Rear View Mirror Wiring

[New Blackbird]

I picked up my car 7 days ago and I love it.

However, one item that has caught my attention is the wire attached to the rear view mirror for the small lights. It seems like it was installed as an afterthought.

Meaning it hangs above the mirror and is not attached to the windshield in any manor whatsoever. My other cars have the wire assembly hidden behind a strip of plastic which is attached to the windshield.

I’m just curious if anyone else has noticed this or did they skip that step in the production of my car?

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[txktom]

I noticed the unsightly wire almost immediately. I have a Chrysler Sebring convertible which also has mirror lights, but I had never once noticed the wire in six years of daily driving--I only noticed it when I cleaned the inside of the windshield. I looked at the Sebring to see what the difference was, and I suspect it's because in the Tbird, the small, low rear window forced Ford to mount the mirror lower on the windshield, hence a longer, highly visible wire. Otherwise, the mirror would point at the ground for short drivers, who would have to angle it down further if it were mounted higher. Does this make sense?

Ford could have given us a bigger mirror, as far as that goes. The one that's there doesn't really cover the entire rear window, small as it is. A bigger mirror might have helped, but it might have just blocked more of the windshield.

A car this unique is bound to have a few quirks, and the wire is one of them--a small price to pay for such a great car!

 

[57 bluebird]

I don't want to get the knockiing bandwagon but....
I agree about the wire and what about those sunvisors and mirrors on then. I think the "A" team went out to lunch when the decisions were made concerning anything along the upper windshield.

 

[NuttyGambler]

You know the wire doesn't bother me. Like you, gave it some thought from an engineers perspective and could not come up with a better idea. A bigger mirror would have been a big no-no to me. Current mirror already blocks plenty of view out the front.

Maybe it is just I have had remote start on several cars where they often put a wire there.

 

[DavidA]

It's not a big deal to me either, but I've said in another post that on my earlier Cadillacs and Park Avenues, they pit the wire in a plastic channel at glued to the windshield. It looked more finished than the bare wire hanging.

 

[fdthird]

Same way on my 2000 Mustang Convertibl...must be the Ford way.

 

[Gobird]

I had that same wire on ,I think, my 87 Bird so I didn't think much about it. Doesn't bother me.

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02 T-Bird 9293
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond

 

[icrovop]

I believe that the wire was done that way so as not to interfere with proper radio reception from the windshield mounted antenna. I would rather have the wire hanging then for Ford to have put a conventional antenna in. I was also thinking that instead of hiding the wire maybe they should have put a chrome braided wire on it. I might just do that.

 

[Erict]

I just noticed it today.. It was my first time out, ant I must admit that who ever designed the mirror assembly and the lighting harness, forgot that mirrors in the past did not hang from the glass but from the car's window frame.

If Ford would have put the effort into contracting a supplier for a mirror that would hang from the window frame, the wire would be in the neck of the mirror and not dangling in full view.

The other thing I noticed was the antenna lead in the middle of the windsheild... Less obvious but sill... Why not run it at the bottom, at the top or somewhere other than right down the middle of the window.

 

[Hansenisu]

Since I don't have my car yet, maybe you guys can enlighten me on something. Does the rearview mirror automatically dim when a car comes up behind you at night or is it a manual day/night mirror?

If its manual, can the existing wiring be used to power an aftermarket auto-dimming mirror?

 

[BotNew56]

Erict,

For the antenna to be effective, I think, it needs to be located away from other metal on the car, but also one end needs to be close to the hood of the car, or some other sheet of metal on the car, at least for AM reception. The hood is made of plastic, but there is an aluminum sheet mounted in the insulation batting under the hood to act as the "ground plane" for the antenna. What they are trying to immulate, I think, is a metal rod sticking up out of the middle of the hood.

I always had the impression that these windshield imbedded antennas did not work so well, but my experience with this one is it must be pretty well engineered.

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VIN 106587 White, White

 

[LON O'CONNELL]

Hansenisu,

The mirror is not auto day/night, no compass, etc. The wiring is for the two dome lights mounted on the bottom of the mirror. Only place dome or map lights could be put with removable and convertible top.

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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V

 

[Erict]

Drove the care again today...

What fun

I must admit... The wire is less bothersom today... Its not like its going anywhere... So I am getting used to it.