Dimmable rearview mirror with built in backup LCD screen

[Ron C]

On the existing rear view mirror connector you will find a blue wire (video -) and a white wire (video +). Those wires are located in pins 7 and 6 of the mirror connector respectively.

Purchase a 10' RCA cable and cut one end off. Strip the casing and you will find two wires inside that represent video + and video - but use an ohm meter to test continuity to ensure you know which one corresponds to the right signal. The outer shell of an RCA is negative while the center pin is going to be positive. Typically the video positive wire inside the RCA coax is an insulated wire while the negative is just bare.

Splice the positive wire into the white wire on the mirror and the negative wire of the RCA into the blue wire on the mirror. You can either cut them off from the mirror harness to move the signal or tap them in if you want to split the signal.

Route the RCA to the back of your navigation radio and connect into the RCA input for rear camera. You can tuck it between the headliner and glass, then route it behind the driver's a-pillar cover and down through the side of the dash so the cable is hidden.

Hope this helps.

I think that's the best way to do it too, if you already have a camera. Because you know there's a signal there.

Oh and here is the pinout for these "gentex" style mirrors.

Ron

 

[63Blackseries]

@kbuskill Thanks for the instructions really appreciate it, I will start doing it this week been driving for 2 yrs without back up footage on the NAVI screen everytime i shift in reverse its just a blank screen.

 

[Ron C]

@kbuskill Thanks for the instructions really appreciate it, I will start doing it this week been driving for 2 yrs without back up footage on the NAVI screen everytime i shift in reverse its just a blank screen.

it's pretty easy to do. This is the cable I used to hook up the mirror wit, you can splice it into the video wires and run the NAV screen with it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Video-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Ron

 

[63Blackseries]

it's pretty easy to do. This is the cable I used to hook up the mirror wit, you can splice it into the video wires and run the NAV screen with it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Video-Cable-for-GM-Backup-Camera-Rearview-Mirror-2009-2014-Silverado-Sierra/151795774432?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Ron

was going to order this but looks like this is for the gm OEM nav? I noticed it has a female connecter I have an alpine navi and it has female rca connectors coming out of it

 

[Ron C]

was going to order this but looks like this is for the gm OEM nav? I noticed it has a female connecter I have an alpine navi and it has female rca connectors coming out of it

well if you look at the image of the cable, it has a femalemale RCA plug, which would fit into your radio's female connector with a barrel. The other end has two leads, one for ground and one for signal (pin 6 and 7).. So I think that would work for you? (on the gentex connector, if you look at the female end (the other side of where the wires go) with the retainer clip to the right.... pin 8 is on the lower right (there should be a black wire in it). This is how the gentex style mirrors are hooked up (but double check) on GM vehicles. You'd have to splice the two leads into the two wires (video, white/blue) (you can access them through the front overhead console).

You can ask the seller if he has one with a male end, or use a "barrel", there are male and female "barrels" to connect RCA cables together.


I used that cable to splice the signal at the radio, and hook the mirror up, you are "going into the other direction"

Ron

 

[Ron C]

was going to order this but looks like this is for the gm OEM nav? I noticed it has a female connecter I have an alpine navi and it has female rca connectors coming out of it

Oh and don't forget to disconnect the battery 15 mins or so before you take the A-pillar and driver side visor off, there is/are airbag "curtains" in the top of the pillar and in the roof next to the door. Also, you want to route the coax over the top of the airbag, along hat harness there (I wrapped it a few turns around the harness going down the pillar. You can fish the coax out the fusebox on the driver side, and route it behind the kick panel to the radio

Ron

 

[jmm121783]

Hi Joe,

I'll look up the exact part numbers (although there's also a write up in a thread or two that I started on here.

......................

Ron

1 - Radio (prices really range a it, depending on what's available and what you want)
(HDDs are approx $600-$800 used, new it's like $2,500)
2 - radio-label part numbers etc
3 - conversion harness (approx $60)
4 - amp with plug and play harness (the radio needs a Bose style amp, (appox $250)
5 - backup camera. (approx $250)

View attachment 203117 View attachment 203118 View attachment 203119 View attachment 203120 View attachment 203121

Thanks guys!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283039302781
Ok yay I finally think I got the right part, was refunded for the $18 mix up....found this to be a steal! GNTX657 so I scooped it.

Ron, the head units, for our trucks has to be in one of two revisions correct. Seems like the first was 2007-09 and then it was 10+? I noticed they had different part numbers and everyone stating very clearly that "IT NEEDS TO BE THE EXACT MODEL REPLACEMENT OR THE HEAD UNIT WILL NOT WORK." I assume I can get an 2008 (and with my guy in the dealership) not have an issue getting it to work? Looks like I need to buy the "Bose" amp, which I am now guessing I might have to upgrade all the speakers to the stock Bose or better?

