Table of Contents

Page 1 - Background, current happenings.
Page 2 - Current and future modifications.
Page 3 - My previous truck
Page 4 - Modification - electric fans
Page 5 - Modification - Tahoe mirrors w/heat and puddle lamps
Page 6 - Modification - LED lights

I added the Tahoe mirrors w/heat and puddle lamps. This page is split into two sections: lamp connection, then heat/defrost connections.

Puddle Lamps

First off, let's get started with getting the lamps to work. I first wanted a factory wiring solution; this is controlled through the relay block (driver's footwell) and body control module (BCM). The relay is already installed for the exterior courtesy lamps circuit (this is a good thing) but the wiring from the relay to the mirrors is not (bad thing). Also, the ground wire coming from the BCM for the lamp circuit is also missing (bad thing, again - see picture on right).

Now, I have the proper 280 series metripak terminals for the relay block, but I don't have a 100 series metripak terminal for the BCM - so I scratched this solution and went with my own.

This schematic is how I hooked everything up - basically a factory wiring solution, but using my own wiring and I connected into the courtesy lamp circuit instead of the dedicated exterior lamp circuit that the BCM uses. The following pictures show the installation.

Relay mounted behind the driver's side pick panel:

Relay block showing connections for coil power and lamp power:

Mirror connection. The big thick yellow wire is what I ran from the relay to both mirrors. This used a 150 series metripak terminal and goes into the 'F' slot of the connector:

Here is the ground signal hooking to the courtesy lamp circuit. This circuit receives a ground signal, which energizes the relay and send the power where it needs to be (lamps):

Mirror heat/defrost
One thing to note: the mirror heat is on the same circuit and the rear window defroster. I don't have a rear window defroster, but it seems that the wiring is included.

For the mirror heat, I wanted a factory wiring solution as well. The wiring harness to the mirror already had the this wire included (good thing). I need a way to turn these things on: I could install a switch, but I didn't want that look. So, since the rear defrost is the same circuit, that would be a great way to turn them on - Just by a new HVAC control unit that has the rear defrost switch on it. Now, this is the more expensive way to go, but, by far, the easiest. I also found out that I needed the relay for the circuit as it was not included on the underhood fuse block. So, I purchased a new HVAC controller and a relay for the circuit. Can you say, "Plug and play" - it was that easy. Just push the button and mirror defrost is activated - the great part about this: It is the factory installation and it uses a relay timer in order to turn the circuit off (through the BCM, I presume).

Here is the new controller with the defrost switch:

Here is the new relay installed:

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