has anyone come up with a way to do this to the tow mirrors?

 

I didn't know the tow mirrors had reflectors like ours.

 

I don't think they do

 

i think he means to make some sort of running light like the SD mirrors have

 

Put me down for getting it done!

I tore into my mirror last night to PTM my textured black mirror caps (still working on those), hit the reflectors super dark with Niteshade so they appear black (tested, and yes the light still shines through just fine), and got the white LED strips. With the paint for the mirror caps and sanding paper and primer, LED strips, and the Niteshade I already had, going from stock to completely upgraded mirrors in under $60. Can't beat that!

Also what's cool is we'll be able to tell who's a forum member if we see another truck out there with this mod.

 

couple questions. one is do u think i can wire these into the turn signals on the front of the truck? the reason i ask is i would like to have them on in a "low" setting like the yellow running lights on the front then also use them as a blinker. second is can this LED strip even do 2 different levels of brightness??

 

1. You could tie them into your running lights, but from what I have read it would be a bi**h to get the wire to the mirrors, and they would only be running lights.
2. The LED's do not have two different levels of brightness.
In order to run them as both running lights and blinkers you would have to create a circuit with relays to make them on for running and then when the blinkers are needed they would blink opposite of the trucks blinkers. There might some sets of LED's out there that allow two circuits but the set we are using does not allow it by nature of its design.
The lights at the front of the truck are wired to two different circuits and the bulbs themselves have to filaments in them. Kinda like two lights in one. One is on for the running lights and one is on for the turning signal. It is not one that glows bright or dim depending on what circuit is on.

Hope this helps.

 

Could you cut the 9 LEDs (or 6) that go into the mirror in half or whatever amount you wanted to run/blink and wire them separately, one set going to the running lights and the other set wired to the blinkers in the mirror?

 

Yes you could. I would do 6 LED's total, ( 3 and 3). Only thing is when they are lit they would be off center. You would need to keep that in mind. If you do it take pics and maybe a video to show us how they turned out.
I personal don't think it would look good if done that way though. I don't think it would be enough LED's to look right. IMHO

 

I'm not doing that lol, too much work for my liking and like you, I think it would look a little odd.

I got sidelined today with other stuff to finish mine, and it's looking to be the same way tomorrow. I did test out the tinted reflectors and one dried darker than the other, so I'm gonna have to figure out how to fix it and not get pissed off. I already had to sand down one completely and start all over when I dropped it while still wet.

 

You totally can do what you want but it requires an added level of complexity. Here's how to do it:

First, you'll need the LEDs, wire, wire connectors, 2 1500 ohm resistors and 4 4001 diodes. (You can experiment with the size of the resistor to allow the parking lamps to be brighter or dimmer if you choose. 1500 is a good starting place). The parts combined (with LEDs) will cost about $25 (the LEDs cost me $20 at AutoZone).

From your newly installed LEDs, splice off the positive wire to form two positive wires in the form of a "Y". (See pic below, it'll make more sense).

On one side, add a diode (the colored stripe should be closest to your LEDs) and attach to your existing turn signal mirror.

On the other side, add the resistor, then a diode, then attach to the wire you found in the kick panel or under the hood for the parking lights. (This is the hard part - I hate running wires in to the door jam).

Ground your LED and test.

Think of the diode as a 1-way street, allowing electricity to flow through in only one direction. This is the key component to allowing you the ability to turn on the LEDs from multiple sources. The resistor simply acts as a dimmer switch.



Note: I didn't do this to my truck because I didn't want to run the parking wire in through the door jam. Likewise, I think it would look cooler if only the outside 3 LEDs (I have a total of 9 on each mirror) light with the parking light, not the entire thing. And finally, I decided that if I was going to do it that I'd add a puddle lamp to the bottom of the mirror housing at the same time (but I don't have puddle lamps to install right now). No point in pulling wires through the jam and not getting them all done at once.

I have, however, used this method for other wiring projects in the past and know it to be tried and true. The resistors and diodes are much easier than using a relay, which also would work if you're familiar with them but they require additional wires. With that said, I don't take any responsibility if you try this and it jacks your truck up. But using this will allow you to enable all the LEDs with your parking lights and your turn signal.

 

Sharper4,
Also an added note. If you do this and want to use the outside 3 LED's you would have to cut them off of the strip and then wire them like in the pic, since the strip is a straight parallel circuit all the way, it would make all the LED's dim and then bright if wired from the existing wire. Correct me if I am wrong on this Sharper4.

 

You're right - they're all in-line so if you use the above mentioned route they will all light up (dim) for the parking light and all blink (full power) for the turn signal.

 

Finally done! Good grief, I've been held up for the longest time on getting the tint on the reflectors just right. Had issues with one being darker than the other and wasn't able to even it out, so after sanding and redoing a few more times than I would like, they finally got their clear coat last night and were ready tonight for me to do the turn signals. Man, I had no idea just how easy this was, and this was my very first time wiring anything ever! Stripped the wires on the mirror, red to green and black to black, and voila! I must say though, doing 9 LEDs was almost 1 too many. The strip took up every bit on the available surface on the mirror, so much so that I almost wasn't able to get the reflector popped back on. But it's done and they look sooooo sweet, and very stock factory looking! The reflectors are a deep shiny glossy black until you turn them on. They light up perfectly and are still incredibly visible at night. Not sure about the daytime though, I'll have to check that out tomorrow.

No pics yet, I also did my PTM mirror caps by sanding down the textured black caps. That was another big ordeal, but the clear went on tonight and should be ready to go on tomorrow night. I'll take pics then and post em up!

Thanks tbraquet for the simplest mod I've ever done, short of the USB mod!

 

Pics









http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCw_hkgkaY0