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

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 This technology is best suited for making heated mirrors with your own hands and is often used by owners of outdated models of domestic cars.

Active stage of work execution

How to make a heated windshield with your own hands
Often you have to face the fact that there is not enough space to place the appropriate socket under the lamp. In this case, there are only two options. One of them is to take a smaller light bulb, which is not recommended, the second is to use a heat-resistant clamp, which takes up virtually no space. Don't forget to solder the wires and carefully insulate this area. In any case, the most important thing is to prevent the lamp from touching the back of the mirror. This can lead to both damage to the latter and destruction of the heating element during movement.

Next, you should connect the heated mirrors to the vehicle's electrical network, for which you will need a pair of wires with a dense and flexible sheath

At this stage it is extremely important to ensure free adjustment of the mirror. To do this, you need to lay the wires correctly

They should not be stretched, nor should they bend in some areas.

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.

General information

Modern cars are mostly equipped with a heating system. But vehicles, such as the VAZ, for the most part lack this advantage. However, this does not mean that the situation cannot be corrected. Agree, home craftsmen already redo a lot of things in classic VAZ models. For example, the chassis, engine and much more are being modified. Compared to this, installing a heated mirror system seems like baby talk.

All you need is free time, desire and theoretical knowledge, which you will get from this article. In general, there are two ways to implement the plan. One of them is the installation of heating elements, the second - light bulbs. We will look at each of them, and you can decide which one you like best.

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]

Preparing for work

At its core, heated side mirrors consist of any electric heater (low temperature), electrical wiring, and a control button (panel). The electrical circuit for heating the mirrors is connected to the vehicle's on-board 12-volt network. When the contacts of the power button are closed, the heating of the mirrors (heating element) is connected, the current heats the surface of the mirror, it heats up, and the resulting ice begins to melt, and the mirror also stops fogging up.

To design heated mirrors with your own hands, you need to select suitable materials and tools.

What is needed for work:

• heating elements for each mirror;
• hot water, hair dryer for heating the surface;
• scissors or a knife for cutting the heater according to the shape and dimensions of the mirror itself;
• drill with an attachment for making holes;
• to connect the system you will need wiring, bolt terminals, electrical tape;
• a button that allows you to start the device;
• fuse, relay.

When thinking about how to make heated mirrors with your own hands, you should start by dismantling the existing mirror.

Each driver can remove it himself:

The adjustment moves downwards, which allows you to pry off the structure with plastic protection. If you need to remove the system assembly, unscrew the fastening screws located under the casing. Next, you need to disconnect the mirror element itself. Under the influence of high temperatures, the adhesive base will become softer, making it possible to pry off the protection without damaging the device. If the glass is covered with paper tape, remove it. This procedure is not carried out on all machines, but extreme care is required, as it is easy to damage the coating. Using a universal heating element, you need to give it the required shape. And, applying it to the plastic part, determine the location of the holes for subsequent connection. Sometimes the plastic has to be cut and additional holes made to route the wires. Then the heating element itself is glued to the degreased surface. To do this, the protection is removed and the film is applied to the mirror. Having removed the top protective layer, we apply the plastic part

It is important here to prevent the formation of air bubbles. Having glued the heater to one side element, we proceed to the other, after which we insert the structure into the body and proceed to connecting wires and contacts.

Connection is an important stage that determines the effectiveness of the entire heating system. When thinking about how to connect heated mirrors, it is worth exploring two options. It can be connected to the glass heating or a button or a separate circuit is used. The latter option is better, as it reduces the load on the on-board network, since simultaneous heating of glass and mirrors is not always required.

Let's get started:

1. It is better to remove the door trim and sills in advance.
2. The wiring must be laid down along the door so that it does not interfere with the operation of the glass. The wires can be secured with electrical tape to other wiring.
3. Next, we pull the wires through the corrugation. They enter the interior through a hole located below the hinges.
4. For subsequent connection, the screws are unscrewed and the console is disassembled.
5. The wiring from the mirrors is laid under the carpet.
6. The bolt terminal is screwed to the negative wire and installed on a metal frame. The processes are similar for the left and right mirrors. During operation, some wires may be extended.
7. Plus throws on the button. Subsequent connection of wires is carried out according to the standard scheme. Different connection schemes can be used. There are options where the plus is taken from the ignition relay or from the cigarette lighter.

Read more: Replacing the Lada Kalina oil pressure sensor, where is it located and why does the DDM light come on?

If you plan to connect the heated mirrors to the heated rear window system, less manipulation is required. In this case, the positive wires are connected, and the negative wire is output to the housing. Then a separate button is not required, the systems are turned on simultaneously.

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.

What you need

To make a heater you only need:

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

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.

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.

If there is no heater

If the vehicle does not have heated side mirrors, you can install such a system by purchasing ready-made components. The process itself takes a little time. Any car enthusiast can handle the installation. The main thing is to follow the instructions:

1. First you need to find the relay block. Just open the hood and find a black box. Such a box will contain several relays. There must be a diagram on the lid of the box. Thanks to it, you can determine what each relay is intended for. There's nothing complicated about it. Having found and removed the required relay, it must be replaced with what was included with the mirror element. Finally, connect all the wires and close the hood.
2. The existing reflectors should be removed by unscrewing all the screws that hold them in place. Old components must be removed and the wires disconnected.
3. After this, you should install new components, connect the heated side mirror wires, and then replace the inner cover by tightening all the screws.

Now you know how to connect heated mirrors. The process is simple, and there is no need to contact specialized services.