12 volts, baby

[Hoo024law]

Since I'm on a roll with the questions, here is another one for you experts out there.

In plain terms....what's the easiest way to tap into a constant 12v. power source?

I've got an auto-dimming mirror that needs juice. Anything in the junction box (behind knee bolster) that I can (safely) splice into to route power to the mirror?

Again, thanks. This is a great site.

[happy_aggies]

Ur map lights.

[Hoo024law]

that I don't have a sunroof, or maplights.

[happy_aggies]

It would help if you tell us what kind of vehicle that you are trying to install that auto-dimming mirror.

[Hoo024law]

01 solara se 5 speed

[Luc]

You can tap into the ignition wire, black with red stripe, from one harness after you remove the lower hush panel on the driver's side. Zip tie the wire down the A-pillar to the existing wire bundle so when you put the panel back, the wire won't be snagged. I also used an existing ground behind the kick panel. Most of the ground wires are white-colored.

[hoo024law]

Thank you for that diagram. It will come in handy. Two follow up questions, though:

I bought the mirror from a friend whom had it as a factory install. HE simply cliped the wires right by the headliner. So...what i have now is
two wires (one red/black & the other, I forget at the moment) running from the back of the mirror. This was my plan

Attache the clipped wires to longer wires, tape the over the bare wires. Run those wires down the a-pillar, to the junciton box.

Now, when I get down there, should I splice th

[Hoo024law]

Thank you for that diagram, it will come in handy. Two follow up questions, though:

I bought the mirror from a friend who had it as a factory installed option. He simply cliped the wires from the back of the mirror (with about 6 inches of slack) and gave it to me. Now, there are 2 wires, a red-black one, and a black-white (i *think*) wire.

What I was planning to do was, extend these wires so that they would reach the junction box, use electrical tape to tape over the portions of barewire where they were spliced together.

My question. When i get down to the junciton box, do i splice the red-black wire from the mirror to the ignition wire? If that is the case, what does the other wire (black-white) get attached to . I *assume* its a ground wire, does that mean attaching it to a metal part of the car?

My final question, how easy is it to remove the A-pillar? I've tried with a moderate amount of force, but was afraid to pull to hard and break it.

Thanks guys, you've helped a lot so far.

[Luc]

You'll be fine to extend those two clipped wires, just make sure you have good connections and tape them well, don't want to leave the powered one exposed, otherwise, if it touches metal, your mirror will be useless. The red/black wire will need to be connected to the ignition wire, and the black wire will be connected to ground. I say use factory ground because it's there already, and all you need is add an O-ring, and it's distinguished by the factory ground wires, which are typically white-colored.

The A-pillar panel is easy to remove, just give it a good yank, and it should come off, just don't lose the clips, otherwise, it won't be secured properly.

Here's how it looks when bundled within the A-pillar.


Close-up of the harness that the ignition wire is at.


BTW, after you remove the lower plastic panel, you'll also need to remove the metal brace behind it also, so the harness can be revealed.

[Hoo024law]

Anyone know if this splicing of wires would void my factory warrenty? My baby is still brand new.

[DavPak]

Anyone know if this splicing of wires would void my factory warrenty? My baby is still brand new.

it would void the warranty on any components that were damaged as a result of the splicing.

[xyntax]

If you dont want to splice, You can tap your wires in on the cigarette plug fuse.



I'm not sure if I'm pointing the right spot there but you can check the diagram behind the coinbox door.

That should give you a power every time your car is on.

[krook]

splicing is actually the best way to go if you are going to add on any aftermarket wiring to your oem wiring.

'splicing' is a great technique to 'tap' into a wire w/o cutting it.

it won't void your warranty; if that's the case, every single car alarm on the market will void your warranty.

btw, on a side note, your true ignition wire is a THICK black with yellow stripe in the ignition harness. use a brown scotchlock connector to tap into it.

they look like this:

[ArlHoo]

I knew I'd find the answers here, you guys know your stuff. Question:

what's the difference b/t splicing and cutting. When I said "splicing" above, I meant cutting the ignition wire and connecting the mirror wire to it.

Is there a substantial difference b/t cutting and splicing?

[happy_aggies]

Splicing is Tapping the wire. Not sure how can I more elaborate.