How to make heated mirrors with your own hands, types and installation methods

Heated rear-view mirrors are a necessary option in winter to improve driving safety and provide the driver with adequate visibility.

This feature is present in most modern cars, but owners of older vehicles should not be upset. You can make heated side mirrors yourself!

Types of heating

The need for this function became clear quite a long time ago. Just a few decades ago, some cars were equipped with simple devices designed to defrost viewing structures.

Installation involved installing incandescent lamps inside, which heated the part from the inside and the ice melted. In modern devices, the heating method has changed, but the function remains the same.

The existing types of defrosters should be considered separately:

1. Wire - how heated mirrors on a wire base works is explained by its very name. Tungsten filaments are used as a heating element, placed on an insulating and heat-resistant base. When an electric current passes through them, they heat up, which leads to melting of the ice.
2. Printed conductors – heated car mirrors using printed conductors are the most modern. You can buy boards at the car market or at a spare parts store. They are not made independently.
3. A film heater is a film-based product with heating elements included in it.
4. Lamp heater - this type of heating element is a low-power (10 watt) incandescent lamp. This technology is best suited for making heated mirrors with your own hands and is often used by owners of outdated models of domestic cars.

What you need

To make a heater you only need:

• Nichrome wire;
• Double-sided and regular tape;
• Wires;
• Sealant;
• Soldering iron;
• Multimeter;

Having all this, you can start equipping the mirrors with heating. But first, let's deal with nichrome wire.

A wire with a cross section of 0.4-05 mm and a length of 1-1.3 m is suitable for the heater. For normal functioning of the heating system, the resistance of the piece of wire must be 12 Ohms. This is exactly what a multimeter is for. That is, we took a section of 1.5 meters and measured the resistance. If it exceeds the specified value, cut off 10 cm and measure again. Thus, we select the desired segment.

Checking the presence of standard heating

The presence of a heated rear view mirror cannot always be detected at first glance. The fact is that there is often no separate button to turn it on, and many car owners wonder how the heated exterior mirrors are turned on. The function is activated automatically when the rear window heating is turned on. To check if the mirror heater is present:

1. Start the engine;
2. Turn on the rear window heating;
3. Spray the mirrors with water or blow on them;
4. Touch it with your hand.

When the heating is running, the water drops dry within 1-2 minutes; when you breathe, the mirror does not fog up, and it is warm to the touch. In the cold season, you can verify the presence of heating by simply observing how long it takes for the mirror to thaw after being parked overnight. If a heating element is located underneath, the defrosting process takes only a few minutes.

Price issue

First of all, we will orient you a little on the price tags that are presented on the market today.

The cost may vary depending on the manufacturer, technical features of the product and the region of its sales. Therefore, prices are average.

Mirror type

approximate cost

Outdoor heated

Obviously, the characteristics of the panoramic interior mirror provide a better view, and the presence of heated exterior mirrors provides comfort and does not require constant wiping. It is better to pay more, but buy new functional products.

Instructions for installing ready-made components

Installing commercial heated mirrors is a relatively simple operation. To carry it out, it is necessary to remove the part from the car and disassemble it. Glued products are heated with a hair dryer or by soaking in boiling water, after which the reflective overlay is easily removed. Products fastened with bolts are disassembled using the appropriate tool. Do-it-yourself installation of heated rear-view mirrors purchased in a store is permissible only on clean and dry surfaces.

Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to evaluate the dimensions of the heating element and housing. If printed circuit boards are used, it is possible to remove the stiffeners. The film is cut to size while retaining the heating strips.

The boards are glued to the inside of the case with glue, the films are fixed directly to the reverse side. In both cases, wires are soldered to the contacts of the thermoelement, which go to the power source.

The connection diagram for heated exterior mirrors may vary on different cars. Usually the wires are brought out and connected to the line that supplies the heated rear window. It is possible to install separate wiring using a relay and a fuse. In some models, auto wiring for the devices in question is provided with src=»https://znanieavto.ru/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/skhema-podklyucheniya-obogreva.jpg» class=»aligncenter» width=»500″ height ="600″[/img]

Procedure

Now you can begin installing the heater. First, remove the holder with the mirror from the case. On most cars, it is enough to pry it with a screwdriver or something flat from below and pull it towards you.

Based on the characteristics of the holder, we choose the method of fastening the wire. If the inner surface of the holder is smooth (as in the photo), then stick double-sided tape on it.

Then we lay a piece of wire on this surface. This can be done arbitrarily, for example, in a zigzag or something else. The main thing is to place it so that the thread covers as much of the surface of the holder as possible. In this case, the wire should not intersect anywhere. Scotch tape will hold the nichrome thread well.

If the inner surface of the holder has any protrusions or fastening elements, then it will not be possible to stick the tape. In this case, a soldering iron will help to secure the wire. Everything is simple here - we apply a nichrome thread to the surface and press it with a heated soldering iron. The plastic will begin to melt and the wire will sink into it. Once cooled, the plastic will become hard and will hold the thread. But here it is important not to overdo it with heating the plastic, so as not to “push” it to the mirror. It is enough just to “drown” the wire in it a little and that’s it.

