musky joe

I was frustrated with the auto dimming feature on the rear view and drivers side mirrors on my 2013 XLT. I found it to be dangerous at night while driving in the rain. The dealer was not knowledgeable as to how to turn the entire function off , or on how to only disconnect the drivers side mirror from darkening. The trigger for the system is two fold. There is a light sensor on the front side of the rear view mirror the determines darkness. Then, on the rear view mirror, there is a 1/4" sized sensor in the center-top of the glass side of the rearview mirror that determines bright light to your rear. The system will only darken the mirrors when someone is relatively close behind you with headlights on and its dark outside. Two simple ways to resolve this. 1) Place a small 1/4" round piece of foil tape over the rearview mirror light sensor on the glass side. OR 2) on my 2013 XLT I found out that if I open and swing down the front-most sunglass holder (roof-center) it blocks light originating from the rear of the vehicle from reaching the sensor in the glass, temporarily disabling the feature. I hope this helps.

mamonti

you could check out eBay or better just call your local junk yard. If you get it from a junk yard make sure they cut off the connector a couple inches back and that will save you from buying one or trying to solder a wire directly to the mirror itself.

losttime

Ok so I found a mirror. Now what's all this business about a special tool to remove the old one?

mamonti

be careful there!!! Do a search, I think I saw a short video on it,..... IF you don't want to chance it just ask your dealer to do it for you.... or better yet safety glass... See what the dealer would do it for and then check with safelite or whatever windshield shop you have around you... make sure they know the importance also....

jpaytoncfd

I wish I knew what you guys are talking about. If your mirrors are dimming so much you cant see whats behind you theres a problem. I lost the feature when I swapped to towing mirrors and hate it, I am constantly moving the mirror away so I am not blinded. My center mirror still works and I never have to touch it and I can always tell whats behind me. Can I make the suggestion of applying some window tint over the sensor, this will make the mirror think the lights are not as bring and not dim as much. Might be a better solution.

Someone should take a picture of what headlights look like in your mirrors. I would too and we could compare.

mamonti

I think this comes down to a couple of things! Eyesight and Likes/Dislikes. With anything we all don't like what others like, the world would be much easier if we did, but then it would be boring also! Eyesight is the bigger factor I believe on this issue. I know my eyes are bothered by light the older I get. The people that will suffer more so than others are short-sighted, I am pretty sure they may have this issue and that is why they say they can't see the cars. I love the dimming but others may need more light to see better. The only other thing that could affect it is the window tint. Maybe they have window tint on the front windows where I don't. The nice thing is that this thread now addresses everyone. IF you want them and don't have them,, not a problem to add them (except for towing mirrors).... if you don't like them, not a problem to shut them down. and if you don't care either way,,, well then they just read another thread. The only suggestion for those that would like the auto dimming towing mirrors would be to add tint to the front windows. The reason you won't find them is for the function they are made to cover,, seeing many feet behind you and your trailer.

losttime

So I found a auto dim mirror. I see from the wire diagram that there are pins used for the backup camera. My question is how can I tell if the mirror is equipped with this feature?

And I am still unclear on the way the mirror works. I wired it up and it seems with both sensors uncovered and in daylight the mirror will dim a little bit and if the sensor on the mount side is covered it really dims. I don't see what the sensor on the glass side does.

??

jpaytoncfd

The mirror monitors the difference between the front and back sensors. Thats how it knows its dark out and there are headlights behind you. If you cover the front facing sensor it thinks its dark out but the front sensor is still getting light like if there were headlights behind you.

As for wiring. It only needs power and ground for the dimming to work. There is also a signal out if you have the dimming side mirrors too. There are also pins for the reverse camera (4 IIRC) and pins for the microphone (2 IIRC)

Gmanns