I been reading a lot of helpful hints on this forum and decided to sign up. I have a 02 F250 7.3 and I am looking at switching out my not heated / non-turn signal exterior mirrors. Anyone out there attemped it? Tips? I think they would be helpful when I tow our horse trailer.

 

Welcome to FTE. Search for 'tow mirrors' and you will get tons of info. I just ordered the Kool-Vue mirrors and will be doing the install myself.

 

In case you havent seen these already, here ya go. There are several aftermarket mirrors to choose from, google is your friend. I am in the same boat and am currently in the process of performing this very upgrade. I acquired some 05 heated/turn signal mirrors from an fte member for about $150, but it had a cracked drivers side lens. I have since changed out the cracked lens and installed this upgraded smoked lens from recon. Recon Accessories: Part # 264120BK - SMOKED 03-07 Ford Superduty & Excursion Side Mirror Lenses

I have not installed in the truck yet, but here are instructions on how to do the wiring. New Mirror installation

Some folks dont like the heater being always "hot" when the ignition is on, call me crazy but i am one of those folks. There are several different styles switches you could install to address this, straight toggle switch, momentary switch, some install a timer. Or you could go the route i am going as i discovered when i was doing searches and install an early 90's explorer defrost switch which has a timer built into the switch. Again, google is your friend, i got mine here.
91-94 FORD EXPLORER DEFROST SWITCH NEW OEM | eBay

And here is how to wire the switch.
Truck Mods- Mirror Defrost switch pictures from trucks photos on webshots

I have not installed either the switch or the mirrors on the truck yet, but hope to do so soon when i can get some free time. Good luck on your upgrade.

 

Thank you for the instructions....I appreciate the help. It was more information than I hoped for. Now to find the mirrors.

 

I installed the non-turn signal heated mirrors and it was easy peasy. Here's another writeup with some pics for you. New Mirror installation

I also have an explorer switch that I still haven't wired up yet after a couple years of it sitting on my workbench but it will be a fall project this year. I hope...

 

good info there, although i do not have any of the conmectors as of yet, I will make a trip to the junk yard to find what i need for the control switch, everything else will be easy, the hardest part will be running the wires over to the passenger side.

Thanks for directing me to this forum

 

since i don/t have the plug for the mirror control , i would be real nice to get the wiring layout on it, I have an 8 din plug ,if i knew which was power and ground it would save me from possibly burning out my switch

 

If you have a plow things will be different. I had to tap into the wire harness for the plow to get turn signals to work

 

Finally i got the time to work on this , Wires run, mirrors work great! Thanks for all the info available here on FTE!

 

Hey, so the procrastinator in me has prevailed and the wiring pictures are no longer available. I bought the switch and haven't wired it up yet; do you guys happen to have the pictures still? Thanks!

 

old green didn't even have power mirrors. had to run all the wires and install the switch.

that eurekaboy write up is good (if you already have power mirrors), but if you need to install the switch yourself, you will need the wiring diagram.


found it (was a little while ago):

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...ror-mod-2.html

 

I installed the heated, turn signal mirrors on my 01. Pretty easy. I decided I didn't want the defrost switch in there so I just hooked the hot wire for the heated mirrors up to a switch so I can control when and how long it's on. I do have an explorer defrost switch sitting in my parts bin from when I did it if you want it.
Todd