My factory mirror was toast.

Looking at it I decided to repalce the mirror

I found this mirror that is supposed to be auto dimming and has a backup display:

But mainly it hd a mount system I could work with.



I went through a few revisions and settled on this design:




this will snap onto the factory mirror ball mount and then takes the ball mount screwed onto the back of the mirror

The 2 channels are for zip ties to snug down the arms and adjust tension on the ***** so the mirror doesnt go all floppy.






My printed version is out of PLA pro and it did get a bit melted and angled in the sun over the past couple days but the mirror is still staying up.

I have ordered a Nylon sls printed version from JLC since that should hold up to heat and UV a lot better.

 

I could be wrong but I beleive the X308 has an additional sensor in the mirror for the auto headlights to turn on headlights ( not mirror dimming ) or climate control extra effort on sunny days

Your pictures do not appear in your post , JPEG format ?

 

Odd the pics appear in the thread for me.

I do hot have auto headlights. I have the rain impact sensor and the dimming mirror.


I know there are 2 versions of the mirror harness connector but I never found reference to climate control connecting to it. That is usually a dome shaped sensor on the dash in most cars.

If someone has the pinout they can share.

 

There are 2 or 3 mirror pinout maps for the different X300 ( earlier inline 6 ) and maybe the later X308 rearveiw mirror versions , there was a TSB on the X300 to upgrade wirror as fogging / silvering out with the special red liquid dripping out on gearshifter ( dragons blood )

The X300 does have dome shaped sensors on the car dash top for I think climate control sunny day biasing , Canada was required to have headlight auto function on the X300 years ( 94.5 - 97 ) from my understanding

My computer has " issues " and may have not shown your pics

 

I checked my mirror.
I only had the led to indicate if it was on or off, and then the front and rear photo sensors to do the dimming.
Mine is a US year 2000 so that confirm what i was seeing as fuctional.
I wonder if they used the same photo sensor to autodim.

 

I just send my customers and my own mirrors for repair.

https://www.radar-mirror.com/mirror_repair/

 

the fingers that griped the ball on my were broken so it was limp and it had the bad fluid leaking. so opted to just look into replacing. but i have found them and seen them referenced.

 

A headlight auto on would be a fwd or top facing sensor and all versions mirror auto diming would be rear facing

A climate control extra effort sensor would be fwd or top facing

 

All dimming mirrors will have both a forward and backwards facing light sensor, it's how the dimming circuitry works.

If you don't have auto headlights then this is easier, since the jag auto headlights have a unique to them control circuit for that inside the rear view mirror (most other rearview mirrors don't have this signal). But you don't have to worry about that it sounds like.

The climate control ambient IR sensor is located inside the little dome at the center of the top of the dash, at least on my 99. Not sure about later models.

Last note, you should try printing your parts out of ASA. That is what I had the best luck with for my rear third brake light. PLA will sag, and PETG will deform even quicker under the sunlight.

 

I ordered thme out of PA-F Nylon so that should sove that problem

 

Started probing out the circuit for the mirror and auto headlights.

I found that in full light with the mirror circuit board getting 12v the forward facing photoresistor gets 6.3 volts in and passes 6.3v out
What I found is if i pull the green to ground (black) it turns the headlights on.



I am not great at basic electronics so I used my limited knowledge and chatgpt to come up with this circuit
if 12v goes into the photoresistor in light it should pass voltage as a signal to the transistor that will open the auto headlamp circuit that will keep the headlights off until the signal voltage drops to the point where it closes the headlamp circuit pulling the green to ground turning on the headlights.



I tried checking the wiring diagram to see if either the white or grey wires could possibly be an open/close trigger to enable the auto dimming high beams but i didnt have any luck

I will just need to mount the photo resistor where it can have a clear view out to get light or not

 

Did you know that there is an acura tl mirror which is a direct fit replacement and supports the rain sensor and auto dim? Just swap the connector.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126991477093

 

Is this real ? You can do that ? That would be amazing

 

I hope there's something like that in the UK too as I need to replace my mirror.
I think I recall reading of a citroen mirror that fits in the housing but can't find the details again.

 

I only see a 3 pin connector on that acura mirror? And I don't see any adjustment for headlight shutoff sensitivity on the back of the mirror.

If the shape is the same you may be able to rob the glass from it and drop it into the jag mirror housing, I think that's what I did forever ago to fix mine.

 

I guess that would assume all the electrics were working.

 

i have one of these in my XKR. The mounting post is the same. auto-dim works.

However, it doesnt support the auto headlights if you have those, so i am very interested in the sensor arrangement described above to get my automatic headlights back.

I've never had a problem with manually turning my own headlights on, but it does irk me when something original doesn't work on my car lol. Some day ill track down why my passenger side heated seat doesnt work. Not that ive ever needed them in California.

Plus, OP did say he doesn't have auto headlights.

 

I have never seen a North American spec X100/X308 without Auto Headlamps.
I suppose they are out there but rare.

The 1998 XK8 I bought last year had the Auto Lamps inop.
The wire to the headlamp multi-function switch had become broken/detached from the soldered terminals.
Very common problem as the lever moves the wires when the turn signals are used.
If you are one of the drivers that NEVER USE SIGNALS, then the wire connections will last longer but annoy the rest of us.

 

The Acura TL or as it is known in the UK, the Honda Legend:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224556943423

25 quid . There's cleaner looking ones for more.

With the part number Honda might even sell you a brand new one.

I note the Honda Legend mirror appears to be 5 wire which would suggest it also supports auto headlights, but cannot confirm. I might buy that one myself actually and just eat the shipping, or just have it sent to my Mum's house and grab it next time I'm over.

 

You can get a new one for the Honda Legend at £305....
https://www.amayama.com/en/part/honda/76400sjaj02za