Stubies Subie Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) Has anyone considered putting in one of those Gentex rear view mirrors in their subaru? they came in all sorts of late model cars. I got one that has an auto-dim feature, a compass and an outside temperature sensor they are pretty cheap off ebay, and probaby even cheaper out of a wrecking yard, I just got one complete with the wiring harness and sensors for about 60 bucks delivered, that's a heck of a lot cheaper then buying those after market ones that run hundreds of dollars. here's a video about the one I just got. the thing has to be better then the stock mirror that came with my car. there's alos a really good write up about installing the mirror over at the jeep forums: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/compass-temp-auto-dim-mirror-swap-detailed-lots-o-pics-952705/ Edited June 7, 2012 by Stubies Subie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kabarakh Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 That looks like a sweet idea, let us know how it goes! I'm interested to see how easy it is on a subi rather than a jeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) I've been wanting one but it never dawned on me to retrofit one out of another car, a mirror like that costs about $250 new, or you can go to your local wrecking yard and pick one up for 20 bucks or so. here's a new version: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200023574_200023574 the wiring seems simple enough the first two wires are power and ground, the third wire goes to the reverse backup light wire for disabling the auto-dim when in reverse. the 4th and fifth wire you chuck, those were the auto dim wires for the side view mirrors, they don't get used. and the 6th and 7th wire goes to the temp sensor. the Compass and auto-dim feature are built into the mirror. sounds pretty simple to me. I'll probably glue the mirror to the windshield and have GD wire it up from what I'm reading on the internet, you can use pretty much any of them that glues to the windshield, they are in all sorts of cars and have stuff like back up cameras, on-star, compass, blue-tooth, auto dim, GPS, garage door opener, outside temp (some wire it up to read inside temp) clocks, and who knows what else. and there's all sorts of wiring diagrams for them through google searches. the GENTEX GNTX-177 which is the one I got seems to be one of the more popular ones. and they came in chevys fords Nissan's Toyota's ect. here's one out of a sonata that has a bunch of features: Edited June 7, 2012 by Stubies Subie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kabarakh Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Gonna have to stop by a pick and pull on my way home tonight... Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffx Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Not completely off topic, but my car sat for a while before I bought it. It was semi-exposed to the 350+ of sunshine we get here in the desert. The windshield focused the rays on the top left-hand corner of the rear view case and gradually melted a two-inch ragged hole in it. I guess one could consider that a sort of temp sensor:-p Oddly, none of the rest of the dash was affected. Good luck with your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) Not completely off topic, but my car sat for a while before I bought it. It was semi-exposed to the 350+ of sunshine we get here in the desert. The windshield focused the rays on the top left-hand corner of the rear view case and gradually melted a two-inch ragged hole in it. I guess one could consider that a sort of temp sensor:-p Oddly, none of the rest of the dash was affected. Good luck with your search. that's some serious heat inside that car Gonna have to stop by a pick and pull on my way home tonight... Love it! look for one with a 7 wire connector, and if any of the buttons on the front of the mirror say "mirror" on them, then that mirror does not have the outside temp feature. be sure to grab the temp sensor when you do find one, on the chevys, they are on the front behind the grill about middle of the car, and look like the one in the picture Edited June 7, 2012 by Stubies Subie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Not completely off topic, but my car sat for a while before I bought it. It was semi-exposed to the 350+ of sunshine we get here in the desert. The windshield focused the rays on the top left-hand corner of the rear view case and gradually melted a two-inch ragged hole in it. I guess one could consider that a sort of temp sensor:-p Oddly, none of the rest of the dash was affected. Good luck with your search. Never keep heat shrink tubing in a car parked in the sun in summer either. Make sure you grab the temp sensor too as that can be hidden in the cowl, fender, bumper or grill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 My Mirror showed up today, so when I got home from work tonight, I started the install. First thing I did was pull off the old mirror, and wacked it off at the mount then re-installed what was left, the following two pictures is what the old mirror bracket looks like now. Then I cleaned the windshield, marked the center where I wanted to glue the button, and glued it up, then taped it, the instructions for the glue says that the mirror will be ready to mount in 15 minutes, I think I’ll leave the tape on over night then put the mirror on in the morning, I’ll take more pictures when I got the mirror mounted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 I got the mirror mounted and powered up, I did a temporary