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2014-2017: DL8, DL3, Towing Mirror Upgrade – Mirrors Explained

pgamboa

By pgamboa
in Modifications & Accessories

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jash_hole Enthusiast

jash_hole

Posted
Posted

So I'm getting ready to start tackling this project. I've got a '14 LT Crew Cab with DL8 mirrors. It was an early build, so I'm sure I'll need the RZY harness even though I haven't checked for the pins yet. I'm planning on going to the A1 Auto mirrors that pgamboa used in the side by side. Those are pretty nice (helps that I want the bells and whistles but not the chrome).

 

Does anyone who's installed the RZY have any tips, tricks, or hints? I'm more looking for advice on how to snake the harness through the firewall and under the dash and things of that nature. Landing the new wires seems fine but time consuming and tedious given the hand yoga involved.

 

I've found the harness on GMPartsDirect for $95. It's on Amazon for ~115 and eBay is similar. My dealership says it'll run me $125. Does anyone have any other options for sources?

 

PS, Phil, I'll be reaching out to you soon for the mirror work. :)

I just installed the RZY harness on my truck last Friday. It took me a solid 5 hours to install mine. The whole harness doesn't have to go thru the firewall, its just 1 wire(the purple wire) and I took a small piece of tie wire and stuck it through rubber boot at the firewall from the motor side, taped the purple wire to it and pulled it through. Another tip is if you plan to disconnect your battery, which i did, make sure you move your driver seat all the way back and your adjustable pedals all the way in so you have the most room in the footwell. Its all doable, you just gotta have patience because all the spaces are very tight. Good luck!

 

 

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pgamboa
pgamboa

All,   Due to the overwhelming interest in folks wanting to upgrade their mirrors, I wanted to start this thread, hopefully, with all the information pertaining to the process of upgrading y

pgamboa
pgamboa

For those that are curious on the work involved with the harness modification, I've created and uploaded a Time Lapse Video of the process. The original post has been updated and the video link is at

Black Denali Canada
Black Denali Canada

Here are mine       Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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pgamboa Senior Enthusiast

pgamboa

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So I'm getting ready to start tackling this project. I've got a '14 LT Crew Cab with DL8 mirrors. It was an early build, so I'm sure I'll need the RZY harness even though I haven't checked for the pins yet. I'm planning on going to the A1 Auto mirrors that pgamboa used in the side by side. Those are pretty nice (helps that I want the bells and whistles but not the chrome).

 

Does anyone who's installed the RZY have any tips, tricks, or hints? I'm more looking for advice on how to snake the harness through the firewall and under the dash and things of that nature. Landing the new wires seems fine but time consuming and tedious given the hand yoga involved.

 

I've found the harness on GMPartsDirect for $95. It's on Amazon for ~115 and eBay is similar. My dealership says it'll run me $125. Does anyone have any other options for sources?

 

PS, Phil, I'll be reaching out to you soon for the mirror work. :)

Good Luck! As for routing through the firewall, some have said through the side door jamb and in, is a spot. I haven't looked at that and don't know if the RZY lead is long enough for that path. When I ran through the firewall, start from the hood side and work your way in. I used a coat hanger (with electrical tape on the end to protect nicking other wires. When it get inside, you'll be behind the X61A Junction Box. Tie some string to it and pull the string back into the engine bay. Then tie your violet park lamp wire to the string and pull it through.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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pgamboa Senior Enthusiast

pgamboa

Posted
  • Author
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I just installed the RZY harness on my truck last Friday. It took me a solid 5 hours to install mine. The whole harness doesn't have to go thru the firewall, its just 1 wire(the purple wire) and I took a small piece of tie wire and stuck it through rubber boot at the firewall from the motor side, taped the purple wire to it and pulled it through. Another tip is if you plan to disconnect your battery, which i did, make sure you move your driver seat all the way back and your adjustable pedals all the way in so you have the most room in the footwell. Its all doable, you just gotta have patience because all the spaces are very tight. Good luck!

 

 

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Same extant tips! :). Great advice on moving Seat back before battery disconnect.

 

 

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rlosson Enthusiast

rlosson

Posted
Posted

I just installed the RZY harness on my truck last Friday. It took me a solid 5 hours to install mine. The whole harness doesn't have to go thru the firewall, its just 1 wire(the purple wire) and I took a small piece of tie wire and stuck it through rubber boot at the firewall from the motor side, taped the purple wire to it and pulled it through. Another tip is if you plan to disconnect your battery, which i did, make sure you move your driver seat all the way back and your adjustable pedals all the way in so you have the most room in the footwell. Its all doable, you just gotta have patience because all the spaces are very tight. Good luck!

 

 

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Thanks for the info.

 

I do plan on unhooking the battery. I'm not sure it's necessary, but since I'm going to be messing with fuse blocks and adding circuits, I'm not going to chance it.

 

I've halfway crawled under the steering wheel a few times but haven't really dug into how to run the harness from driver to passenger side. I'm hoping there's going to be a fairly obvious pathway.

 

I'm just assuming that I'm going to donate some knuckle skin and some choice words to this project... :)

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pgamboa Senior Enthusiast

pgamboa

Posted
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Thanks for the info.

 

I do plan on unhooking the battery. I'm not sure it's necessary, but since I'm going to be messing with fuse blocks and adding circuits, I'm not going to chance it.

 

I've halfway crawled under the steering wheel a few times but haven't really dug into how to run the harness from driver to passenger side. I'm hoping there's going to be a fairly obvious pathway.

