Manual mirrors to factory power mirrors

[Zeebins]

I’ve been slowly working at this project since September but I’ve finally wired up power mirrors in a Saturn that didn’t come with them. I wanted OE power mirrors but I didn’t want to loose the storage spot in the center console. I don’t have power locks either and the power mirror switch happens to fit perfectly in their spot on the door handle. Kind of.
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The mirror buttons fit just about perfectly in the space for the door locks. The
Plastic housing was too big however. Luckily, the board the buttons sit on doesn’t take up all the extra space. I trimmed the plastic as much as I could without hitting the board on either side. I cut pretty much everything off the power lock trim as well except for the boarder and the tabs that hold it in. (I forgot to take a pic of it after...)
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I covered up the top and bottom with some spare plastic and held everything together with a lot of JB Weld. . It took a lot of sanding after to get it all to fit in the door handle. I could paint it all black, but it looks normal from the outside, so I’m not worried about it.
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I ended up pulling the wiring I needed out of a 3rd gen so that I could have power mirrors on both sides. 1st and 2nd gens only Have power passenger mirrors. Running all the wires through the door tube took a while to figure out and I didn’t want to try and take off the door panel, so the tube was pretty hard to get off. Since the switch was now on the door rather than the center console, half the wires had to be extended, and half of them had to be shortened. That part was pretty easy though. I didn’t want to have to take apart the factory fuse box, or figure out hot to properly add the mirrors to it so I added them on to my auxiliary fuse box from my power outlet project. I added another relay to so that the mirrors only work with the key set to run. The wiring looks messy (and it kinda is..) but it fits behind the drivers side kick panel and I’ve never had a problem with it while driving.
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I took a short video of it working. I’m surprised the buttons didn’t break with how many times I had it taken apart. https://youtu.be/C_frQziwqaU

I’m planning on getting a remote starter soon, so that will probably be the next electrical project for the Saturn

[toggenburg]

Way to go, got it done !!!
Great thought, planning and perseverance.

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Very cool!

I've been wanting to put a power mirror on my driver's side in my 98 SL2 somehow eventually... Have always thought it was dumb that the passenger side is power but the driver's side is manual with the little nipple sticking out of the door to move it lol.

[Waiex191]

Originally Posted by 98_Gold_Uranus

Have always thought it was dumb that the passenger side is power but the driver's side is manual with the little nipple sticking out of the door to move it lol.

I prefer the nipple. One less electrical doodad to fail. Would be hard to reach cross cockpit to get the passenger side though. I like the design!

[454cid]

Many years ago, when I was a kid, I seem to remember a car that had a little joystick for the mirrors, and I believe it was all mechanical. I'm thinking maybe a pair of cables. I don't recall if each front door had one, or if the passenger door mirror control was centrally located. It may have been my grandparents 78/79 Olds Delta 88. My grandmother's 84 Buick LeSabre may have had something like that too, but I think that was electric.

[Waiex191]

Slightly off topic, but I used to tow gliders with a Piper Pawnee ag plane. It had a mirror so you could keep an eye on the glider. I had picked up a mechanical remote control mirror and wanted to put it on. Would have been a great setup.

[fdryer]

^ I've seen snapshots of fighter jets with curved mirrors inside canopies but never seen or know of rear view mirrors on airplanes until now. It's amusing yet practical when towing gliders to be able to look back. With all the aerodynamics airplanes have, an outside(?) rear view mirror is an oddity that brings a smile. Seriously now, is it mounted outside and bullet, rectangular F1 or broad flat plate truck style?

[Waiex191]

On a Pawnee, aerodynamics is not much of a consideration. The super cub would have a mirror inside to look back through the skylight.

[fdryer]

Yes, a Pawnee airplane version of a John Deere tractor with wings...... aerodynamics an afterthought to deliver chemicals, a bomber for farm crops. Ugly like the A-10 Warthog yet beautiful for its designed purpose.

[98_Gold_Uranus]

Originally Posted by Waiex191

I prefer the nipple. One less electrical doodad to fail. Would be hard to reach cross cockpit to get the passenger side though. I like the design!

I suppose having the adjustment nipple/knob is better than having to roll the window down and push the mirror into position by hand...

[Zeebins]

Positioning the mirrors by hand is honestly easier than using the stick to adjust them. The driver side one is 3 inches away from the mirror itself and the passenger side doesn’t even have one...

[SlayZombi]

You know, my '01 doesn't have power mirrors yet my '82 ZX does.... who would've thought? I don't typically change my mirrors a lot as I'm the only driver so manual are a-ok with me!

[Waiex191]

Originally Posted by Zeebins

Positioning the mirrors by hand is honestly easier than using the stick to adjust them. The driver side one is 3 inches away from the mirror itself and the passenger side doesn’t even have one...

If you take the mirror out and lube up the cable mechanism, it will work a lot better. Take out any bee nests you find as they tend to jam the mirror as well.

[alordofchaos]

Nice work on the mirrors. I'm impressed!

Originally Posted by fdryer

^ I've seen snapshots of fighter jets with curved mirrors inside canopies

I vaguely recall reading about Israeli pilots doing that. When they first got F4 Phantoms, apparently they were not impressed with the lack of dogfighting ability and poor rearward vision for the pilot. They fixed it by going to the FLAPS, and buying some car rearview mirrors and sticking them inside the windscreens.