heated mirrors

[jonny323i]

If i buy heated mirror glass am i right in thinking that the wiring is already there and just needs a link wire!!

[Rav335uk]

No wiring is not the Jonny, but it's dead easy to wire up.
I have one here, just a case of 2 wires mate.

[jonny323i]

connected to what!!

[Rav335uk]

The motor

[jonny323i]

But wont they heat all the time then shouldnt you wire them to the rear window switch

[Rav335uk]

Not sure mate, the one's I have are wired from the motor itself, so it maybe heated all the time.

[bss325i]

They are wired to heat when the ignition is on. This is how they are from factory.

[jonny323i]

So just wiring them to the motor supply will do

[bss325i]

From my sport thread.

The only parts needed are the mirror glass for each side and the specific wiring loom for each mirror. With some careful soldering and crimping you could modify an original loom as the only difference is two wires as seen in the pic below.
This also means no painting needed as you use your original housings.



As i had removed a pair of heated mirrors from a breaker, i striped them and removed the looms but unfortunately the heated mirror glass from them were both open circuit so in the bin they went. A new pair were ordered up and for those of you who want to know the difference see the pic below, you can see one has a heated element on the back of the glass.



Here is a pic of the mirror stripped.



With the mirror housing refitted and wiring plugged in it was time to check power to glass connections. With terminal 15 switched on (Ignition position 2) we have battery voltage present so we were good to fit the glass.



Once fitted, with the terminal 15 on switched on for 5 or so mins with have the temp seen below.

[jonny323i]

I thought it was a simple add some wires but couldnt remember. So is the first loom at the top of the picture a bmw loom for heated mirrors??
The reason iv been asking is iv seen some heated mirror glass with the blind spot for £10.99 and i thought id give it a go!
Thanks to both of you

[Rav335uk]

That's it Barry, same as the ones I have.
How much was the glass?

[jonny323i]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330676612282? ... 1423.l2649

i know they arent genuine but a fraction of the price and worth a try

[bss325i]

They are both BMW looms with the top one being an original heated loom. As you can see in the pic, all you need to add is two wires, one from the brown wire and one from the black wire.

[_Jay_]

Seems a nice simple mod. When you say you wire it in to the motor, it means it will be running the whole time you are driving? Will this not damage the heating element on the glass?

[Brianmoooore]

Heating element has a negative temperature coefficient, so is self regulating. It will cost you both MPG and performance, though. (Roughly around 1/10th HP at a rough estimate!)

[_Jay_]

Worth the fraction of hp loss I think. Will add to the list of things I need to do to the cab.

[Gert_8]

My cab has them factory fitted! I only realised after having washed it and then noticed that they were steaming! Not really useful as it never goes out in the rain or frost...

[Duke137]

How rare are heated mirrors from factory, does anyone know?

[bss325i]

How rare are heated mirrors from factory, does anyone know?

They came as part of a package which included heated washer jets and a heated drivers door lock barrel.

[Duke137]

How rare are heated mirrors from factory, does anyone know?

They came as part of a package which included heated washer jets and a heated drivers door lock barrel.

Cool thanks Barry, I guess my car had that option

Heated mirrors/washers are one of the best options IMO if you drive your car in winter, compared to a car without them this makes life so much easier!

[Duke137]

Just bumping an old thread for more info, can you plug heated mirrors into a standard main loom on a poverty spec car to just "work" ? I mean, are they plug and play if you like?

Cheers

[bss325i]

Yes because all E30's have electric mirrors.

The only difference is in the mirror loom, two extra wires as in the pic i posted.

[Duke137]

Yes because all E30's have electric mirrors.

The only difference is in the mirror loom, two extra wires as in the pic i posted.

Thought so

[redcar]

Those anti blind spot mirrors seem like an awesome idea
The stock e30 ones are a bit dodgy at times.