power hookup only to be sure that everything works, and it all worked like a charm. the first picture show it mounted in the car, the second picture shows it going through it's self test power up procedure, the third picture shows it in temperature mode, and the 4th picture shows it in compass mode. it's really hard to get a picture of the dimming feature, but rest assured, it works very well. as for the wiring, that's simple as dirt. looking at the back of the mirror, and starting with the red wire closest to the center of the mirror and working your way to the right, the hookup goes as follows: first wire is hot, (red) and goes to ignition power, I hooked mine to the cigarette lighter as it powers up when you tun the car on. the second wire (black) is ground, hook it to a good ground. the next wire is green, pay attention here, this one is a little tricky only in such a way that doing google searches comes up with different ideas for this wire, here's the bottom line. you need this wire, do not remove it as some google searches suggest, this is your dimmer disable wire, you can either hook it to your back up lights so it disables the dimmer feature while in reverse, or if you choose to not use the reverse dimmer feature, then it needs to go to ground, I tied mine to the Negative black wire (second wire from left) if you remove this wire, or don't hook it to either ground or the back up lights, then your dimmer feature will not work correctly. so it needs to be hooked to one or the other, reverse lights or ground. the 4th and 5th wires (pink and gray) get removed, their only purpose is to hook them to the side view mirrors for the side mirror dimmer feature, we don't have dimmers in our side mirrors, so the 4th and 5th wires can be removed. you won't be using them. the 6th (green with black stripe) and 7th (brown) wires go to your temperature sensor. I'd locate the temperature sensor somewhere away from direct sunlight, and away from the heat of the engine, I think I'll be placing mine up behind the front bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) there's 4 different versions of this mirror, all with the same part number (GNTX-177), so pay attention to the differences: all mirrors come with the auto dim feature, they all have the same wiring diagram. looking at the picture of the buttons below, the one on my car says COMP/TEMP, that mirror has both a compass and a temperature sensor feature. if you come across a mirror like this one where the buttons say COMP/MIRROR then that mirror does NOT have a temperature sensor feature. there are also a couple of different options for the display readout in the upper right corner of the mirror. looking at the second picture, the display is a rectangle, this only allows 1 line of data at a time, so with this mirror, you have to toggle between compass and temperature, this is the mirror I have. the other option is in the third picture, notice the readout box in that picture, it's more of a square, this readout allows 2 lines of data, so you can display both the temperature and the compass at the same time without having to toggle. these mirrors are in quite a few different cars and trucks covering a number of years, so your chances of finding one at the wrecking yard are really good, and knowing which mirror does what will allow you to pick the perfect mirror for your application, some people may not care about having a temperature sensor, others may want to 2 line data readout. you can also get them with homelink (garage door opener) on-star road side assistance (paid service) a built in GPS, a back up camera, these mirrors are easy to install as well but have different part numbers, and almost all features are self contained in the mirror itself except for the back up camera, the temperature sensor, and maybe the GPS antenna. now you know exactly what to look for ....go find some mirrors and post some pictures Edited June 16, 2012 by Stubies Subie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I have a question the Tahoe mount was that a glass mount? I wonder how it would fit on a 2nd gen Legacy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 I have a question the Tahoe mount was that a glass mount? I wonder how it would fit on a 2nd gen Legacy? it fits perfect, you glue the button to the windshield, then hang the mirror on the button I used the permatex two part Adhesive, that button ain't never coming off. it's a one shot deal, meaning you only got one shot to get it right, once you stick the button to the glass, it's there to stay, you can't remove it. so measure it out and make sure to mark the glass from the outside as to where you want to glue the button, I marked the outside of my windshield with a felt pen, then stuck the button on the mark from the inside. that button also only goes on one way, make sure you glue the correct side of the button to the windshield, if you glue the button on backwards, you won't be able to attach the mirror. once yo get the mirror and the button, you'll be able to see exactly what side of the button attaches to the glass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 That's the part I don't like.. I would prefer if it was in the stock location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) That's the part I don't like.. I would prefer if it was in the stock location. I removed the old mirror, cut the mirror off and put the bracket back up there so it looks like it belongs, it came out looking very clean. Edited June 17, 2012 by Stubies Subie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I removed the old mirror, cut the mirror off and put the