Mustang Buster

Like many, I was disappointed that Ford went the cheap route, and only offered a mirror with just a compass as part of the comfort group. So, like several here on the Forum, I ordered the Gentex Homelink Auto-dimming Compass Temperature Mirror that is offered as a Ford Accessory. (But thanks to the members of this Forum, I ordered it from Mazda for half the price). There are several good threads on the subject, but I thought I might add another, since I found an easier way of doing the mod. Just in case anybody else wants to upgrade their stock 2007 compass mirror to a mirror with the Homelink, compass, and temp, all you need to do is tap into the following wires above the overhead console lights, which will save you having to run wires down to the fuse box:

white/light green is for the reverse defeat (only some mirrors have this, mine did, but some do not, and it is not really necessary, it just turns the dim feature off when you are in reverse)
violet is for the switched power
black is of course the ground
white/light blue is the constant hot for the Homelink to work with the ignition off, so you can open the garage door before you start the car.

By doing it this way, you utilize the wires already in place by Ford to power the mirror, so you don't have to run your own wiring. A couple of pics of the installed mirror are below, but they didn't come out that great due to the flash...you can't even really tell that the temp and compass display are on, ha, ha. It is really nice having a mirror that does everything, and not have to worry about someone taking the garage door opener since it is now built into the mirror.

Oh, and if anyone is interested, I am selling the stock compass mirror in case anybody wants to retrofit it to their 2005-07 Mustang. Since it would be added to a car that didn't already have the mirror, there would not be wiring for the reverse defeat, and the stocker doesn't need the constant hot, so it would be a very simple two wire hook-up...one to a positive switched source, and one for a ground. I will sell it for $60 if anybody is interested, and I have pics of it available.

steevr

I would have bought it from you in a second....my mirror on my '97 Continental needs to be replaced. It too has the compass....only difference is that I need a mirror that includes map lights, as the OEM for the Conti has those. Dang!!!!

Mustang Buster

Yeah, too bad. You would think that Ford would just use the same type of mirror in all their products to save money due to economy of scale Maybe then they would have enough money left over put Homelink mirrors in the Mustang for the rest of us, especially the verts

YardSpecial

Thanks Craig !!

How do I order it from Mazda ??

TomServo92

http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2794

http://www.mazdaparts.com/ProductDet...000-1151625407

Mustang Buster

What Mark said above works, and also worldpartsexpress.com, which is where I ordered mine from, it is Mazda part number 0000-8C-G14A, and cost $237.90.

metroplex

I wanted the homelink unit but I wasn't willing to spend over $400 for a garage door opener (buying the optional compass mirror and then buying the homelink mirror).

Why didn't Ford just offer a homelink visor unit like they used to offer on their older vehicles? Did it make too much sense or was it too cost effective?

Mustang Buster

Well that is the $64,000 question But as you can see, you can get the same exact part from Mazda for less than $250, instead of the $450 plus that Ford wants, and for me that was worth it to not have to worry about the garage door opener "disappearing" when I have the top down.

metroplex

Did you have to buy the compass mirror first to have the factory wiring in place? I thought about ordering that with the car so I could install a Homelink myself, but the total cost would be over $400 IIRC (including the package that includes the compass mirror) and all for just a garage door opener.

Mustang Buster

To do the install the way I did, then yes, you need to already have the compass mirror from the comfort package. However, the kit is designed to hook right into the fuse block, so you don't need to have the comfort group to install the mirror. You can just as easily put the Homelink mirror in ANY Mustang, my way was just a shortcut for those that already have the mirror. IMHO, the Homelink is worth it, but you are right, why didn't Ford just put in Homelink like they do in many of their vehicles--even the F-150?

mrkabc

Just get the stock mirror and throw it away in favor of the Gentex Homelink one. Save the $$$ you would spend with the Ford P.O.S.

It's not that hard to run a small wiring harness down the passenger "A" pillar to the fuse block.

The hardest thing on my install was running the temperature sensor through the firewall - once that was done the rest of the install was a piece of cake.

My mirror is now over a year old, no problems whatsoever. Great mod!!

TomServo92

Isn't the Ford "P.O.S." a Gentex sourced mirror as well?

Mustang Buster

Yes it is, and when many of us ordered the comfort group, we were hoping that the Homelink would be included, since no hard info was available on the mirror at the time. Even after I ordered mine, and then found out that it was just a compass mirror, I was still holding out hope that Ford would have made it use the same wiring harness plug to make it easy to swap out...of course no luck on that either.

jayguy

Mustang Buster,
Did you run the temp sensoor too? Just curious where you (and mrkabc, and anyone else) ran it through the firewall. I had the dealership install the full deal in my '05, but not in the '07 since I got the comfort package (love the heated seats on cold days!). I still want the temp sensor, and for sure, the Homelink though. I had thought about modifying my visor with a Homelink module, but I think I'd rather do it in the mirror again.

Blitz

Buster....It's Monday morning, so maybe my brain is on extra slow, but what about the temp sensor??

Thanks

mrkabc

I ran my sensor wire through the radio antenna grommet along with the antenna wire. Then I placed a bit of silicone sealant in the (very small) gap alongside the sensor wire to make sure no water could get into the interior. The hardest part of the operation was pulling the passenger side front wheel and wheel well cover for access (no big deal at all).

IMHO that made the installation clean with no issues of drilling new holes that might leak.

I placed the sensor in front of the A/C condensor facing UP (I have pix if interested, I took them when I pulled the front bumper off to install my HID fog lights) that way the sensor is clipped to the plastic/neoprene mount and minimizes heat soak from the metal. No need to pull the front bumper to do this.

From start to finish this install took me about an hour. This is not a difficult mod. I spent more time trying to program the $@#% Homelink!

TomServ: By POS I meant in terms of features not quality...

YardSpecial

Thanks for sharing your intel Art !!

clintoris

Is your mirror with the temp sensor the same part the links are for? 'Cause in the description on those, it doesn't say anyting about the temp... although the picture has the temp in it. I would hate to order it expecting that and not get it.

NEVERMIND... I can see that Craig's has the temp in it....

jayguy

Sounds like a good way to run the wire, thanks. And I totally understand about the heatsoak, I never looked where they ran the sensor to on my first car, but it was always a few degrees off, and on really hot days (we get a couple here in LV) it was way off. I've got a couple other mods before I try to swap out the mirror though, but I'll keep this thread handy for when I do. Thanks for the info.

Rusty

Art,

Thanks for sharing the info on the temp wire. Just got a brand new Homelink with compass and temp last night off ebay. I appreciate the info and hope to install it this Saturday. The guy I got it from said that several Mustang GT owners had installed the mirror with no problems.

Again thanks for info. Didn't really want to drill a hole through the firewall.

Rusty