How About This For A Mod

January 28, 2006

I have been working on this mod for about six weeks and finally got a prototype assembled and fitted today. Basically, what happens is that the passenger door mirror dips so that you can see the kerb when reverse is selected and returns back again when it is taken out.

I had this feature on a car a couple of years ago and it is one of those little things that you really miss once you have had it. I have been promising to develop one for ages and finally got spurred on over the xmas hoildays when I had a ride in a Landcruiser which had this feature.

I am not posting this topic to brag, but after fitting it today I realised that it could be something for everyone as the fitting took no more than twenty five minutes, and that include tracing the correct cables to connect to. With instructions I am sure most could do it well within that tyoe of timescale. There is no visible signs that a 'non Toyota add-on' has been fitted and no disassembly of the mirror is necessary. I believe that most people will be able to fit one of these or at worst be charged about half an hours labour form an auto electrician.

I already have PCB designed and will look about next week for prices to get some made. I think I will look to sell them in either kit form, fully assembled tested and working or just the pre-programmed micro processor together with the schematics and PCB foil.

As mentioned above the heart of the circuit is a pre-programmed micro-processor which does all the clever stuff. I have put alot of though into it and built in features such as a delay after reverse has been selected to combat those situations when it doesn't go in properly and you have to re-select it (my car is bad for this). This way the mirror isn't going up and down as you wrestle to get it in gear. There is also a sleep feature whereby the processor goes into sleep mode to conserve current consumption when not in use (it uses about 5mA and thats with the engine running and zero when its off. Bearing in mind the Battery loses about 500mA/hour on a cold winter night). If you don't want the mirror to dip just make sure the L/R switch on the dash is set to either the OFF or RIGHT position.

Let me know what you people think, I am going to make up some units anyway as they will fit to any car, but it would be handy to know what quantity I am looking at when ordering PCB's, unless there is anybody out there who has the facility at home or work?

Cheers

January 29, 2006

I'm interested... What involved in fitting one, and the big question how much?

January 29, 2006

Just a thought, if the Landcruiser you were in had this option, are there genuine Toyota parts available to do this, and would that be any cheaper than getting a small run of bespoke pcb's made up?

Mal.

January 29, 2006

I had a mondeo as a hire car, and they had a good little door mirror gadget. They had a light on the underside of the door mirror that shone on the floor to aid you getting in and out in the dark!

January 29, 2006

I'm interested... What involved in fitting one, and the big question how much?

The fitting involved splicing in four wires into the back of the door mirror switch (located on the dash) and the reverse switch cable was picked up at the junction box located in the driver's footwell area.

As for cost, I won't know for sure until I get some prices for PCB's and other components. I am hoping for around the £35 - £45 mark for a fully built and tested unit and perhaps about £25 for the kit. I will keep you posted.

Cheers

Just a thought, if the Landcruiser you were in had this option, are there genuine Toyota parts available to do this, and would that be any cheaper than getting a small run of bespoke pcb's made up?
Mal.

As you may well know if you have visited a dealer, they are not the most helpful and, unfortunately, the most knowledgable. Before embarking on the project I enquired with the local dealer and spoke to a chap on service who firstly didn't know of the feature on the Landcruiser then after I left it with him confirmed it was unique to it and controlled via one of the ECU's. Hence not an add on option for us RAV4 owners.

Secondly, every PCB is bespoke so to speak and therefore I am not expecting them to be pricey. However, the cost/board does come down with quantity. Lets wait and see what quotes I get in the coming week.

Cheers