V1 Hardwire and Gentex Mirror Install
Hey Guys,
Sorry for the delay on this writeup. The Gentex mirror with Temp and Compass rocks, but i fried the speaker in my V1 somehow, so i was angry after this project.
I decided it was time to add a temp/compass mirror from a newer chevy. The 96-99 ones will work, but i liked the display style on the 2000+ ones better. I ordered mine from Ebay, make sure to get one that looks just like you want. Some have onstar buttons on them, some have warnings about the front seat airbag, etc. Also, just cause there is a screen, doesn't mean its temp AND compass, and i wanted both. Mine cost about $50 after shipping. This was MIRROR only. Then, i ordered the temp probe harness from ebay also.
Unfortunately, the mirror button nub thing on the glass was the wrong one for this mirror. Napa sells them, and i think the one i needed was marked for a chrysler, but i forget, sorry. I used a heat gun to heat the old one up til it fell off, then had to try and re-glue the new one 2 or 3 times. Not fun to repeat, but the key is to use just a DROP of adhesive, not too much. Anyways, new glass nub was required, but no big deal.
Most GM's have the temp probe mounted on the core support behind the grill. I was smart and thought ahead, and mounted it when i had the grill removed to install my trans cooler. For ease of wiring, i placed it behind the middle bar of the grill, under the headlights, on the driver side.
You can see where i marked, and cut a 1" horizontal slit for the temp probe clip.
Bare metal painted, probe clipped in, and wire zip tied.
Better view of location.
With parking lens installed
Ok, onto overhead wiring. In order to power the Valentine1, i needed to properly power a RJ12 phone line receptacle. I mounted this plug on the front edge of the overhead console, so that i could run a short wire from the V1 on the windshield directly up.
Plenty of dead space in the front for wiring.
Marked for Cut
Basically, i drilled 2 holes, and squared it out with a file til the RJ12 extension piece fit snugly. I used a female to female extension piece, that would be used to extend an existing phone line. Painted the front half black.
Finished product. Not as crooked as it looks in the pic. From the back of that connector, i ran a phone line with the mirror wiring across the ceiling (under headliner), to drivers side pillar, into dash, and out under hood where new fuse block was being added.
Ok, so onto the Mirror.
The mirror requires key power, ground, 2 wires for temp probe, and a wire to the backup circuit. It is an autodimming mirror, and doesn't autodim while in reverse in order to help you see when backing up. You must hookup this wire, or the autodim will not work properly.
In order to run wires from the mirror up into the console, i heat shrink'd a wire hanger into the wiring harness, so i could bend it as i saw fit.
I ran 2 4 wire runs for the mirror, the phone cable for the V1, and some extra wire for other accessories i may add to the overhead console. The extra wire got jammed into the front space above the console.
Once the mirror was mounted, and wires ran, this is what it looked like before console install.
Finished product:
Not really sure where i went wrong with the V1 wiring, but it has to do with some phone wires being crossed, and some being straight through. A land line phone doesn't care what cable you use, but obviously if one wire carries 12v, and one ground, and you mix them up, you have problems. Even when properly wired, i couldn't get it to work, so i decided to just order the hardwire kit from V1 and stop screwing around with my homebrew adapter. Haven't installed that one yet.
Once the mirror was up and running, i searched programming/calibration instructions online. Not too hard to do, and it works well! Good accurate readings from the temp probe too! One more accessory that makes this truck feel not-so-old!
Sorry for the crappy writeup, short on time tonight, but wanted to get it done. Let me know if you have any questions.
