Auto dimming mirror

[Handtool]

I'm trying to retrofit an auto dimming mirror with compass into my '95 Leg. Its a donnelly unit out of an '03 Outback. I've figured out the power and ground wires but I still have a third green wire. Can anybody confirm that this is the autodim disable for back up lights? Meaning the mirror comes out of "dim mode" when you put it in reverse. Does an '03 Outback have that feature?

 

Thanks.

[Handtool]

Yes, the green wire is for the back-up light disable. I just finished putting it in and its a nice addition. I recommend it.

[charlierh2]

Im concidering doing this, a couple questions:

 

1. Did you hook up the auto off in backup wire? If so where?

 

2. Did you just draw power from the map light or sunroof? I have both what would you recomend?

 

3. Where would you recommend looking for one? I want to stay subaru.

 

Thanks very much Charlie

[nipper]

They pop up on ebay, i could imagine a junk yard ... i want one too.

 

 

nipper

[Handtool]

Let's see,

 

1. I hooked the dimmer disable up to a wire behind the passenger side kick panel. I probed around with the multimeter until I found a wire which supplied 12 vdc when the tranny was put in reverse then used a vampire tap for the connection.

 

2. I extended and ran power and ground across the headliner and down the a-pillar to the driver's kick. I put a fuse inline of the power wire.

 

3. As Nipper said, Ebay is where I got mine for 35$. It happened to be out of an '03 Outback but it is not produced by Subaru. The only benefit I can see by getting one from a Suby is that the harness might be plug and play if your putting it in a suby that originally had one. If you have to wire it up like I did then any donnley unit will work. I now wish that I would have gotten one that displayed temparature as well. http://www.cipausa.com/ is a good place for info. They have all the manuals for the various models under "customer service". Things to look for if your getting one used from Ebay: Wiring pigtail, windshield button.

 

Good Luck.

[charlierh2]

Is there a reason not to get power from say the map light? Thanks

[Handtool]

My map light was an after thought and pulls power from the dome light. The dome light has power at all times and the mirror needs an ignition controlled power source. Tapping into your sun roof's power may be an alternative to running wires down the A-pillar.

[charlierh2]

Thanks very much, now all i need is the mirror. Anyone parting out a newish subaru?

[avk]

I did advertise one in the FS forum a while back, a late model Gentex unit, although that mirror has a standard wedge (dovetail) mount. But if you want to fit it on a '95, you'd have to glue a "button" to the glass anyway.

[charlierh2]

The car is a 97 legacy, so your unit would or wouldnt be able to mount to the stock location? I'm not farmiliar with the language of mirror mounting;). I wouldnt like to retain the stock mounting, if an adapter is available that works but i dont want to stick it to the glass. I can send you a pic if it helps. Thanks Charlie

[avk]

Charlie: I think a '97 still has a mirror mounted to the ceiling, is that right? There isn't an adapter for that type of attachment. As shown on scoobymods, you would need to remove the stock mirror, keeping the screw cover, and glue a standard wedge button to the windshield.

[charlierh2]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ready-For-Adventure-What-are-you-waiting-for-60-pics_W0QQitemZ4592284768QQcategoryZ31869QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

My mirror wounts the same as this outback. The pic is looking through the windshield its in the second row from the bottom.

[avk]

Yes, it's also the same kind as on 1st gen. Impreza. Both aftermarket and Subaru-branded auto-dimming mirrors are the regular type with two ball joints that can only be mounted to the glass.

[Handtool]

http://scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88

[charlierh2]

I thought I'd give a little update since i got the mirror installed:

 

First of all I love having it. They make such a differece in a small car with so many trucks on the road.

 

For the power to the unit, the sun roof turned out to be no go. When I connected both power and ground, the mirror fired up as did the sun roof motor. I did use the screw that holds up the map light/sunroof switches for the ground point.

 

Instead I ran the power wire across the front of the head liner and tapped into the wiring for the vanity mirror in the visor.

 

I chose not to use the backup disable feature for now, i may connect it this summer.

 

I am very happy with the mod and the best part of it is that this mod can be completed without lifting your butt out of the drivers seat. OK, maybe I had to lean forward to put the button for the mirror on the windshield, but the wiring was all done from the drivers seat. How easy is that?

 

Hope this helps anyone in the future.

 

Clifnotes: Do not try use the sunroof power for accessories.

[Boddi]

Thanks