Theoretically do I need the headunit to get the mirror to function? Whats the point, since the rearview mirror has a RCD built in, I'm hoping the head unit doesn't somehow activate it and in general I should probably get in contact with the seller you mentioned on eBay. I still need to get a few harnesses it looks like and the camera. Did we ever get a part # on that bad boy or is that not a GM part?

If all this info was posted, please scald me and tell me to re-read the thread, I admittedly have been coming and going from it, haven't devouring the thread in its entirety.
Again thank you guys, I need to spend more time on here and get versed and participate more, I feel bad.

 

[Ron C]

Thanks guys!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283039302781
Ok yay I finally think I got the right part, was refunded for the $18 mix up....found this to be a steal! GNTX657 so I scooped it.

Ron, the head units, for our trucks has to be in one of two revisions correct. Seems like the first was 2007-09 and then it was 10+? I noticed they had different part numbers and everyone stating very clearly that "IT NEEDS TO BE THE EXACT MODEL REPLACEMENT OR THE HEAD UNIT WILL NOT WORK." I assume I can get an 2008 (and with my guy in the dealership) not have an issue getting it to work? Looks like I need to buy the "Bose" amp, which I am now guessing I might have to upgrade all the speakers to the stock Bose or better?

Theoretically do I need the headunit to get the mirror to function? Whats the point, since the rearview mirror has a RCD built in, I'm hoping the head unit doesn't somehow activate it and in general I should probably get in contact with the seller you mentioned on eBay. I still need to get a few harnesses it looks like and the camera. Did we ever get a part # on that bad boy or is that not a GM part?

If all this info was posted, please scald me and tell me to re-read the thread, I admittedly have been coming and going from it, haven't devouring the thread in its entirety.
Again thank you guys, I need to spend more time on here and get versed and participate more, I feel bad.

Hello Joe,
The mirror I got was a gentex 657 too. Yeah, dealerships. The closest dealership here is an hour away, and they told me the same thing. I had my radio re-programmed at a place, internet, called OEM radios (I can find the exact info). I don't think it needs to be the exact model and year, mine was from a Yukon and as a year off.
Once I have the info for you, talk to the guy Matt there, he knows what he is doing.

The amp I have (plus plug and play harness) is not a Bose, but a Bose style amp. I bought that at MVI, that guy is very knowledgeable about this stuff. You don't have to replace speaker, it just works, and actually the sound is better than before i did the conversion, The MVI amp-harness plugs right in, no splicing etc, it goes between the car and the head unit.

You don't need a NAV head unit to run the backup camera in the mirror. What I did is, I installed a camera, is that where the coax of the camera comes to where the radio is, use a Y splitter, one end goes to the radio, other end goes to the mirror. The mirror works independently from the radio. The cable you need for hooking the mirror up to the rest of the coax I posted a while ago, up here somewhere. basically you need a coax with two lead that go in the plug that goes into the mirror (it's not a GM part). Some of the stuff was posted, but the questions seem to differ from time to time.

Ron

 

[jmm121783]

No I was saying I got a guy on the inside of a dealership that get me everything for free, obviously not parts but any labor, info, print offs, tsbs anything. He is a really cool guy doing all my labor for me free of charge. I help him with a ton of other stuff and always make sure I tip him no matter what. He had to deal with my Bilstein 5100 install/issue with the spring perches...luckily my man, Kenny who posted a few above us came thru with an extra set, after I was at my wits end....Did I mention he GAVE them too me, expected nothing, I don't even know if he wanted me to pay shipping but I sure as hell wasnt gonna let him get away with that empty handed B) Thanks Kenny!!!

Anyway kool, gonna contact those people. glad I got the right mirror and I should have this done before the fall. Appreciate ya ron

 

[kbuskill]

Thanks guys!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283039302781
Ok yay I finally think I got the right part, was refunded for the $18 mix up....found this to be a steal! GNTX657 so I scooped it.

Ron, the head units, for our trucks has to be in one of two revisions correct. Seems like the first was 2007-09 and then it was 10+? I noticed they had different part numbers and everyone stating very clearly that "IT NEEDS TO BE THE EXACT MODEL REPLACEMENT OR THE HEAD UNIT WILL NOT WORK." I assume I can get an 2008 (and with my guy in the dealership) not have an issue getting it to work? Looks like I need to buy the "Bose" amp, which I am now guessing I might have to upgrade all the speakers to the stock Bose or better?

Theoretically do I need the headunit to get the mirror to function? Whats the point, since the rearview mirror has a RCD built in, I'm hoping the head unit doesn't somehow activate it and in general I should probably get in contact with the seller you mentioned on eBay. I still need to get a few harnesses it looks like and the camera. Did we ever get a part # on that bad boy or is that not a GM part?

