If you decide to do something to your car because you saw it here, please give me credit where it is due! (link to my page w/ my name or something) Thanks.

Diablo Mirror LED Retrofit 1, Page Updated January 27, 2008

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Project Completed in July-August 2006

FOR SALE!

I chose these mirrors because, of all the different mirror styles, these had the largest mirrors. They were almost as big as stock, but they were harder to see out of.

When I got the mirrors, some LEDs did not work. So, the seller exchanged them for new ones. But, those broke the same way, too. So it was time to do another LED retrofit.

I am not using these mirrors anymore, since I got a different style.

First, I took the 4 LED lenses off, and then threw away all of the existing LEDs. Here is a pic showing how I used a screwdriver to force the lenses off (sorry for all the salt, darn winter!!)

This picture was taken looong after I finished the project, but the concept still applies. There is one screw at the end of each lens that holds it in. Either you take off the mirror glass (which I broke on my older mirrors trying to do this), or you do what I did. The plastic lens is not that strong, so the screw strips out. Once you do this, however, you will not be able to screw it back in, so mine are held in with caulk. Be careful not to dent the mirror plastic by wedging the screwdriver into the light from the bottom (the pic show from the top, oops). It pops out, and then you have to cut the wires. The LEDs are held into the lens with glue, so I used my Dremel to cut around the circuit board, and it fell out.

There were only 5 LEDs in each lens, and that is why the light was very spotty (see "before" picture). The old LEDs were the ones everyone knows with two wires and a rounded end, but I wanted some LEDs that were brighter and had a wider viewing angle, so I bought some white "super flux" LEDs with 4 wires off Ebay. They were pretty cheap, but they were better than any LEDs I had bought before. They were the beautiful blue-white that I have come to love, they were very bright, and the viewing angle was wide enough that when they were installed in the mirrors, they could be seen from any angle. Plus, they came with free resistors for each LED to work in 12 volts.

After getting rid of the old electronics, I decided to have 9 LEDs in each lens instead of only 5 so that the light would look more uniform.

I poked the LEDs through a cardboard cereal box that I painted chrome on one side. Then, I wrapped the resistor wires around the positive sides, connected those all together, and then connected all of the grounds together. See Page 16 for a detailed description with pictures.

I Epoxied over the entire back of them to make sure they never, ever broke (so far so good). What sucked was that when I did this, one of the four LED sections got shorted out, so I had to make another one. It is a good thing I had just enough extra LEDs! I then caulked over the entire back to make it water proof, and then stuck it back in the hole in the mirror. The caulk holds the lenses in place. I also painted the mirrors black with a clear coat during this project, since the original finish had been lost.

Here are pictures of the back and the side. The cereal box is visible, and you can see how I soldered everything together. They fit perfectly in the lenses.

Before
After:

Note that these pictures were taken half a year after I completed the project.

I have different mirrors now, so I am not using these anymore.

FOR SALE!

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Don't forget that if you have any help, advice, comments, criticisms, or questions about my car and future mods, please sign my Guest book!

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Table of Contents

My Corolla Today
Page 1: Current Exterior
Page 2: Current Interior
Page 3: Current Engine
Page 4: Current Audio

Corolla Time Lines
Page 5: Phase Time Line
Page 6: Detailed Time Line

Other Stuff
Page 7: Photoshop
Page 8: Look at this page before you buy replacement LED bulbs
Page 9: Details on my current and future mods
Page 10: For Sale!

DIYs and Project Write-ups
Page 11: Bumper light LED retrofit 1
Page 12: Third Brake light LED retrofit
Page 13: Diablo Mirror LED replacement
Page 14: Taillight LED Retrofit 1
Page 15: High Beam DRL Mod
Page 16: Bumper Light LED Retrofit 2, PLUS detailed description of how I do LED mods
Page 17: Painting preparation (details on my fenders, grille, trunk, and Bondo)
Page 18: Side marker LED retrofit and installation
Page 19: HID fog lights and headlights
Page 20: Interior painting, modifications, and exterior trim painting
Page 21: Installing Halo/LED/Projector headlights
Page 22: Mirror cover LED replacement
Page 23: Installing a new stereo and speakers
Page 24: Body kit installation, front end conversion, and other body work for round 2
Page 25: Retrofitting LEDs into my third mirrors and front turn signals
Page 26: Putting interior LEDs behind the dash and in all the buttons and all over the interior
Page 27: LED tail light retrofit 2 and baking your lights in the oven to remove the lens