I should buy em all and resell, huh....

Olds luvr

Some of them on evilbay are crazy.....saw one that had all the features removed from a lincoln LS get bid up to 95 plus shipping....There are quite a few people doing them. Here is the link to the yota one maybe easier to just buy the one for 78 instead of hunt all over but where is the fun in that

http://www.toyotapartspeople.com/Sea...ar+View+Mirror

Olds luvr

I also forgot summit sells a kit for a "custom install"

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CI...5&autoview=sku

The **** 36500 has the temp as well and is listed here:

http://www.amazon.com/****-36500-Dim.../dp/B00029WSX6

Lady72nRob71

This looks like the one in the early 2000s Tahoe, too. It should be a Gentex - my Caddy ones are and look much like this one.

I am not desperate for one, so I will wait, especially for 6 bucks.

joe_padavano

That Summit mirror is exactly the same as the one I got from a Plymouth Sundance for $20. All of these aftermarket mirrors are the same as the factory ones. The wrecking yard is your friend.

I still haven't heard from anyone who has successfully mounted one of these mirrors on a pedestal-style mount like on an A-body.

Bluevista

I don't see any auto dimming mirrors with LED compass and outside temperature displays on the 1972 option list?

Oh come on Rob, you arent going to modify an original mirror into one of those units?
My faith is dwindling, say it ain't so Rob.

Why not go for the LCD back-up camera monitor screen mirror and the satellite uplink? I heard that you can get them wiith a barometer and doppler radar screen too.
You could check out your burnouts while your doing them and broadcast them live with a weather report.

You're a young guy Rob, I always thought you had to be way older to actually want to put a compass in your car?
They do still make the liquid filled Airguides grandpa bolted to his dash don't they?
You have to have a way to verify all those interstate signs are correct.
I think they were standard equipment in land yachts, you needed them to plot your course.
Remember all of youse land yacht captains, when you're heading back from a cruise at night in one of those hulking leviathans of the sea it's always red light right returning at night or you'll bounce off the breakwall.

Lady72nRob71

I won't be the first to try... I want to keep the stock mirror in good shape, as these with the map light are hard to come by.
I will just glue the button to the window and remove the original mirror, so any changes will be reversible.

Sorry, Blue', not gonna modify the original.

Now that's a bit too much; I can handle the difficult task of looking behind me while backing without help...

Now THIS might be worth doing now!

I'm aging a lot faster than I wish. By time the compass is installed, I will be over the hill.
On the positive side, a compass and a paper road map is all I need to get around. Not some $400 limited life gadget that will have me going the wrong ways, yelling out "steal me" every time I park the car. It would probably end up meet the BFH like the ipod did...

I could find something like that, but magnetic compasses only point in one direction in Lady, thanks to her 6 big speaker magnets... The electronic ones adjust for those.

Lady72nRob71

Heck, and when searching for mirror compasses, I found out that my "survival kit in a bottle" that I got a few years ago has been recalled!

I used this thing in London back in 2005 and kept wondering why we were getting lost. The magnet in the flashlight rendered the compass useless!

The company offered a replacement compass/whistle, but would it still work next to the flashlight? How are you supposed to read the compass in the dark?? Blow the whistle like crazy and hope someone brings you a non magnetized flashlight?

Geez...

Olds luvr

Rob, Well here is where i am with my mirror upgrade. I bought a beat up mirror from a Chevelle to use the factory mounting system. I took the new mirror apart to see how this will work and will work very well and there will be no need to glue one the the new windshield since I broke mine pulling it out to paint the metal dash. here are some pictures. In picture 3 is the trimmed factory mount that fits inside the new casing great

Bluevista

That looks good.
Those mirrors aren't as wide as the originals are they?
I saw an NOS map lght mirror sold for 129 bucks on evibay and it had broken glass.
For some reason the things are worth money, even used with bad glass go for pretty good bucks.
I have the map light mirror, I'm going to go get one of those kits like Rob has for a compass.
When does the GPS in the ashtray thread start?

Olds luvr

Hmmm GPS....

Blue, I think they are close in witdth. The reason i cut up a chevelle one was it did not have the map light feature and was not going to hack mine up. This way I can just unmount the new one from the factory location and put my original one back in.

Bluevista

A Chebelle mirror is the same as an Olds mirror but it doesn't sound as bad destroying one of those.

I'm going to get a sextant for my car, early GPS.
I'll need a clock that keeps perfect time now though?
They have the WWII military aircraft sextant deals for sale at the flea market all the time, just need a hole in your roof to stick it through.


