2000 Ford Explorer Sport mirror swap

[John Minyard]

hey guys! I have a 2000 Explorer Sport that has factory power mirrors. I wanted to replace the with the ones that are puddle light mirrors. Will I havethe same connection plug or is it going to be different? Thanks!

 

[ranger7ltr]

I swapped my old non-puddle for a set with puddles and the connectors were different...I wired my puddles to relays from my interior lights to turn on when I would unlock the doors...I also put led lights in the puddles and wired a separate switch to turn them on when I needed them from the dash...

 

[Robman]

I've had the same idea before but gave up because the plugs were different.

 

[J_C]

Where are you getting the puddle light mirrors? If from a junkyard, how about pulling out that harness w/connector while you're at it?

I wired my puddles to relays from my interior lights to turn on when I would unlock the doors...I also put led lights in the puddles and wired a separate switch to turn them on when I needed them from the dash...

Just curious, why (when) do you turn them on from a dash switch in situations other than when they'd normally come on?

 

[1998Exp]

Cute decoration, but mine are too weak to illuminate any puddles. Their only practical value is to confirm that the remote door opening worked before I approach the vehicle in a parking lot.

 

[ranger7ltr]

Where are you getting the puddle light mirrors? If from a junkyard, how about pulling out that harness w/connector while you're at it?



Just curious, why (when) do you turn them on from a dash switch in situations other than when they'd normally come on?

I bought my puddle mirrors from Ebay...I didn't have the harness for existing puddle mirrors but I did have some old connectors that I pulled the pins out of and made a harness for the "extra" functions...I used the puddle lights, which are extremely bright with LED bulbs, to find my vehicle when needed and other functions when necessary...

 

[John Minyard]

Where are you getting the puddle light mirrors? If from a junkyard, how about pulling out that harness w/connector while you're at it?



Just curious, why (when) do you turn them on from a dash switch in situations other than when they'd normally come on?

I purchased mine off eBay as well. I was hoping the connections was the same. So I may end up cutting the connection from my old ones on and wiring them to the new ones and running a wire to the door jam switch

 

[John Minyard]

I swapped my old non-puddle for a set with puddles and the connectors were different...I wired my puddles to relays from my interior lights to turn on when I would unlock the doors...I also put led lights in the puddles and wired a separate switch to turn them on when I needed them from the dash...

Where did you run the wires through so they wouldn’t be seen? And which relays? The one in the fuse box in the dash or the one under the hood? I was looking for the door courtesy light switch or door jam switch to just splice into them since they come on when the door is unlocked using the remote. But haven’t found it yet.

 

[J_C]

^ John, the factory way that is wired for the mirror courtesy lamps is the interior dome lamp, cargo lamp, and compass/air-temperature module all 3 have a Black/Light-Blue wire that joins together into a single Black/Light-Blue wire that runs to the dimmer module.

None of those wires is anywhere near its current limit so you could tap into any of those runs (factory was that the mirror light wires joined into those where they met to form one wire going to the Dimmer Module), OR then another connected Black/Light-Blue wire runs from the dimmer module over to the Interior Lamp Relay, which appears to be in the relay box near the gas pedal, up and to the right if it stayed in the same location for an '00 Sport (labeled Dimmer in the following picture, again if this box also stayed the same for an '00 Sport):