01-28-2011, 10:09 PM
My rig has never had enough light so i decided to snatch a rear view from the yard that had map lights to help with the issue.
I pulled the mirror from a late 90's S-10 p/u. It has two map lights on the bottom and has two individual switches for each light on the front face. There are a few different version out there; some with 4 wires and some with three. The one I pulled had 4 wires (Orange, Pink, White, and Black).
Don't make the mistake of thinking you can just connect the negative and the positive and be good to go because they put a circuit board in the mirror and made it way too complicated for the simple function of a light. The fact that I do not have doors and thus no door switches makes this even more complicated but not impossible.
My goal with the lights is to have them both come on when I actuate the dome light switch as well has have the individual map lights available when their respective switch is pressed.
The way this thing is wired is pretty much a pain in the rear so if you are just looking to have the dome function without the individual map light function you need to wire it as follows...
Orange+Pink = Dome power
White+Black = Ground
If you want the dual functionality as I described above you will need to gather the following:
1 relay ($3.00)
2 1N5400 rectifier diodes from Radio Shack ($2.00)
8' 18/4 security wire (Lowes/Home Depot @ 70/foot)(optional)
The security wire is optional but I found it helped to reduce the hell of trying to squeeze a bunch of thick individually wrapped wires through the windshield channel. I even used it to replace my wiper motor wires.
For the dual configuration you will need to wire as follows:
1. Run a 12v power line spliced into your ignition circuit on the vehicle to the vicinity of the mirror. The back post of the ignition switch is a good spot. The only reason I chose the ignition to power the map light function is to prevent the battery from draining if the light is accidentally left on.
2. Run 2 12v power lines spliced to the dome light switch. One wire will go to the vicinity of the mirror and the other to the mounting location of the relay.
3. The relay is not going to power anything as we typically use a relay. Instead, the relay is going to create a temporary ground connection for the white wire of the mirror. To do this, run the second spliced dome light wire to terminal 86 and then ground terminal 85. Then run the white wire from the mirror to terminal 87 and then ground terminal 30. YES- I know there are two grounds connected to the relay; this is what I want.
4. Now connect the diodes; one to the end of the Dome power and one to the Ignition power. Solderless connectors work well with these diodes. Make sure you get the direction correct. The current should flow to the band on the end of the diode so the band should be facing the mirror side of the circuit. The diodes are necessary in this configuration to prevent back feeding from one power circuit into the another. Without the diodes, when you turn on the dome light, your ignition circuit would come on too. Or, if you turn on the ignition, all the dome lights would come on. Not an ideal situation, so get the diodes.
Next, we want to connect the Orange and Pink wires together (short them to one another) but not at the end of the wires. You need to cut a very small piece of insulation out of each wire so you can cross them together and either solder or tape them together. Now connect the ends of the Orange and Pink wires to the diodes. Again, I used solderless connectors without an issue. It does not matter which line you connect the Ignition and Dome to since the power all goes to the same point where you spliced the Orange and Pink lines together.
Do a quick test and make sure everything works as advertised. Remember, you should not be able use the individual map lights with the ignition off and the dome light switch should power both the lights simultaneously.
It took me a coupe days to get all this right but I am really happy with the end result. My pain, your gain. Enjoy! :beer:
Please excuse the crude drawing but it does get the point across. I never claimed to be a friggin artist. :thefinger:
![[Image: diag.jpg]](http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/mchuzie/bronco%204link/diag.jpg)
I pulled the mirror from a late 90's S-10 p/u. It has two map lights on the bottom and has two individual switches for each light on the front face. There are a few different version out there; some with 4 wires and some with three. The one I pulled had 4 wires (Orange, Pink, White, and Black).
Don't make the mistake of thinking you can just connect the negative and the positive and be good to go because they put a circuit board in the mirror and made it way too complicated for the simple function of a light. The fact that I do not have doors and thus no door switches makes this even more complicated but not impossible.
My goal with the lights is to have them both come on when I actuate the dome light switch as well has have the individual map lights available when their respective switch is pressed.
The way this thing is wired is pretty much a pain in the rear so if you are just looking to have the dome function without the individual map light function you need to wire it as follows...
Orange+Pink = Dome power
White+Black = Ground
If you want the dual functionality as I described above you will need to gather the following:
1 relay ($3.00)
2 1N5400 rectifier diodes from Radio Shack ($2.00)
8' 18/4 security wire (Lowes/Home Depot @ 70/foot)(optional)
The security wire is optional but I found it helped to reduce the hell of trying to squeeze a bunch of thick individually wrapped wires through the windshield channel. I even used it to replace my wiper motor wires.
For the dual configuration you will need to wire as follows:
1. Run a 12v power line spliced into your ignition circuit on the vehicle to the vicinity of the mirror. The back post of the ignition switch is a good spot. The only reason I chose the ignition to power the map light function is to prevent the battery from draining if the light is accidentally left on.
2. Run 2 12v power lines spliced to the dome light switch. One wire will go to the vicinity of the mirror and the other to the mounting location of the relay.
3. The relay is not going to power anything as we typically use a relay. Instead, the relay is going to create a temporary ground connection for the white wire of the mirror. To do this, run the second spliced dome light wire to terminal 86 and then ground terminal 85. Then run the white wire from the mirror to terminal 87 and then ground terminal 30. YES- I know there are two grounds connected to the relay; this is what I want.
4. Now connect the diodes; one to the end of the Dome power and one to the Ignition power. Solderless connectors work well with these diodes. Make sure you get the direction correct. The current should flow to the band on the end of the diode so the band should be facing the mirror side of the circuit. The diodes are necessary in this configuration to prevent back feeding from one power circuit into the another. Without the diodes, when you turn on the dome light, your ignition circuit would come on too. Or, if you turn on the ignition, all the dome lights would come on. Not an ideal situation, so get the diodes.
Next, we want to connect the Orange and Pink wires together (short them to one another) but not at the end of the wires. You need to cut a very small piece of insulation out of each wire so you can cross them together and either solder or tape them together. Now connect the ends of the Orange and Pink wires to the diodes. Again, I used solderless connectors without an issue. It does not matter which line you connect the Ignition and Dome to since the power all goes to the same point where you spliced the Orange and Pink lines together.
Do a quick test and make sure everything works as advertised. Remember, you should not be able use the individual map lights with the ignition off and the dome light switch should power both the lights simultaneously.
It took me a coupe days to get all this right but I am really happy with the end result. My pain, your gain. Enjoy! :beer:
Please excuse the crude drawing but it does get the point across. I never claimed to be a friggin artist. :thefinger: