non M&T mirror map light function

[joatmon]

I have M&T, so I got the glare "map" light in the moonroof controls that shines in yor eyes when you turn it on at night, and didn't get the cool useful lights built into the rear view mirror. A while ago I put in a mirror, I thnk from a Corolla, that has the built in directed map lights and wired it in. Today I was looking at it, thinking of hooking the various map lights into the dome light circuit, and came up with a couple of questions.The light switches on the bottom of the mirror are the kind you push in once, it stays in, push in again and it pops out more. I can wire up my mirror either way, but how is it supposed to work: in = on and out= off, or in = off and out = on ?in the non M&T setup, do the mirror map lights come on when you open the door like dome lights, or are they completely independent of the dome lights? I know the map light in the moonroof controls is currently not tied into the dome lights

[Jahntassa]

On my non M&T / Nav system, the map lights in the mirror are 'always on', meaning they're controlled by the switches on the bottom of the mirror. They do NOT turn on with the doors.Of course the map lights on the mirror don't glare in your eyes..

[GMJAP]

The map lights are completely independent of the dome lights. (With the exception that they'll turn off if left on for 20min or whatever that timer is).The are OFF when the button is "IN", and ON when the button is "OUT" - so most of the time the buttons are less obvious.

[joatmon]

Thanks for the info.My mirror has three contacts. I put 12V on one of them. If I put ground on one of the other two, then the lights come on when the button is out. If I put the ground on the third one, the lights come on when the button is in. I figure I can run the dome light on- = ground signal to the third contact, then the mirror lights will work normally and will also work as dome lights.don't really need to do it, but it should be a token easy thing to do

[ColonelPanic]

The ol' Cutlass I had many moons ago had a mirror with map lights that work the way you're wanting.... On with the domes, but also were able to be switched when you wanted them on as well. Do it, it's a great feature to have. I wouldn't mind having something like that myself, but I've already replaced the mirror with an auto dimming one and to get the map lights I'm looking at even more money than I don't have.

[joatmon]

If you put that mirror in your car, it would probably make the exhaust fall off, so you're better off without it.

[ColonelPanic]

(removed)! Maybe I could put a 100' retractable power cord on the mirror, so I could string it outside the car at night and use the map lights to find what just fell off.

[GMJAP]

"Oh - those aren't ground effects.... that's the Detached Part Location System for low-light conditions."