My car had an eight track in the ashtray hole with a vintage 1976 Reggae tape in it, GPS would be cool. I get lost trying to go up the street to the store and back.
If I fall out of the car or it throws me will it drive back to my garage by itself with one of those GPS deals?

Lady72nRob71

Awesome!
Thanks for researching this and posting the "how to" instructions!
I saw some old mirrors laying around at an old car boneyard last month - I need to go back and get one. So you just use the internal bracket and mount it in the new mirror?

Olds luvr

Blue, I will not need the whole in my roof I will just keep the top down and it can be used as a portable unit....as to your car driving back home you need the other piece of the auto pilot.....

Yes, I shaved the rivets off of the cheb mirror (like stated abaove...same mirror but chop the cheb) Inside of the old mirror just has the mounting bracket. I gutted the new case from the and will use an epoxy to hold the mounting plate in place, reassemble the mirror, run the wire in the same fashion the factory map light wire was ran and have it function and mount like factory....The only draw back is the mirror I bought was not an auto dim and I assumed it was so when I gutted the mirror it does not have the "flip feature" for night driving.....but oh whell I will have the comp, temp and 2 map lights

Really an easy and fun little project. I will keep you posted as I still have to mount the button for to change the display from temp to direction....take a look at my thread on the progress of the interior as I ran into a couple issues that maybe you can help out with

Aceshigh

I have tried looking for these myself, but you're not going to find all of those features AND the map lights.
I've tried, and tried, and tried. They are EXTREMELY rare if they are out there.

I just ordered 2 mirrors off Ebay. Both have Autodim, Compass, Temp.
I spent 2 hours in a pick and pull and found jack doo doo.....so I got em off Ebay.
$25 x 2 plus $20 shipping. Just finished the deal via phone last night with a guy from NYC.

Left Mirror is from a 2004+ Saturn Vue
Right Mirror is from an early 2000 something Yukon/ Tahoe.
You can tell if they are Temp AND Compass by the buttons mainly.
You can also tell by the etched out mirror area , but the right one you can't see it.

2Mirrorssidebyside.jpg
2Mirrorssidebyside2.jpg

Both have the AutoDim, Compass, and Temp features.
One is a 7 wire, and the other is a 16 wire setup. The 2 mirrors are side by side in this photo for you to see the difference. These have the EXACT same functions, the Yukon mirror is just an older generation. You just need to eliminate the bar hanging from the headliner for the old mirror. Grab some wedge's off ebay you can mount to the glass. Wire them up and you're going to need the Temp Sensor for $3.27 off www.GMPartsDirect.com

Temp sensor with bracket GM PART # 15047946 $13.21
Temp sensor by itself GM PART # 25775833 $3.27

16 and 7 pin wiring found here
More wiring info here

Olds luvr

Aces, For me the map lights and temp were what I was after most. Not wanting to mount them to the glass I am making mine work in the original position. I also know where to het a mirror that has the map light, auto dim, compass and temp for around $80. They are around but not too common to have all 4 features. Also I believe there are only 2 major makers of the mirrors no matter what care they come in they are all made by the same 2 companies for the most part.

Thanks for the part number on the sensor and bracket

Aceshigh

Where ??
I've looked......since November 2009 til now.
Rare isn't the word.....I wanted all 4 features myself, but don't feel like forking out the $300 for a new Gentex mirror.
I've seen all 4 features in 2004 and newer vehicles , but those junkyards around Chicago that carry vehicles THAT
new won't even let us walk in. They demand a $50-$100 charge up front for THEM to go get your part.

Maybe you know something I don't. Share the wealth.
Yes, they are all made by Gentex or Donnolly as someone else already pointed out.

Olds luvr

Aces, This was posted above and hope you find good success. If you do buy this one please let me know how it turns out as I may order this one as well,

http://www.toyotapartspeople.com/Sea...ar+View+Mirror

They say it has all of the features, Auto Dim, Compass, Temp and Map lights for $78

Good luck

Olds luvr

I just sent an email to them to have them confirm that it does have all of the features and I will let you know what they say so we do not order it and iturns out to not have all 4 features.

Thanks

Aceshigh

Link is not working. I do appreciate the help tho.
Just so ya know I got 2 mirrors already with Autodim, temp, and compass.
I have the 16 Pinout diagram for wiring from ALLDATA as well.

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179824

I would have PREFERRED the map lights included.....so if you can find one , let me know via EMAIL.
I'm only on here every few days. thanks.
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