This swap intergrates the rearview mirror taken from a chevy/pontiac.
the mirror includes a maplight which adds extra lighting to an already dark car and is overall convenient.
The mirror can be found at the junk yards on later models of:
Lumina
Corvette
Malibu
Firebird
and more
simply look at the mirror and see if its similar to the one shown below
The mirror is attached to 3 wires which are colored white, black and orange. There are other mirrors but this one was favorable because it has a switch.
-----------------
Tools required:
Dremel with cutting tool and perhaps a grinding tool
drill with bits
Flat head screwdriver
Phillips screwdriver
wire, solder, electrical tape
--------------
Materials:
CRX rearview mirror with arm
Chevy/Pontiac Mirror
------------------
First off. The mirror.
Using a flat head, pry open the mirror. You will have to pry all the way around to open the mirror
Once complete, remove the chevy arm unit by prying it out.
Next get the CRX mirror
And remove the arm
Our next step is to remove the arm unit inside the mirror. I tried prying but i couldn't pull it off so i decided to cut the unit out.
Begin cutting along the line
Cut all the way around
You'll end up with this
Now remove the crx arm unit.
Pry the following points to remove it.
once pried, just take it out
CRX arm unit
The two part in comparison back to back: The crx unit is clearly bigger and won't fit.
We'll cut the arm unit to size
another view of the arm unit cut points for your reference
here is the arm unit after cutting to size
The level can also be cut but due to this conversion, it won't be functional. Sorry.
both pieces cut to size
it fits quite well but we need space for the arm.
cut the following to make space for the arm
now theres space
You can now install the crx unit for testing purposes and to aim the drill holes
You should now attach the arm.
I found it was easier to fit the unit by trimming the sections below out.
once complete, drill two holes for the arm unit screws
What i basically found was that the unit wasn't secure and so i decided to get longer screws and screw all the way into the crx unit.
heres the job done.
wiring isn't too hard. theres only three wires.
I would recommend you remove your roof lining to make the job easier.
1. simply attach the black wire to any ground on the chassis.
2. attach the white wire to the dome light's ground wire. This wire is only ground when the doors are open.
3. attach the orange wire to the positive 12v wire that goes to the dome light.
if done properly, the lights will turn on along with the dome lights when the doors are open. this also allows you to switch on the lights while the doors are closed.
------------------------------
Heres a version i did in my first gen. The guide above was made for the 2nd gen crx. I used my friend's mirror.
Good luck ^_^
UPDATE!!!
I came up with a better and easier way. No cutting involved!
Since I recently got an EK, I discovered a few new tricks. Now I just need verification that it works.
First off, my question, are the crx and civic 96-00 rear view mirror mounts the same?
I've been told by a few people they are and if they are, then we're game.
someone check if the two mounts really are the same because they darn look similar but I don't have a 2nd gen to test it.
Now if they're the same, check the back of the EK mirror. You'll notice a cover, removing the cover unveils a screw. removing the screw allows the ball joint to ezily pop off.
now amusingly we started out with this GM mirror which has an also very similar ball joint which also fits very nicely into the EK arm.
And I just completely removed the cutting portion of the mirror. At the least for EKs. If the mirror mounts are universal across the civics and CRXs, then I just made a sweet mod
the wiring remaining is cake in comparison
for those too lazy to look thru the other post, the wiring is as follows:
the mirror includes a maplight which adds extra lighting to an already dark car and is overall convenient.
The mirror can be found at the junk yards on later models of:
Lumina
Corvette
Malibu
Firebird
and more
simply look at the mirror and see if its similar to the one shown below
The mirror is attached to 3 wires which are colored white, black and orange. There are other mirrors but this one was favorable because it has a switch.
-----------------
Tools required:
Dremel with cutting tool and perhaps a grinding tool
drill with bits
Flat head screwdriver
Phillips screwdriver
wire, solder, electrical tape
--------------
Materials:
CRX rearview mirror with arm
Chevy/Pontiac Mirror
------------------
First off. The mirror.
Using a flat head, pry open the mirror. You will have to pry all the way around to open the mirror
Once complete, remove the chevy arm unit by prying it out.
Next get the CRX mirror
And remove the arm
Our next step is to remove the arm unit inside the mirror. I tried prying but i couldn't pull it off so i decided to cut the unit out.
Begin cutting along the line
Cut all the way around
You'll end up with this
Now remove the crx arm unit.
Pry the following points to remove it.
once pried, just take it out
CRX arm unit
The two part in comparison back to back: The crx unit is clearly bigger and won't fit.
We'll cut the arm unit to size
another view of the arm unit cut points for your reference
here is the arm unit after cutting to size
The level can also be cut but due to this conversion, it won't be functional. Sorry.
both pieces cut to size
it fits quite well but we need space for the arm.
cut the following to make space for the arm
now theres space
You can now install the crx unit for testing purposes and to aim the drill holes
You should now attach the arm.
I found it was easier to fit the unit by trimming the sections below out.
once complete, drill two holes for the arm unit screws
What i basically found was that the unit wasn't secure and so i decided to get longer screws and screw all the way into the crx unit.
heres the job done.
wiring isn't too hard. theres only three wires.
I would recommend you remove your roof lining to make the job easier.
1. simply attach the black wire to any ground on the chassis.
2. attach the white wire to the dome light's ground wire. This wire is only ground when the doors are open.
3. attach the orange wire to the positive 12v wire that goes to the dome light.
if done properly, the lights will turn on along with the dome lights when the doors are open. this also allows you to switch on the lights while the doors are closed.
------------------------------
Heres a version i did in my first gen. The guide above was made for the 2nd gen crx. I used my friend's mirror.
Good luck ^_^
UPDATE!!!
I came up with a better and easier way. No cutting involved!
Since I recently got an EK, I discovered a few new tricks. Now I just need verification that it works.
First off, my question, are the crx and civic 96-00 rear view mirror mounts the same?
I've been told by a few people they are and if they are, then we're game.
someone check if the two mounts really are the same because they darn look similar but I don't have a 2nd gen to test it.
Now if they're the same, check the back of the EK mirror. You'll notice a cover, removing the cover unveils a screw. removing the screw allows the ball joint to ezily pop off.
now amusingly we started out with this GM mirror which has an also very similar ball joint which also fits very nicely into the EK arm.
And I just completely removed the cutting portion of the mirror. At the least for EKs. If the mirror mounts are universal across the civics and CRXs, then I just made a sweet mod
the wiring remaining is cake in comparison
for those too lazy to look thru the other post, the wiring is as follows: