New Mirror installation
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Remove the insulation tape and rubber plugs to reveal the nuts. The nuts take an 11mm socket.
Remove the door speaker to reveal the connector for the mirror wiring.
I used a clamp to hold the mirrors during removal and replacement. Disconnect the wiring and remove the nuts. The mirror can be removed now.
The connectors on my 1999 mirrors are completely different from the replacement mirrors. Newer trucks have the same connectors but with only the three wires. I'll have to cut the connectors off and solder the wires together. Not a big deal, it'll just take a little longer. The wires are:
Black w/white stripe - mirror heat. Each mirror draws 1.4 amps. The yellow, red, and blue wires are for the power mirror motors.
Mount the new mirror. Use a nut driver and tighten the nuts hand tight in a criss cross pattern. Don't over tighten the nuts. Here I've soldered the three mirror motor wires.
The new wiring will be run through the flexible rubber collar and down the A-pillar. I used some scrap 3-conductor strobe cable I had. It is the red cable. You can see where it exits the A-pillar. You'll need to remove the kick panel to access this. I'm running a separate black wire for the ground. The wires can be hard to get through the rubber collar, and cussing is allowed. Note: Ford connects the wire for the heated mirror to key-on power. If you want your mirrors powered this way you can connect this wire to the power wire for the power windows at the door switch. It will mean running one less wire into the cab. I plan on hooking the heat to a timer.
I connected the ground wire to an existing ground bolt. The black cover next to the bolt is lifted to access the wires in the A-pillar.
I soldered the remaining wires. I tested them, heated the heatshrink, tied the wires up, and replaced the door panels and trim.
The passenger side mirror installs the same as the driver's side. The connections for the turn signals can be found in the large bundle left of the brake pedal. The colors vary by year so check your year's schematic. The parking light wire is dark brown and can be found several places. Because of my remote start installation I already had easy access to a parking light connection. I connected my heat wires to key-on power until I build a delay unit. I like the new mirrors. They stick out several inches less than the old mirrors and the parking lights and turn signals are cool. The heated mirrors are sweet.
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