Thanks Rottboy! This mod I know many have been asking me. Those who know me on other forums know me to be overdetailed. I'm certainly not the best teacher, but I try to be thorough in the information I give. I will admit I wasn't expecting to remove the door off my Fit yesterday, that was a sonofabitch, but if it gets me what I want I'll do it.


I've been playing bass for about 15 years now. I play with Peavey equipment, and have beta tested some of their new hybrid mixers with their engineers. I have three basses. A 4,5, & 6 string bass. At one time I had like 8 basses, but I don't play out as often. I had a chance to pickup a '78 pre-Ernie Ball stingray bass, but the bridge and pickguard were not original. Never liked Fenders because they were "one dimensional" sounding, but I've grown to respect that's how Fenders are. Precision, Jazz, Musicman, are the big 3 and all unique sounds on popular records made in the last 50 years

 

Ha! Another Peavy bass player here! I had a T-40 for years, and finally sold it to a guy in France a couple years ago as I was not playing it much anymore. No basses in my collection right now, but I do have a pretty sweet 1948 Gibson L7 archtop.

On the mirrors, I have parts on hand now to do the heated mirrors and blinker lights mod… What relay did you use for the heating elements, and did you need to buy any connector fittings to mate up the wiring? If so, where did you source, and do you have part numbers, or the like?

Thanks!

es

 

Not sure on connectors, I'll get that info later tonight. far as relay is concerned a cheap 40 amp SPST relay was purchased at advanced auto parts. The fuse is a 7.5A fuse. If you can find one a small 10 amp relay would be more than plenty. I'm gonna try the coat hanger with wires taped to it to snake them through the rubber grommet between the door and firewall. Hope this will be easier and successful than removing the entire door!

 

stembridge,

the connectors on the mirrors themselves are 7/64" female spade connectors.

Something like this will work just fine

BWD CT418 - Slide-On Terminal | O'Reilly Auto Parts

 

Perfect - I have a tray with an assortment of spade connectors, so I should be good to go there.

From the wiring diagram I found online, it looks like the rear defogger circuit is a pink wire, and I should be able to tap that to drive the SPST relay (with a subsequent run to ground). I'll need to run a fused (10amp) 12v source for the switched side of the relay, which then runs to the mirror, and from the mirror back inside the car to ground.

Sound about right?

es

 

Not a 7.5 amp fuse, a 10A, the rest of it all looks spot on. The mirrors will at most draw 4 amps from the electrical system, that's both side mirrors together. I confirmed by measuring with a battery setup outside the vehicle. One may even be able to get away with a 5 amp fuse, but initial turn on surge amps may cause it to blow, thus the need for a 7.5A fuse.


I'll finally get to do my passenger side this weekend.

 

Currently Etrailer.com does not have a plug and play kit to provide a 4 way trailer harness. You will need to buy the universal kit and splice into the existing wire harness in addition to a power/fuse kit to run it. These parts are below. I'm also writing this up for myself if and when I decide to add this feature to my FIT!


$74 USD for a 4 way system


$120.12 + $74 = $194.12 for a 7 way system with Reverse lights/trailer brakes


$125 for the trailer hitch, does not include ball or adapters.


4 Way Wire Harness:


119190KIT - Wiring for 2015 Honda Fit - Tow Ready 119190KIT


***Now if you wanted to add trailer brakes, either 6 or 7 way. You will need these parts. The brake controller selection is up to your preference. I went for the most economical controller that would get the job done. Such an upgrade is likely overkill for the Fit, but beefs up one's braking distance when hauling a fully loaded trailer.


NOW....Unlikely one would be hauling more than 1000 pounds with the FIT unless:


1. Add an aftermarket intercooler for transmission
2. Knows how to haul a heavy trailer properly given the HP restrictions.
3. They are crazy and did not put any logical thought into trailer hauling safely

6 or 7 Way Wire Harness:


C51110 - https://www.etrailer.com/p-C51110.html - Brake Controller

C51515 - https://www.etrailer.com/p-C51515.html - Male brake controller adapter to pigtail wires to splice into vehicle harness

C51500 - https://www.etrailer.com/p-C51500.html - Universal wire harness from trailer connector to brake controller. Includes 30A breaker which can be used for Curt brake controller referenced above.
***Does not include 40A breaker to power trailer connector running electric brakes.

9510 - https://www.etrailer.com/p-9510.html - 40A breaker

HM48470 - https://www.etrailer.com/p-HM48470.html - 4,5,6,7 way trailer connector. This is the most flexible for any trailer connector you may encounter.

TM75476 - TrailerMate No-Drill Bracket for 6-Way or 7-Way Round Trailer Connector Mounting Bracket - Long TrailerMate Accessories and Parts TM75476 - Connector mounting bracket


Here is the wiring diagram of how the full 7 way would connect.





