Finally got awesome mirrors installed on my truck. After some solid work by Phil on the wiring harness, the whole process was pretty easy. I followed Phil's video tutorial for dismantling the door panel, which made the process simple. After the stock harness and mirrors were removed, I added the new custom wiring harness by Phil, which included dual function/ park lamp/turn signal wiring, an aftermarket key fob integration module, and pigtails which made all of the connections truly plug and play.
The hardest part of the install was running a new wire from the cab interior door connector to a connection within a wiring box next to the steering column. There was very little space to work under there, and getting the wiring connector out of the door frame took some patience. Lastly I added a diode (diode and instructions supplied by Phil) into the same wiring box to jump the wiring ports for the cargo lamps and reverse lights. Phil and I did some texting back and forth during the install when I had a few questions, but everything was pretty straight forward, and Phil helped me with the small hiccups.
I used mirrors from AM auto, part # AM-3336162013. These were the least expensive mirrors that had the functions/components that I wanted at the time that I was doing the install. They did come with chrome caps, which I'm not using. The mirrors are heated, power folding, power adjust, have turn signal LED's and rear facing cargo lamps. They are manually extendable and have no puddle lamp.
Everything works flawlessly. When I unlock the truck with the key fob, the mirrors unfold, and all of the running lights, and reverse/cargo lamps illuminate. When I lock the truck with the key fob, the mirrors collapse, and again all of the lights come on, but time out soon after. I tow a large enclosed trailer, so when I shift into reverse to back up the trailer, the mirror's cargo lamps automatically illuminate, which is especially nice being able to see well beyond the trailer when backing up the trailer at night in my unlit driveway.
The only caveat to the project is with the remote start. This is a small inconvenience compared to how much I've gained with the purpose and functions of these mirrors for how I use my truck. If I start the truck remotely, the running lights activate as they always used to. When I go to get into the truck, I unlock the doors with the key fob. At this point, the mirrors don't unfold, but the reverse and cargo lamps activate. This means that when I get into the truck, those awesome cargo/reverse lamps on the mirrors are like a nice bright spotlight on me in the driver's seat (and when there's a front seat passenger, they get the same treatment). Once I put the key into the ignition and turn, then I can unfold the mirrors with the new OEM mirror adjustment switch (which has the fold/unfold button).
In summary, this was a great project. I had some fun doing the work, and Phil's handiwork was essential to an easy install. I spent a little more that I had originally wanted to, but the extra money spent surely took the place of hours of frustrating work if I had tried re-wiring things myself (and foregoing Phil's custom harness). Worth every penny. Thanks for the help Phil. Here's some shots of the finished product.