 

I'm just assuming that I'm going to donate some knuckle skin and some choice words to this project... :)

LOL - I've got some choice words every time I'm in the X61A Box.

 

But to answer your questions, when I did the illuminate door sills, I had to run a Jumper wire part of the harness from the driver side over to the passenger side. I found "easiest" way was to remove the HVAC cover underneath. Starts at the center console area and goes to the right. It's a 7mm bolt, there there are some far forward, I couldn't get my socket there. An articulating socket head helped. Had some choice words for that. Don't let it beat ya. :)

 

 

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TeamsterGene Enthusiast

TeamsterGene

Posted
Posted

Hey, Phil,

 

Don't mean to thread jack but figured this might be a better spot to ask than starting an all new thread.....

 

Is there anyone out there that would like to trade OEM towing mirrors "back-caps"?

 

I have chrome and would like to trade for textured black.

 

 

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I'm not sure if I'm posting this properly but here goes..... You can have the brand new textured black caps from my tow mirrors if you'll cover shipping. Phil put the chrome caps on mine while he had em.

 

 

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jd173706 Enthusiast

jd173706

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am sorry if this is mentioned elsewhere, but I have done quite a bit of reading so far and have yet to find the answer to this question anywhere... (Newbie to the forum as well so patience is appreciated!)

How do you disconnect and remove the door jamb wiring harness connector to verify if you have the three pins required to add towing mirrors? I am on the verge of buying a set of aftermarket tow mirrors off Amazon and want to know which harness(es) I'll need, so I can estimate how much to total cost will be to do the swap. I understand it will be a ton of work, but I'm a fairly capable DIY mechanic...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

P.S. pgamboa, do you still make harnesses and offer support to those attempting to do the swap?

Edited by jd173706
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pgamboa Senior Enthusiast

pgamboa

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

I am sorry if this is mentioned elsewhere, but I have done quite a bit of reading so far and have yet to find the answer to this question anywhere... (Newbie to the forum as well so patience is appreciated!)

 

How do you disconnect and remove the door jamb wiring harness connector to verify if you have the three pins required to add towing mirrors? I am on the verge of buying a set of aftermarket tow mirrors off Amazon and want to know which harness(es) I'll need, so I can estimate how much to total cost will be to do the swap. I understand it will be a ton of work, but I'm a fairly capable DIY mechanic...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

P.S. pgamboa, do you still make harnesses and offer support to those attempting to do the swap?

First and foremost, Welcome to the Forum!

 

In the very first post, I include a photo of the door jamb connector removal. Here it is again. Open the door. You’ll see the flex boot rubber. On the body side, top of the connector, Take a flat blade screwdriver and gently pry the rubber back. You’ll expose a plastic retainer clip that holds the boot into the jamb. Press the retainer clip down and towards the left to pop it out. Once the boot is off, you’ll see a pin lever lock. Using the same screwdriver, move the lever to the left 90° until in a horizontal position. This unlocks the connector. Remove the connector.

 

Take your phone and stick it in the space and snap some photos of the body side connector. PM me those pics so I can evaluate. This is only needed is 2014 - 2015.

 

5129b2e0a7f03aa42086dcde94c44306.png

 

Yes - I still make harnesses and offer support to this upgrade 24/7/365 [emoji4]

 

 

 

 

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Edited by pgamboa
jd173706 Enthusiast

jd173706

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the warm welcome, I see you’re in Dallas! I’m in OKC. We are neighbors, so to speak.

 

I’ll go take that photo today. I tried yesterday and I only got so far as to pop out the rubber boot, I couldn’t figure out how to release the connector, thank you for the info.

 

I’m pretty sure mine is missing the proper pins though because I only have the heated/power mirrors, I don’t have the other features.

 

I’ll get that photo soon! Thank you in advance for all your help!

 

 

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pgamboa Senior Enthusiast

pgamboa

Posted
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Thanks for the warm welcome, I see you’re in Dallas! I’m in OKC. We are neighbors, so to speak.

 

I’ll go take that photo today. I tried yesterday and I only got so far as to pop out the rubber boot, I couldn’t figure out how to release the connector, thank you for the info.

 

I’m pretty sure mine is missing the proper pins though because I only have the heated/power mirrors, I don’t have the other features.

 

I’ll get that photo soon! Thank you in advance for all your help!

 

 

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Hey Neighbor! What year is your truck? For later model 2015 and on, the circuits are present in the jamb connector, on the body side. So even if you have heat and adjust, this will just mean a new harness behind the door panel. Checking the door jamb (body side) tells me if there is an extra requirement needed.

 

 

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jd173706 Enthusiast

jd173706

Posted
Posted

It’s a 14

 

 

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pgamboa Senior Enthusiast

pgamboa

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It’s a 14

 

 

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DL3s are an easier upgrade than Tow Mirrors because GM didn’t include pins 9 and 11 in the door jamb for the Park/Cargo lamps needed on tow mirrors.

 

 

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jd173706 Enthusiast

jd173706

Posted
Posted

Ahh, I see... I kinda had my heart set on tow mirrors because I like the way they look, I don’t necessarily need them or anything but I also don’t want them to shake or be less sturdy in car washes or anything. I found a set that seem to be fine on Amazon for under $200, then there is another set for $250 that may be a bit better built. Would DL3 be plug n play though you think?

 

 

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Allstein New Member

Allstein

Posted
Posted

Gambia, I'm looking to do this mod myself but I cannot locate the actual pins that into the plastic connector. Do you have a part number or supplier where I could get them.

Thanks

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