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Signal Mirror Installation

Since their inception, I have been intrigued by mirrors that have embedded turn signal and have wanted a set for my truck. I finally decided to bite the bullet and obtain a set.

There are various types of these devices ranging from the e Bay special external stick-on chevrons to actual replacement glass mirrors. I only wanted the actual replacement glass mirrors; therefore, I ordered a set of non-heated ( this is Florida after all ) signal mirrors from Muth Mirror Systems (Dead Link Removed ) of Sheboygan, WI - kit 200-0037-0. The cost was $219.00. Muth is THE name in signal mirrors.

The kit included both left and right side Signal Mirror® assemblies, wire, connectors,and excellent installation instructions.

After disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery, the initial step in the installation was to remove the inner door panel ( this applies to both sides but I shall only describe the driver’s side ). This followed by removing the speaker; this was required given that I needed to access the wiring harness and power plug ( white one ) for the mirror control which is located behind the speaker. The next step was disconnecting the mirror wire harness inside the door. The mirror housing was detached by removing the 3 nuts ( 11 mm ) and pulling the housing free of the door.

The mirror is attached to it’s housing by a ball socket and is controlled by two small drive pins on the back side. A small pry bar ( 5” ) was used to guardedly extricate the drive pins from the mirror and then the old mirror was lifted off the ball socket. The green friction pins were removed from the old mirror by gently prying and were seated into the new mirror by pressing down with a 10 mm box end wrench.

To get the new wiring for the mirror passed through the housing about 6 inches of the factory wire harness was pulled back into the housing ( this was not an easy task ). The new mirror wire was taped to the harness wire and pulled out of the housing. The connector was plugged into the new mirror and then the mirror was installed in the housing and the housing reinstalled on the door. The wiring harness was threaded down through the door and the mirror control wire plug reconnected. There is a small opening, visible only when a bright flashlight is shined from inside the door jam; this opening was enlarged to accommodate the wire from the mirror. The wiring was routed through this hole and through the rubber grommet into the passenger compartment

The factory wiring, according to the instructions, is located in the threshold area. Finding the correct wires in the mammoth bundle of wires took substantial effort and considerable time ( over 45 futile minutes ); there were just too many wires that looked alike. The driver’s side turn signal wire, green/orange stripe was verified with a test light ( the negative battery terminal was reconnected for this step ). The passenger side turn signal wire, orange/blue stripe was not found.

To keep the frustration level in check, I went to the turn signal wires at both front lights, confirmed the proper wire with the test light, and ran new wire through the firewall to the driver’s side kick panel area. To assure a good ground, I also ran a new ground wire from the battery along with the new signal wires. The red wire from the driver’s side mirror was spliced/soldered and heat shrinked to the new wire from the front driver’s side turn signal ( much easier than splicing into the wire at the bundle ). The black wire was spliced into the new ground wire. Operation of the driver’s side turn signal was confirmed. The door panel was now reinstalled.

This process was repeated for the passenger side mirror. After removing the threshold and kick panel, the wires from the passenger side mirror were fished through the rubber sleeve into the passenger compartment. The wires were then routed and secured under the dash to the previously run new passenger side turn signal wire at the driver’s side kick panel. The red wire from the passenger side mirror was spliced/soldered and heat shrinked to the new signal wire and the black wire spliced to the ground wire. The signal mirror function was proven. The driver’s side threshold and kick panel as well as the passenger side door panel, kick panel and threshold were then reattached.

The installation took about 2 1/2 hours ( including the 45 minutes “wasted” at the wire bundle ).

Muth Mirror Systems also offers a Brake Module for the Turn Signal Mirrors ( Dead Link Removed ) for $39.00. This allows both mirror signals to light up ( constantly ) when the brake is applied. I am considering this feature as a future mod.
 

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More pics ....
 

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Very niice/good write-up Al.
Did you have fun getting the wires thru the door?
 












Cool post. For some reason I never saw this post. Good job on it. Now, I'm seen on ebay the blue LED ones -- are those legal? I would assume they aren't. Again, good post!

