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Just installed Homelink Mirror but maybe I have the wrong wiring?

8K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  jdmartin 
#1 ·
OK, I finally got around to installing the homelink mirror that I bought, oh I don't know - months and months ago. This is for a 2013 Soul.

I bought a kit from a dealer. The mirror is definitely a homelink mirror, as it has the 3 homelink buttons, the compass, and the auto dim. The auto dim and the compass work no problem. However, the homelink doesn't appear to work at all. It almost acts as if the homelink part isn't even hooked up.

I looked through an instruction manual that someone posted up that has no directions, only pictures, and it appears that maybe there's 3 wires that need to be hooked up for a homelink mirror. My wiring harness only had 2 wires - a ground wire that hooks up to a bolt near the kick panel, and a hot wire that taps into pin number 10 (an orange wire) with a hot tap.

Does anyone know whether I should have had a different wiring harness for this kit? I suspect they sent me the wrong wiring harness but I don't know this for sure.
 
#3 ·
It does appear to be three wires at the mirror - one for the ground, power for auto dimming/compass and power for the Homelink. It also appears to me (I have not installed one) that power to the dimming/compass is meant to be connected where power is controlled from the ignition, and the homelink power is constant.

This is probably what you have already seen but I will post the link anyway.
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#4 ·
^^Thanks. That's what I presume as well, because the Homelink in my truck works all the time, whether the key is in the ignition or not, while the compass/auto dim are switched. I thought there might be something wrong when I looked at the wiring harness, as I expected 3 wires, but then figured maybe an improvement/update/change just carried power to the mirror switched from 12v and that's just the way it was. However, I looked over the printed instructions that came with the kit and they appear to be for the autodim mirror only. The place I bought it from apparently sent me the right mirror but the wrong install kit. I made contact with them last night and they said they'd send me the right harness but asked me for a copy of the wiring loom I have for reference. I'm not sure what to send them other than a description or maybe the part number on the install kit.
 
#7 ·
^Yeah, but thanks. The LED doesn't do a thing when you press any of the buttons, including when you try to clear out the codes. I've confirmed that I should have received a 3-wire harness instead of a 2-wire. Now the question is whether the seller will get it to me. He said he will so I'm going to trust in that first, and if not then I'll have to figure out how to hunt down a 3-wire harness (or cut the wiring open and run the third wire myself).
 
#8 · (Edited)
Ok, an update - the dealer who I bought the mirror from (on Ebay) said they are sending me a replacement harness. So I will update when I get the harness.

On the plus side, I drove at night for the first time tonight and the auto-dim works great. And the compass works fine as well. So once I get that Homelink going, I can put my garage door opener back in the console :)
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the update.
It occurs to me if you didn't want to have to change that harness can you hook up to homelink from the power going to the compass/auto dim? If it retains the code then it really only means the battery has to be turned on (car not necessarily running) to open or close the garage.
 
#10 ·
I thought of that (great minds think alike! :) ) but I believe it has to have constant power to retain the code memory. I'm not 100% certain on this but I seem to remember that when I unhooked my truck battery, when I lost my radio presets I also lost the garage door code. If for some reason this guy doesn't send the harness, I may try it anyway but I'd have to dig into the wiring attached to the mirror itself and then rewrap it, so it's definitely a last ditch effort. If I have to do that I will probably run an additional single wire up to the mirror in place of the missing one in the harness.
 
#11 ·
When I installed mine, it dawned on me that this was truly a universal mirror that could be installed on anything. The 3 wires are nothing more than ground, keyed and constant. If I can find another one at a good price I might put one in our other car. I would put one in the dune buggy if I thought I could tuck the wire somewhere LOL!
 
#17 ·
They're pretty basic mirrors and if you get a Gentex one you'll be getting the OEM company. I bought mine specifically from a Soul dealer on a parts closeout, so I got it real cheap brand new, but I could have scoured around and found a used one. The mirror mounting button from the old mirror stays on the windshield and you just slide the new mirror onto the button. A new one comes with a little black expandable wire cover that covers the wire from the button to the headliner, and they're more or less universal as well because one side slides into the other side to make it shorter or longer.

As for the compass, I only had to drive in a complete circle a couple of times. I did it in a parking lot like Walmart. Make sure if you scour for one and you want the homelink that you get the right wiring. I was sent the wrong wiring originally from the place I bought it from and had to have them resend the wiring (which they did).

This was one of my favorite upgrades that I have made to the car. The reduction of glare at night is huge, especially in a car that has glass everywhere like the Soul.
 
#19 ·
Sorry to ressurect an old thread, but I am having the same issue and it looks like the solution was never explained on here.

JDMartin, did you ever find out why your Soul EC mirror's Homelink was not working? I am having the exact same issue. I confirmed with a probe and voltage meter that it is getting the 12v constant, but pressing the Homelink buttons does nothing.
 
#20 ·
Yes, my problem was that they sent me the wrong harness and there wasn't power everywhere. You're taxing my memory here (this was maybe 6 1/2 years ago I did this), but if I remember right there are two leads that should have power coming in to the mirror; because they sent me the wrong harness I only had power on one leg. If you don't have 12v on two legs - and again, if I remember right one of them is constant 12v and the other is switched - then that is probably your issue.

What I think I remember is that there's a harness that is for mirrors that only have the homelink, and one for mirrors that have the homelink and the compass. The compass only works on switched power whereas the homelink should work all the time - I know mine does; I can reach into the car and press the button and it lights and my garage door opens.
 
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