Rear view Mirror Lights

Upholstery, floor mats, seats, window tint and anything inside the vehicle and not electronic
Post Reply
KingKrab65
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 7:25 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by KingKrab65 »

I can't seem to find what the bulb number is for replacing the map lights in the rear view mirrors. Everything I have found so far has #904 which seems too big for that application. Does anyone know what the number is?

Also, they appear the bulb just pulls out of the sockets rather than twist out. It is tough to get my fingers in that light area, so I am reluctant to just try and pull the bulb out. Don't want to break the bulb off and have a new set of problems.

Thanks for any help.
2003 Base Vibe
User avatar
joatmon
Posts: 10018
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by joatmon »

in forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=9745 ragingfish said its a #192.

I haven't replaced mine for a long time, but I remember that they just pull out. I had to use needlenose pliers to get a bad one out, and yes, I think I broke the bad bulb glass before I got it out.

Just looked at mine, and didn't want to break a good bulb, so i found a better way to pull the bulb. Got on my pygmy pony and rounded up some dental floss, tied a slipknot in the floss and used a tooth pick to push the loop over the bulb, to where the glass was narrower, then it was easy to pull on the floss and yank the bulb out. Didn't see any numbers on the bulb, but it did look like online pictures of a #192 bulb
Image
Bookworm
Posts: 764
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by Bookworm »

I was never able to remove mine, so I just paid the $115 for a full replacement mirror. I figured they were soldered in.
Mark
Posts: 640
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:26 am
Location: Cheyenne, WY

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by Mark »

I haven't tried to get mine out yet, but I looked at them and figured it would be tough. So I bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0 ... UTF8&psc=1 to help. Should help in getting the new ones in too.

Joatmon's floss idea is genius, though.
'08 Base Stealth, '05 Base Satellite
KingKrab65
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 7:25 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by KingKrab65 »

I will look for some #192 bulbs then.

The dental floss idea is a a great one. I will definitely have to try that out.

The bulb extractor tool is a good one too (It reminds me of the old school gauze and tape cutters.). I may have to get a pair of those.

Thanks to everyone for their help! I greatly appreciate it.
2003 Base Vibe
tpollauf
Posts: 4027
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:37 am
Location: Toledo/Oregon, Port Clinton Ohio
Contact:

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by tpollauf »

I'll assume this topic is for 2003-08 Vibes with NO sunroofs? The 2004 Vibe GT I acquired last year (Florida car) has no sunroof :cry: and at night is VERY dark inside the car. The headliner only has two dome lights. One in the center and one back at the rear hatch. NONE up front where the driver would sit. The map lights on the rearview mirror DO NOT come on as "dome lights" ... at least not yet! I'll eventually be wiring them up to where they become dome lights along with the other two. Is this the normal configuration from the factory? Has anybody done what I plan to do yet?

So keeping with the topic, I will be removing these lamps soon when I make this modification.
Image
2009 Vibe GT (manual), 2009 G8Gt, 2009 Vibe GT (auto)
2014 Silverado, 2004 Vibe GT

"everything is modifiable"
User avatar
joatmon
Posts: 10018
Joined: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:19 am
Location: SMC MD

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by joatmon »

tpollauf wrote: at night is VERY dark inside the car. The headliner only has two dome lights. One in the center and one back at the rear hatch. NONE up front where the driver would sit.
That's the way it was for my 03 with a sunroof, same two dome lights, no dome light up front
tpollauf wrote:Has anybody done what I plan to do yet?
Maybe.

My 03 Vibe has a sunroof, and I wanted the lighted mirror, so I bought one, (probably off ebay). The car didn't come with any wiring for it, and the mirror didn't come with the matching cable. I was able to fabricate a connector for it, from some cable connector out of some scrap electronic thing.

My mirror had three pins in the connector, I had to figure out the pinout with a meter.

I ran three wires to the mirror, one constant +12V, one constant ground, ( I tapped constant 12V and ground from my sunroof control) and the third down the driver's side A pillar to the red with black stripe wire coming out of the dimmer switch. Might have been able to fish that third one in behind the headliner from an existing dome light instead of down to the dimmer, but since I have a sunroof, that would have not been as straightforward. Here is a pic of the back of my mirror, with the three pins labelled how I hooked them up
mirrorlight.jpg
mirrorlight.jpg (27.84 KiB) Viewed 4155 times
Now, the mirror lights come on with the dome lights, or if the dome lights are off, the individual mirror lights can be turned on with the switches on the bottom of the mirror. If the dimmer is set to "OFF", the mirror lights don't come on when a door is opened but they can still be turned on manually. If the dome lights are on, pressing the switch on the mirror doesn't do anything, the light stays on, except that it stays on when the dome lights go out.


Something like that might work for you, but since I don't know the provenance of my mirror, I can't be sure if my lighted mirror is the same as yours.

If you try it, it might be worth having a spare dome fuse, just in case things don't go as planned ;)
Image
KingKrab65
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 7:25 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by KingKrab65 »

tpollauf wrote: Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:49 am I'll assume this topic is for 2003-08 Vibes with NO sunroofs?
You are correct. I have an '03 without a sunroof. To be honest, I am not sure about the other dome lights in my Vibe. One of the first things I do in a new vehicle is turn those dome lights off. I use the rear view mirror lights as needed.
2003 Base Vibe
RDG25
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:43 am

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by RDG25 »

03 base without sunroof. I wasn't able to remove it with the dental floss method. But I used two small flathead screwdrivers, on on each side of bulb, focused on the base of the bulb, and it popped out. I confirm the 192 bulb. It slipped in rather easily. I got the bulbs (pack of 10) at a local WW Grainger (no shipping, since I picked it up) for $7.36. It looks like you can buy one bulb at Jackson Lighting for 32 cents plus 3.25 shipping (only available if you order ONE bulb). I got Grainger option so I could have returned it if it didn't work (shipping is a sunk cost), and nice to have extras if I slipped up. Works very well, thanks for the feedback here about being careful removing the bulb.
dougreed
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:40 am

Re: Rear view Mirror Lights

Post by dougreed »

joatmon wrote: Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:57 pm in forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=9745 ragingfish said its a #192.

I haven't replaced mine for a long time, but I remember that they just pull out. I had to use needlenose pliers to get a bad one out, and yes, I think I broke the bad bulb glass before I got it out.

Just looked at mine, and didn't want to break a good bulb, so i found a better way to pull the bulb. Got on my pygmy pony and rounded up some dental floss, tied a slipknot in the floss and used a tooth pick to push the loop over the bulb, to where the glass was narrower, then it was easy to pull on the floss and yank the bulb out. Didn't see any numbers on the bulb, but it did look like online pictures of a #192 bulb
would have been easier if you had also used the zircon encrusted tweezers! ... actually I wrap the bulb with a strip of duct tape and leave a tab of tape to pull with....
Post Reply