If all this info was posted, please scald me and tell me to re-read the thread, I admittedly have been coming and going from it, haven't devouring the thread in its entirety.
Again thank you guys, I need to spend more time on here and get versed and participate more, I feel bad.

I am still not certain what the fascination is with the factory Navi.... it is atrocious... especially the early year models.

By the time you spend all the money to...
*Buy a stock head unit
*Pay to have it programmed
*Buy a Bose style amp
*Buy a wiring harness to make said amp work... etc.

You would be much further ahead to buy the Rosen GM1210 which has a much better Navi interface not to mention the sound is head and shoulders above the stock unit when hooked to the Bose amp. From the factory the stereo cuts the bass as you go up in volume making the factory sub pointless. After the Rosen you can actually tell there is a sub there.

I realize that non of that applies to you guys with PPVs/SSVs because you don't have the Bose amp and sub.... BUT

The Rosen comes with a different wiring harness for NON-Bose trucks and it will put out 50W per channel in this configuration which is more than enough for factory speaker and quite good even for aftermarket speakers. With this setup you wouldn't need to rewire the whole truck to use a Bose amp or aftermarket, you would just wire it up in the dash and your good to go. Plus the Rosen has Front, Rear, and Sub RCA outputs in case you did want to upgrade in the future to use amps, which the factory HU does not.

All plug and play with no extra modules to buy and all for about $600... seems like a no brainer to me, but what do I know?

 

[Ron C]

No I was saying I got a guy on the inside of a dealership that get me everything for free, obviously not parts but any labor, info, print offs, tsbs anything. He is a really cool guy doing all my labor for me free of charge. I help him with a ton of other stuff and always make sure I tip him no matter what. He had to deal with my Bilstein 5100 install/issue with the spring perches...luckily my man, Kenny who posted a few above us came thru with an extra set, after I was at my wits end....Did I mention he GAVE them too me, expected nothing, I don't even know if he wanted me to pay shipping but I sure as hell wasnt gonna let him get away with that empty handed B) Thanks Kenny!!!

Anyway kool, gonna contact those people. glad I got the right mirror and I should have this done before the fall. Appreciate ya ron

Hello Joe,

I think I posted some pics for the mirror hookup too somewhere here. It is a pretty easy install once you know where the leads go. ... Don't forget the airbag curtains though.

the guy from MVI is pretty good with the audio stuff, it's not a Bose amp, but the same style AND what I liked, it's truely plug and play. I didn't do anything about the speakers though, because it's a car (and my off rooad tires make a bunch of noise too), besides, from what I understand, the Bose speakers are not a whole lot better.

Ron

 

[Ron C]

I am still not certain what the fascination is with the factory Navi.... it is atrocious... especially the early year models.

By the time you spend all the money to...
*Buy a stock head unit
*Pay to have it programmed
*Buy a Bose style amp
*Buy a wiring harness to make said amp work... etc.

You would be much further ahead to buy the Rosen GM1210 which has a much better Navi interface not to mention the sound is head and shoulders above the stock unit when hooked to the Bose amp. From the factory the stereo cuts the bass as you go up in volume making the factory sub pointless. After the Rosen you can actually tell there is a sub there.

I realize that non of that applies to you guys with PPVs/SSVs because you don't have the Bose amp and sub.... BUT

The Rosen comes with a different wiring harness for NON-Bose trucks and it will put out 50W per channel in this configuration which is more than enough for factory speaker and quite good even for aftermarket speakers. With this setup you wouldn't need to rewire the whole truck to use a Bose amp or aftermarket, you would just wire it up in the dash and your good to go. Plus the Rosen has Front, Rear, and Sub RCA outputs in case you did want to upgrade in the future to use amps, which the factory HU does not.

All plug and play with no extra modules to buy and all for about $600... seems like a no brainer to me, but what do I know?

I just wanted to have a GM OEM one, no other reason really.

Ron

 

[jmm121783]

I agree, IDK if I even "crave" something like that. Cellphones are taking the jobs of a lot of old "cool things" and condensing it in to something we carry everywhere we go. Functionality in the car is limited to what I really need to maneuver and enjoy driving the vehicle. After backing into the HHR (god damnit) I've got 5% of my that wants to sell it and move on, get a CTSV finally and step up into the big leagues. I would of course keep the Tahoe, MUST HAVE 4x4 period....

 

[kbuskill]

I just wanted to have a GM OEM one, no other reason really.

Ron

I hope you didn't take what I said as a personal attack... I just think there are easier/better/cheaper ways of accomplishing what looks like a stock stereo than being hung with what GM provided and getting better sound quality to boot.