In this way, we fasten the wire along the accessible surface of the holder without touching the fasteners.

When laying the wire, its ends should be placed towards the side of the holder that is closer to the door, and so that they do not touch each other. To these ends we solder terminals for connecting to the wiring or simply the ends of prepared wires. Then the resulting connections need to be insulated.

How to make heated mirrors with your own hands

It’s not difficult to make heated mirrors with your own hands. Most often, incandescent lamps or a wire-based heating element system are used for this. The cost of materials is minimal, but the work will take time.

What you will need

To make heated mirrors with your own hands, you will need a set of tools and materials. The list of consumables depends on what type of device the car owner wants to see.

Cost of materials

Do-it-yourself heated rear-view mirrors require extremely low financial costs. So, an incandescent lamp costs about 20 rubles, a cartridge - 30 rubles, wires - 25 rubles / meter, sealant - 100 rubles, adhesive tape 40 rubles. Tungsten filaments can be removed for free from an old kettle, and a soldering iron and screwdriver for disassembling a mirror can be borrowed from friends.

Procedure

As in the case when ready-made components for heating are used, installation of the heater begins with disassembling, washing and drying the mirror. After this, the inside of the housing is lined with a heat-resistant coating and aluminum foil.

The cartridge is mounted in such a way that after installation it does not touch the structural elements.

A lamp is inserted into the socket, the wires are soldered to the contacts and insulated with sealant. Also, using sealant, insulate the holes through which the wiring comes out. The heating filaments are glued to the base, after which it is covered on both sides with heat-resistant material. The resulting structure is glued to the inner surface of the mirror, soldered to the contacts of the wires, which are brought out through specially made holes. All open heating elements are insulated with sealant.

An important question is how to turn on homemade heated mirrors. The best option is to have a separate button for this.

Connection to the rear window defrost system is not recommended, since the design should not operate for a long time. Both the lamp and the filaments become hot enough to cause overheating and damage to the housing during prolonged use.

Lateral

There can also be many reasons for removing side mirrors. But mainly this is replacement, painting or installing a heating system.

Regardless of the situation specifically with your VAZ 2114, the first thing you will have to do is remove the elements. How to do it?

Side mirrors

Dismantling

Removing side mirrors is not a difficult task. Here you only need a screwdriver to work. Perhaps not alone.

1. Pry off the plug located on the side mirror control knob.
2. Behind the plug there is a screw that needs to be unscrewed with a Phillips screwdriver.
3. Remove the triangular plug. In the case of the VAZ 2114, it is held in place by special clamps. So to remove it you need to carefully unscrew the latches. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the plug and remove it without too much trouble.
4. Next, three mounting screws appear in front of you.
5. By unscrewing them, you will thereby remove the side mirror.
6. Do the same procedure with the second rear view element.

As you can see, removing the components is quite simple; simple fastening is provided. This is largely why they love domestic cars, since even a person without much experience can disassemble and assemble most components.

Malfunctions of standard heating

Possible malfunctions and repairs of standard mirror heating are in the table below:

It’s not difficult to make heated mirrors with your own hands today. Heating components are sold in stores, so all the work comes down to assembling a simple structure and connecting it to the car's electrical network. An assembled and well-functioning device will significantly increase driving comfort in winter and make life easier for owners of any type of car.

Mirrors from other models

Mirrors from BMW E34, E36 and other early BMW models are suitable for VAZ 2114 cars, and from some Toyota models. Carina E, Camry, Corolla, Honda. Accent, Accord, Civic and from MAZDA 626.

It is also possible to supply elements of model 2110 with fastenings for 2109-2114.

To install mirrors from other models, you will have to drill additional holes. In addition, these mirrors may not have the appropriate mounts, adjustment angles, or fit the vehicle.

Wedge cover

The surfaces of the reflective layers are located at an angle to each other. Double-layer positions for day and night operation are switchable manually or electrically. During the day, images are reflected from a mirror surface, and at night. from the outer surface of the glass.

A few important details

To disassemble the mirrors, you will need screwdrivers of different sizes, as well as hex keys. You will need to find a place in the car to set the heating to turn on and off.

To disassemble the side window, first loosen the mounting screws. Use a hair dryer to soften the mirror elements. If this tool is not available, the driver can use hot water. The mirror must be completely placed in water, after which the analysis will be much easier.

Important! When dismantling, you must use plastic elements so as not to damage the structure or scratch the glass. To get the maximum effect from the heating operation, the elements must be prepared so that the contacts do not touch the coating

Contact between heat and coating results in burnout. All work can be done independently. However, it is better to contact a specialist, he will help with installation and perform the correct installation, so that unforeseen situations do not arise during the operation of the mirror heaters

To get the maximum effect from the heating operation, the elements must be prepared so that the contacts do not touch the coating. Contact between heat and coating results in burnout. All work can be done independently. However, it is better to contact a specialist, he will help with installation and perform the correct installation, so that unforeseen situations do not arise during the operation of the mirror heaters.

Installation and assembly must be performed sequentially. Each stage is performed one after another (certain actions cannot be skipped). Thus, heated mirrors will bring the driver the necessary comfort. In wet weather and frost, the mirrors will always be clean and dry.