We recently purchased an 04 XLS and I have received many good tips from this forum. I ordered an auto dimming mirror upgrade from my local dealer and was wondering how hard this will be to install? I actually had to reorder it today because they sent me just the bare mirror the first time (3L8Z*17700*AA) and what I needed (I think) is the kit (F6AZ*17700*AC) which was $45 dollars more but includes some wiring and the temperature transmitter. My question is -- does the wiring harness on the XLS have the connector for this mirror above the headliner and if so, how do I get the headliner off to get to it? I'm thinking the wiring is probably there because Ford included the wiring for the trailer light hookup and I noticed today that the blank for the fog light switch has the wiriring for that plugged into the back of it (I'm adding fog lights later). So I'm assuming that the wiring harness for the Escape has connections for all available options... is this correct? Appreciate any suggestions/comments.

 

Well the plot thickens... the second mirror kit (F6AZ*17700*AC) had the compass but not temp. The dealer then found the right one but price was close to $300 so I passed on it. I will verify the wiring harness before I purchase one and then may just get it from a salvage yard.

 

This is the one I installed. Nice unit and comes with installation instructions.

http://www.dealerautomotive.com/Show.asp?Node=47

 

Yes! That's what I'm looking for. And the price ain't bad either. Was there any existing wiring you were able to tie into or did you basically have to run new? From what I've read the factory installed mirrors have the thermocouple mounted up under the front bumper somewhere... I was wondering if the wiring was there but haven't had time to check it out yet. Thanks for the info. Mike

 

I have an '01 and it wasn't prewired. There are wires for +12V, ground, and a pair for the thermistor included in the kit. By removing the sunroof switch/storage compartment, the left sunvisor, the inside left windshield moulding, and the end cap on the dash, it was easy to route the wires in the channel under the front of the headliner and down to the vicinity of the interior fuse panel. I tapped into the turn signal power wire for ignition-on. I fished the thermistor wires through the hood release grommet in the firewall with a straightened wire coat hanger. To keep the hole small and to avoid damaging the connector pins, I snipped and reconnected the thermistor wires on the interior side. The thermistor is mounted by its spring clip on the plastic splash shield just behind the tiedown bracket. After some experimentation with placement, that turned out to be the best place for airflow and protection without undue side effects from engine heat.

I like the Donnelly unit, as the compass and temp indicators don't intrude on the reflective portion of the mirror as the Gentex unit does.

 

I recently installed the Donnelly mirror as well and it works great. I like having the readouts below the mirror instead of on the mirror.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been tied up for the past few months and had the mirror setting in my den. I also wanted to install an overhead console and the two door tweeter OEM speakers while I was at it but wanted to get the 04 shop manual and wiring diagram books beforehand. I picked the books up on ebay recently and glad I had them because the wiring on the speakers was a bit of a challenge. The mirror install was pretty easy. First off the wiring diagram book shows the wiring harness in the head liner with plugs for the OEM mirror, vanity lights, moon roof etc. but when I removed it I found only the 2 wires for interior lights. So they don't put all the wiring in the XLS model. I picked up 12+ from the cigar lighter wire (lt blue/white stripe) in the lower left fuse box and I cliped the temp sensor near the opening for the engine air filter intake. Seems to be pretty accurate so far but am making a trip to Vegas next week so will see how it behaves in the warmer temps. The console I got was the OEM without map lights and I had to (carefully) cut the headliner for the console footprint. Scew holes were in the metal trim piece above the head liner but I had to get some small nylon inserts for the screws. Turned out pretty good... now have storage for garage remote and glasses. The door tweeters have a 4 pin plug and the wiring book showed the connector on the harness inside the door panel but of course it wasn't there. In looking at the scematic for the for the 7 speaker system, it only showed 2 wires going to the front doors. I finally figured out that if you have the tweeters up front, the 2 speaker wires from the head unit feed it first. There is a small board mounted on the tweeters (can't remember what it's called) that apparently splits the signal for the tweeter and outputs the signal for the lower speakers on the other 2 pins. Got it all wired and put back together... sounds pretty good. I may look at some Pioneer 6870's or 6880's in the future and would like to get OEM CD/cassette head unit but I'm done for now.