-Drew
 






wow thats nice! i really want them now......
 






ExplorerDMB said:
Cool post. For some reason I never saw this post. Good job on it. Now, I'm seen on ebay the blue LED ones -- are those legal? I would assume they aren't. Again, good post!

-Drew

Most states it is NOT legal, due to regulations on volunteer fire and/or police departments lightning. I believe in VA blue is reserved for police only, while red is volunteer fire (I could be wrong and have them in reverse) however the fact remains that most states frown on "ornamental" lighting that doesn't conform to US-DOT regulations IE: Yellow/red for turning signals, Red for brakes, White for headlights and driving lights only.

Best advice I can give, call your local police dept. or your state DOT and get the final answer. However again most states say no to ornamental lightning except lighting used for safety, such as the signal mirrors, high mount brake lights, corner lights, marker lights, etc.

Some states even have stiff laws on running board lights, here in PA if you have lights on your running board, they must be Yellow or White in color and turn on ONLY when the door is opened. This means they technically can not even come on when the doors are locked and you pull the handle (so your interior lights come on).

Aldive> Didn't mean to hi-jack, I tend to get lengthy in explinations lol. Great write up! I plan to use most of it when I do my custom LED lights on the outside of the mirror housing.
 












aldive said:
Anyone else installed signal mirrors?


i would LOVE to do that mod to my mirrors, but i have a 1995 :(
what is the difference between 1995 and 1996 to where this wouldnt work?
 






AS usual nice write up and nice clean job Al. No one wants to be around when I do any mods or repair work. They don't like to take the time like you and I do for the best job. Seems nowadays everyone is on the "thats good enough" kick.
 






TY Al My brotherinlaw just installed these for me couple hours ago, Wasnt that bad.I LOVE these mirrors
 






Anyone else installed signal mirrors?

Yep, since 2005. They're one of my favorite mods, if only because it sets apart my Trac from the vast majority of others.

I did not opt for the brake-on feature simply because I did not want them on for braking. If folks cannot see my taillights and 3rd, I doubt seeing my mirrors will keep them from smacking me. :) That, and the trailer is a 5x8 with about 2 foot sides and a landscaping (see through) rear gate.
 






For those who want to have real MUTH signal mirrors but cannot find a model thats fits their vehicle exactly, they are also available in stickon versions

(no these are not the type of red led chevrons you can find in ebay and wally world)

They are basically those wide-angled stickon round mirrors (about 3 inches in diameter)

Same installation as regular muth mirrors and operates with the optional brake module

http://www.kwmuth.com/products/kits/220-0056.htm

wasm%20-%20new%20-%20small.jpg
 






I also chose the "blind spot" mirrors because I use them so often. http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=5798&cat=500&ppuser=2084
Figured that if I got the regular mirrors I would either block part of the display or be unhappy with the placement of the "blind spot" mirror.

Just a note: I had a problem with one of the mirrors loosing about half of the LEDs. (10 months after purchase) Would'nt light. Called Muth and they sent another mirror in two days.. The company really stands behind their products.
 






Hey guys
im new and thought I could be of some help... The price you paid was a little steep for these signals. I found this web page when I was googeling around and it was alot less... 199 for regular and 229 for heated... free shipping too.
http://www.accessconnect.com/ford_signal_mirrors.htm
my only problem is I want to have all these mods and dont really know where to take my truck. I barely know what a phillips screw driver is so doing the work is out of the question. Anyone know of a place in Rochester, NY?? Its 3:56am and I just went outside to change one of my puddle lamps to a led and managed to do it in the dark and get off the plastic piece covering the bulb, but now I cant get the plastic piece back in- and not to fall right back out! Anyone know of a place in Rochester, NY??
Thanks guys.
PS- your mods are mint. you did a real nice job with them!
 


















I actually, by mistake, posted a thread in 95-01 Modified about this product. Not as cool as Muth but looks real simple to install. Cheap, too.

51Mo7XGcq-L._AA280_.jpg


Look up TurnSmart.
 









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