Auto Lamp Install issue

[gtyates]

After researching advice on this web site, I attempted to install an auto lamp mirror in my '97 XLT with a rap module. I followed instructions I found on here and did the following:

1.take the green wire from the mirror and tap into the green/orange wire that goes to the vanity mirror for constant power.

2. I took the red wire from the mirror and tapped into the grey/yellow wire on the console harness.

3. I took the black ground wire and attached to the screw holding the console bracker in place.

4. I took the black/pink wire from the mirror and ran an extension down to beside the emergeny brake and tapped into one of the black/pink wires in the wiring loom (there are 2).

5. Finally, I took the white/purple wire from the mirror and ran it down to the wiring loom and tapped into one of the white/purple wires in the loom (there are 3 w/p wires in my loom).

When I hooked the battery back up, the only thing I had accomplished is Fuse 27 (interior lights and oddly enough 4X4 system) blew. Mirror did not work, and now interior lights did not work. I unhooked everything for the mirror and put everything back in place, replaced the blown fuse, and now the interior lights and 4X4 system are working, but of course I have my old manual mirror currently back in place. Any idea what I did wrong when wiring the mirror?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[sloop]

i can't say what i did is correct until tomorrow (thursday)- the wiring harness will arrive then - i already ran the wires though - this is what i did

i put a label on all the wires - sounds like you might have two reversed?

pin 2 - w/p - since this runs to the rap module, i tapped into it there (near the emergency brake)

pin 3 - bk/pk - same area since this also runs to the rap module

pin 4 - bk - i tapped into the overhead console ground wire - you might want to take it to your vanity ground

pin 5 - lg/y - i found this in the loom of wires that goes to the fusebox (i could not get the fusebox to come out)

pin 6 - r/w or r/y - my ford cd shows this as r/y (though Big Country shows it as r/w) - i ran this to the headlight switch r/y - i am not sure of this one - its either hot at all times or hot in start or run - my thinking is that i can change it if it is hot at all times - and when i plug it in, it should not blow the mirror electronics if it is incorrect - my overhead console is only hot in start or run, so i might tap it there if necessary

it almost sounds like something is shorting out - any chance your tap commectors or splices are exposed?

anyway - i will let you know how it works tomorrow

 

[calisoundmix]

i would recommend you get electrical drawings for your truck, wiring colors have changed numerous times and it makes the job much easier (since it tells you where to look). you are looking at around $15 but it is more than worth the money, because next you'll be wanting the auto a/c.

pin 6 is hot in run, as for the fusebox it is held together by tension clips and can be pryed open with a flat blade screwdrivers.

pin 6 (Red/Yellow) should go to the instrument panel fuse #11 (7.5A)
pin 5 (Light Green/Yellow) should go to Fuse #36 (7.5A) also at the IP fuse panel.
tapping into the OHC ground wire worked fine on my install

 

[sloop]

i have the cd - paid $11.00 - money well spent

i think my pin 6 is the problem - got the harness and (as i suspected) the lights must be turned on at the switch for the mirror to power up - about to get back under the dashboard and move that connection - i'll try the fusebox again (though i am tempted to use the gy/y from the overhead console - it shows it being hot in run)

odd that if i turn on the headlamp switch, the mirror powers up - if i turn the headlamp switch off, the mirror stays powered up

 

[gtyates]

Follow-up

This is the link I followed for instructrions on wiring up my mirror.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201455&highlight=auto+lamp

 

[sloop]

this one has lots of into too

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84968

 

[sloop]

i took the easy way out and wired the r/y to the gy/y in the overhead console - i guess the lg/y was incorrect too because the delay would not work - so i used the lg/o for the visor lights that passes through the overhead console cutout (well at least i tried to stay true to ford's original wiring plan)

it all works - so i guess the only thing i did differently was the ground (i used the overhead console ground wire) and the w/p wire (i tapped the one by the emergency brake - it goes to the rap module like the bk/pk for the backup lamps)

thanks for the help calisound - you hit the nail on the head with the ac thing - i had been reading up on how to do it and checking for all the parts - probably should not try it since i had problems with the 5 mirror wires - maybe one day

first i have to figure out the plastic wiring conduit and replace the mirror button - i have read that some peoples' mirrors shake after putting in the automatic mirrors - and read that the buttons are different sizes - i hope using the one that came with the mirror prevents that

what's your plan, gtyates? gonna try it again?

 

[CDW6212R]

Are the wires not in all of the 95+ Explorers at the base of the "A" pillar? My 93, 98, and 99 Explorers all had a connector there, with a wire harness that leads to the overhead console. If the wiring from the main harness to the connector is the same for all, the answer would be to get the short harness along with the console, and plug it in. My 98 and 99 both had an extra power wire for the sunroof, and the wire colors were different in the 93 truck. Regards,

 

[sloop]

if it is there, i missed it - but i was not looking for it so it might be there

i can add a 'what not to do' with removing that button

i read where some say a striaght edge razor - some say acetone - some say just yank it (because it is designed to break away) - others say use vise grip pliers

tried a razor - probably should have stayed with it longer - tried some acetone - slipped the old mirror on and tugged a little - but i thought the vise grip pliers made sense because i could 'just twist it off'

and it does come off - but it took a chunk of glass with it - got a new windshield coming saturday

should have got a second job and paid someone to do this - sigh

 

[CDW6212R]

Here is the body harness laying next to my LF door. Notice the large gray connector at the bottom, with the black one above it. That gray one is the main dash connector, it sets very near and behind the fuse panel.