***For the reverse lights, I would suggest a simple SPST 10amp relay to activate the reverse lights on the trailer with its own fuse off the hot lead running the 4 way converter box or the hot lead for the trailer connector. This will prevent overload of the reverse light bus on the FIT itself. You may be able to avoid this setup all together if your reverse lights on the trailer are LED. I'll confirm this when I can

 

great thread man! I got me a Black EX last weeka also an am loving it!

 

Thank you!


Continuing on with my research on trailer hauling. For those who would like to add reverse lights capability to the FIT and no trailer brakes, You will need the parts below. Its very easy to convert.


4 Way Converted to 5 Way Wire Harness




1. Obviously install the reverse lights on the trailer if you don't have them already.


2. Adapter 4 Pole to 5 Pole Trailer Wiring Adapter - Shorter Hopkins Wiring 47515 - Vehicle side adapter to convert 4 pin to 5 pin.


3. Hopkins Endurance 5-Way Flat Trailer Connector - Trailer End - Ergonomic Design Hopkins Wiring HM47910 - Trailer side adapter to convert 4 pin to 5 pin if needed.


4. Optronics 12VDC 40A Relay A-715: You?ve found the best Replacement Relays at Advance Auto Parts - SPST relay to power the trailer reverse lights off the converter box's separate fused bus.


5. Bussmann In-Line Fuse Holder for ATM Fuses BP/HHU: Get the best Fuse Blocks & Holders at Advance Auto Parts - ATM fuse holder feeding the relay for reverse lights. I recommend a 5 amp fuse. You will not need anything larger for this bus. If you use LED trailer lights it will barely do half that amperage.


6. A few quick splice connectors and spade terminals




Cheers!

 

I have both heated mirrors installed and they work manually, but I am confused as to which wire on the defrost switch harness I should connect my relay HOT feed to.

Can anyone tell me what each of the wire colors mean?????

 

The wiring diagram I have shows pink:



es

 

Will do, I will use a test light to see if it does the trick. Can you send me the entire wiring diagram?

Operated manually the mirrors work perfectly! Initial amp draw is 5.5A. It gradually falls to about 3.9A because the resistance increases as the mirrors heat up. This is normal and expected. The manual calls for a 10A fuse, I have a 7.5 in there now and no issues. I will likely switch it out since that is what the manual recommends.

 

I'm at a standstill for now. I can activate the mirrors manually if I need them.

My original thought to tap into the defroster switch is a bust. There are 5 wires. There is no physical timer unit like in most cars. As it turns out, the relay control and timer circuits are part of the ICM!!!! Thats the internal computer module that operates the christmas tree, climate control relays, head unit, and other stuff. I know from past experience that tapping even a small load relay coil could cause all sorts of hell and possible damage.

So the next logical place to tap into energizing the new side mirror relay is, you guessed it, at the rear defroster relay!! Normally one finds this relay near the drivers side kick panel...NOPE! The relay is located under the hood near the passenger side, and its wired through the firewall behind the glovebox/air handler!! So that means I need to either run the positive wire of the mirror relay to the signal wire of the rear defrost relay coil if I want them to turn on together. Just means more digging into the wiring harness. UGGH!



Of course the easiest solution would be to buy an external timer unit & switch and wire to the blank slots left of the steering wheel, but I want this feature to operate as intended, off one switch, not two.

Keep everyone posted.


In other news, I bought some tire chains for the front wheels! It snowed the other day and now they are calling for more tonight into tomorrow. Makes me really want these mirrors running correctly!

 

 

 

Wow.. what a fun project that is turning out to be. Least you will have better understanding about the electrical if any issues should pop up in the future.

Hope you get it all working as intended soon.

 

"To boldly defrost where no EX has defrosted before!"



es

 

HAHA!


I know what needs to be done to get this project completed. I need to run a wire from the relay box through the firewall back and connect to my mirror relay. That way everything works off one switch. Both relays activate at the same time, and the ICM control the timer functions of both circuits.


I'm simply pissed off that this relay is in the engine compartment. Unless I'm losing my mind, this relay is normally under the driver side dash for most cars? Seems to be a waste of wire length when the relay gets its power from a 30A fuse (rear defroster) under the driver side dash. Simply don't make sense to me.

 

Bassguitarist, this is one of the most practical mods I've seen on this whole site and you are crushing this how-to guide. I wish I could come help you out or something to return the favor. I'm hoping this won't wind up being above my current skill set to do on my own car, but it's cool to see it getting done. Good luck man, keep us posted.

P.S. FitFreak won't llet me give you +rep because I already did a few weeks ago. You know, because internet achievements.

 

THANK YOU! To be honest, a guy from Florida shouldn't be dealing with that cold of weather down in FL according to your profile to need heated side mirrors? Connecticut yes by all definitions we are like the desolate world of Hoth!!


Like the great Han Solo once said, "There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser!"