 

[Ron C]

I hope you didn't take what I said as a personal attack... I just think there are easier/better/cheaper ways of accomplishing what looks like a stock stereo than being hung with what GM provided and getting better sound quality to boot.

not at all. When I started it, the 'problems" I ran into was that I needed to rewire a bunch of things, mostly for the speakers. I just didn't want to deal with it at the time... so that's why I went that route. Also, thought, that it would be easier back then to do it that way.

there are a few 'extras' ... probably not worth the effort/money, the radio also displays some messges, for example low fuel and starts looking for gas stations.

Ron

 

[jmm121783]

If you are absolutely sure the Freon is fully charged and the compressor is short cycling then it's probably a bad low pressure switch.

My condenser was bad, got it replaced and I have AC, shouldnt have thread hijacked.....Whoops.....I'm re-reading all of this to figure out what exactly I need besides the Mirror.

I plugged in the mirror to my stock harness found in the headliner and nothing happens, no lights on the mirror, nothing. Again that was I need to re-read this thread and make sure I have the right harness (the pinout could be changed is the only thing I can think of) the actual harness itself is it because it has the same plug connector piece. Luckily my GENTEX 657 came with the original harness still attached to the mirror, just cut from the donor trucks harness. The wires/colors are WILDLY different so I hope they didnt change pinouts between years. Again I am caught jumping in mid-thread and buying stuff without doing my research. This is no one fault but my own and I appreciate the help and guidance you guys have provided.

I have my mirror, stock NAV headunit and I am ready to do some modding B)

Ron once I get through this again, message you buddy on eBay and get everything in order, I will then ask you more questions

 

[Ron C]

My condenser was bad, got it replaced and I have AC, shouldnt have thread hijacked.....Whoops.....I'm re-reading all of this to figure out what exactly I need besides the Mirror.

I plugged in the mirror to my stock harness found in the headliner and nothing happens, no lights on the mirror, nothing. Again that was I need to re-read this thread and make sure I have the right harness (the pinout could be changed is the only thing I can think of) the actual harness itself is it because it has the same plug connector piece. Luckily my GENTEX 657 came with the original harness still attached to the mirror, just cut from the donor trucks harness. The wires/colors are WILDLY different so I hope they didnt change pinouts between years. Again I am caught jumping in mid-thread and buying stuff without doing my research. This is no one fault but my own and I appreciate the help and guidance you guys have provided.

I have my mirror, stock NAV headunit and I am ready to do some modding B)

Ron once I get through this again, message you buddy on eBay and get everything in order, I will then ask you more questions

So the plug doesn't look like the pinout at all? If you hold the plug in your harness, wires ointing away from you and the 'retaining clip" (that holds the plug in place) to your right, do the color line up? Because that's the orientation of the pinout.

The mirror won't work if you plug it directly into the harness. The video signal and ground need to be replaced. The coax cable with leads comes with instructions on how to release the pin retainer so you can pull the two video leads out. Also, for the mirror power to come on, in my SSV, the car actually needs to be running, not just in the ACC position. btw: faulty signals can turn electronics off. and also, there is an on/off button on the mirror. (I believe the video pins are 6-7, in the pinout, you can clearly see them if the orientation of the plug is right.)

Ron

 

[jmm121783]

Yea the pinout is just different, the connector is exactly the same! That makes sense then that it wouldn't light up or "do anything" the ground/power is completely different it sounds like. After work I will try to get a good pic of both harnesses and their wire colors/pinout

 

[jmm121783]

it's pretty easy to do. This is the cable I used to hook up the mirror wit, you can splice it into the video wires and run the NAV screen with it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Video-Cable-for-GM-Backup-Camera-Rearview-Mirror-2009-2014-Silverado-Sierra/151795774432?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Ron

I need this for sure to split the RCA/Video coming from the stock nav and the pins go into the stock harness positions

 

[Ron C]

I need this for sure to split the RCA/Video coming from the stock nav and the pins go into the stock harness positions

Yes you'd need that cable, the leads go into the plug, in spot 6-7. and the RCA ends up near the radio.

Than use a Y splitter to split the signal coming from the RCA plug of the camera (MVI also sells that camera, with harness,) and split it so it goes to the mirror and to the NAV radio. There is no video signal coming out of the radio I think, so you split the signal coming from the camera to the radio, and the other to the mirror.

So you'd need that coax AND also something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/RCA-Y-jack...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Those are the parts I used for hooking the camera up to the mirror and NAV radio,

The camera I bought from MVI is factory, and has an RCA plug lead, a red key-ed power lead and a ground. (ground goes to sheetmetal, power goes to a tab in the distribution box near the brake pedal.

Ron