The black connector runs up the "A" pillar, it's right at the top of the dash on the pillar. Hopefully all of the Explorers have that same connector, it can take about 12 wires. There should be a mating connector and harness which leads up to the roof, mirrors and console. Those short harnesses should be very easy to get due to their short length. I would want that to go with the mirror when you add it.

 

[sloop]

that would be the way to go

i went outside and removed the A pillar trim - this is where i ran my wires - since my ford already had the overhead console and lighted visors, there is a conduit that runs through the A pillar with some wires - i can't see inside that conduit - toward the base, the wires feed under the dashboard - the connector must be under the dashboard

i looked at the ford cd (for the '95 explorer) - there is a 14 pin in-line connector that is probably the one you are talking about (c276) - it has the wires for all the overhead stuff - and all the wires that we are screwing with (color codes match too) - the notes for the connector pinout say

w/overhead console only
w/automatic day/night mirror only
w/power moonroof only

pin 12 is unused - pins 2 (w/p), 5 (r/y), 6 (bk/pk) and 7 (lg/y) would be used for the mirror - since i can't see that connector, i can't see if the wires are present on it (at least on the connector closer to the battery)

if they are there, getting the harness from that in-line connector to the mirror (and overhead console) would make the install easier

my hesitation on screwing with running wires is what ford would say if i need them to look at an electrical problem

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm sorry about that, I would have sworn that the connector is accessible in mine.

 

[gtyates]

Well, just for the fun of it I pulled my "A" pillar trim again this evening. I traced the one wiring loom down the "A" pillar until it goes behind the dash at the top of the dash. I basically can't see where it terminates. I also pulled the cover off of the wiring loom to see if there are any of the mirror wires in the loom. There are not. The only wires are the ones for the overhead lights and overhead console. Argh!! Why did Ford not use one harness like the Japenese and Germans do??

As a side note, I had a Quest minivan a few years ago. It had the premium sound system, but only a cassette player. It had a slot in the dash for a cd slave unit. I purchase a cd player, and sure enough, the wiring was already in the dash, just plug and play.

 

[CDW6212R]

I thought that the connector was there where you could get to it, and the wires might all be in it. The few that I have seen were the same.

 

[gtyates]

So. Sloop. I guess you wired your mirror just like I wired mine, as described in my first posting, with the exception of you tapping the black ground wire into the ground wire for the overhead console, correct? Did you use actual wire taps that "slice" into the edges of the wire?

 

[sloop]

i used 3m brand connectors for 22-18 gauge wire (since i used 18 gauge automotive wire) - there is a picture of the packaging here

http://mysite.verizon.net/respkm62/insidemirror/

its at the bottom

i did wire the 3 power connections at the overhead console (with the black going to the overhead console plug wire)

the w/p wire -i tapped the one by the emergency brake - it goes to the rap module like the bk/pk for the backup lamps

sounds like you had a short OR maybe the w/p wire is sending power to something that it shouldn't

3 power connections in the overhead console
2 connections near the emergengy brake (backup lamps and headlight relay wires)

go for it because we need to add the eatc next

 

[gtyates]

Sloop. Thanks for the info and the pics. Did you find there are 3 w/p wires in th wiring loom by the e. brake? I have 3 in mine. But, I think that is the least of my concerns. I was never able to even get the mirror power light to come on. I think part of the problem with the power issue is that the mirror wires are so thin as compared to the overhead console wires. I think my connectors may be having trouble connecting to both the overhead console wiring and the mirror wiring. Though my connectors are a different brand, they are basically the same as what you used.

I will not take on the EATC. Not worth it!!

 

[sloop]

i recall seeing at least 2 bk/pk down there - and justifying it in my mind (one to the rap and one to the backup lights) - i don't recall seeing duplicate w/p wires (there may have been - but that is the headlamp relay wire - i don't know why there would be more than one)

 

[gtyates]

Well, I spent some more time over the weekend attempting to hook up the mirror. I followed the wiring instructions I found on this web site. I believe the mirror I purchased is not working. I can't get it to power up for any function, auto dim or auto lamps. The green power light has never come on. So, I believe I am back to starting from scratch with another mirror. I do not have equipment to do any type of a bench test on the mirror, but feel certain it is not working. Thanks to all for your replies so far.

 

[gtyates]

Final follow-up on install. I received a second mirror, believing the one I received was bad. Turns out, both the first mirror and the second mirror I received work great. The problem was when I hooked up the ground wire. I had tapped into a black wire in the overhead console that turned out to have a very faint blue line on it. When I switched to the solid black wire, problem was solved and the mirror works great. So, here is how I hooked mine up:

1. Green wire from mirror to the green/orange wire in overhead console harness.

2. Red wire from mirror to Grey/yellow wire in console harness.

3. Black wire from mirror to black wire in overhead console harness.

4. White/purple wire from mirror across under the headliner, down the "A" pillar, and tapped into white/purple wire down near emergency brake.

5. Black/pink wire also across headline, down "A" pillar, and tapped into black/pink wire down near emergency brake.

This is actually a very easy add-on feature. I do suggest if you buy a mirror, make sure the wiring harness comes with it, as well the black plastic decorative channel that runs between the mirror and the headliner to hide the wires.