bracket back up there so it looks like it belongs, it came out looking very clean. I just hate mirror mounts somehow a friend of a family somehow ripped off the window mirror that was used with that permatex stuff it ended taking a chunk of glass off as well. I understand it's like the only way but I have to hope it wont fall off but once I set my mirror I hardly touch it.. and being it's auto dim I would have less of a reason to adjust it. having said that which mirrors came with the temp and compress that's two line? The '99 tahoe is single line right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 I just hate mirror mounts somehow a friend of a family somehow ripped off the window mirror that was used with that permatex stuff it ended taking a chunk of glass off as well. I understand it's like the only way but I have to hope it wont fall off but once I set my mirror I hardly touch it.. and being it's auto dim I would have less of a reason to adjust it. having said that which mirrors came with the temp and compress that's two line? The '99 tahoe is single line right? you just gotta get out and look, it wasn't only the tahoe they came in, you can also find them in the Yukons, and the ford explorers, and a bunch of other cars and trucks. I think the two line is a newer model the the single line, so that may be in a 2000 and newer truck, maybe a Tahoe? or possibly a Yukon. I'm going to scout around at the wrecking yard as soon as I get a chance I've never accidentally ripped a mirror off the glass, I've had them fall off due to heat, but that was just a simple matter of gluing it back on. I didn't get mine permanently wired in this weekend like I planned, just to much running around, but I have been using it and really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 This is a good idea, I like it. I am going to do this to my leggy. Thanks for the idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I figured out the models with the dual line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I figured out the models with the dual line And they are....?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 And they are....?? From what I found so far the 2002 and 2003 yukon's have the dual line,, I don't know about other makes but that's what I found so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) From what I found so far the 2002 and 2003 yukon's have the dual line,, I don't know about other makes but that's what I found so far. here's on way to get a mirror with the two line read-out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/180807260366 that's the cheapest I've seen on ebay ($28 shipped), and it comes with the power cable, but you would have to go find the temperature sensor at the wrecking yard, but the sensor is pretty well universal so it should be easy to find. just a thought for anyone looking for the two line readout with temperature and Compass. I was also reading that the wiring you want is going to be 20 awg (gauge) and some suggested trailer wiring because it's 5 conductor, which would be perfect. I think for mine I'm going to wire it in, in two parts, when I'm at the wrecking yard, I'll find a male and female plug set out of something that is 5 conductor, and will wire one end up to the 2 sensor wires, ground, backup lights, ignition hot. then I can solder the other side of the plug to the mirrors wire harness, that should make for a really clean instillation. Edited June 19, 2012 by Stubies Subie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eulogious Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for the tip and the link. If I only had money now, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for the tip and the link. If I only had money now, lol. that's my problem at the moment, I spent myself broke buying gadgets for the car, and now I have to wait a while before I can afford more ...er, stuff. heck it's to a point now that my grass is growing and my mower is feeling neglected .... but I'm sure having fun with my little Loyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) it seems impossible to find just the temp sensor by it's self I don't need a premade harness. nor does it say anything about having the mirror button which might be hard to find.. unlikey it will have the button. Edited June 20, 2012 by 1-3-2-4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedotsnow Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 rofl my first attempt was just not going to do. Ethernet cable works perfectly for extending the compass if needed say for installing just the screen somewhere in the dash. after analyzing the ball joint/arm on the gentex and the two stock Subaru mirrors I have I was able to use a stock second gen (95-96) legacy mirror arm on the gentex mirror by opening the mirror case and stacking washers with a longer than stock screw, don't forget the lock washers. this moves the ball joint away from the housing giving enough room for the very angled subaru arm to work with the over sized plastic housing of the gentex. I wired this to the map light and soon was reminded that it is wired directly to the battery, keys out mirror on. so I installed a button switch to cut power if desired, pics later it was dark by then. when I bought my lego it had no rear view so I installed the one from my 93 impreza it has worked untill now but was not compatible in any way with the gentex even after modification. the angle on the ball joint was all wrong, it (93) stuck straight up from the top of the mirror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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