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Extended Convex Mirrors
#1
Hi All

Has anyone fitted these mirrors from:-

www.deloreana.com ???

Seem like a very good idea, but in practice do these work well on a LHD car on 'our' side of the road?

Thoughts please Smile
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#2
Mike, I would recommend the mirrors. The quality is excellent. I replaced the tired door mirrors on my car with OEM ones I bought at the Open House Houston event in 2001 and within 2 years they were/are showing signs of where the reflective area around the perimeter was/is giving up. I hope the convex mirrors last a lot longer...

I purchased a set from the first batch and once the ICE system is complete they are the next thing on the list to be installed.

I know a few owners in the club have stuck blind spot mirrors onto the corner of each of their door mirrors (my car had them when I first bought it but they soon fell off) and they do help regardless of what side of the car you drive on.

The convex mirror is subtle and unless you are sat in the seat looking at it you won't know the difference. The point is that it is another one of those clever improvements that don't look far off the OEM product.

See the benefits here:-
http://www.deloreana.com/16901.html

The instructions:-
http://s89196484.onlinehome.us/files/Mi ... ctions.pdf

The instructions state that the mirrors are heated and are not defrosters. The approach is that they are heated when the ignition is on. The benefits are that rain, fog etc are immediately irradicated. The heaters run at boiling point on a warm day so keep your fingers off them, but they won't melt the mirror housing.

The power consumption is 12-15 watts with a current draw at 12v: 1 to 1.5Amps depending on the heating element.

My question, is this recommended or would it be better so that the defroster switch controls the mirror elements as well as the element on the rear window?
Regards,

Chris Hawes
DOC 138
Ex owner of VIN 5255 Grey, 5-speed
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#3
Chris Hawes Wrote:The instructions state that the mirrors are heated and are not defrosters. The approach is that they are heated when the ignition is on. The benefits are that rain, fog etc are immediately irradicated. The heaters run at boiling point on a warm day so keep your fingers off them, but they won't melt the mirror housing.

The power consumption is 12-15 watts with a current draw at 12v: 1 to 1.5Amps depending on the heating element.

My question, is this recommended or would it be better so that the defroster switch controls the mirror elements as well as the element on the rear window?

Thats the bit on the 'heated side' im a little apprehensive about, my daily car has heated mirrors and yes they get bl@@dy hot on a cold day, but to have them on all the time , well im a little unsure especially in the summer, knowing my luck i will be driving along and the glue will give up on me Smile

I too had one of those little stick mirrors but got fed up with it ...

I suppose i could just not fit the electric element, save me going inside the door panels yet again, i would be far happier it being wired into the rear window switch though.

Reading the web site it appears that the door loom had the wiring in for this 'future' feature? I dont know of any cars that have heated door mirrors all the time ...

Thanks for the reply Chris
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#4
After further discussions with Tom (supplier of the Convex mirrors) I will be now wiring up the heaters so that they are on all the time as originally intended. The current draw is so small that you will not notice the difference. The heaters are 12W each giving 24 watts for both mirrors and only at cold start. As the mirrors get warmer the current requirement drops. If you think about it 24 watts is about the same as a single turn signal bulb - they are 21W. Each brake light is also 21W.

Although heated mirrors are still quite unusual over here this approach is common place across the pond and other parts of the World and are of a world wide standard on all cars equipped with heated mirrors.

The other benefit of using the original DeLorean wiring is that with the heaters on there will be no situation when you forget to turn them on or you get caught in rain and have to wait for them to get up to temperature. When the mirrors are always on they get pretty hot and when it starts raining the mirrors will stay dry. Any water hitting the glass simply evaporates (very quickly) and leaves the mirrors dry and clear.

I was hoping to install them by the NEC, but this is now looking unlikely. They will be my next project though...
Regards,

Chris Hawes
DOC 138
Ex owner of VIN 5255 Grey, 5-speed
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#5
ERRR CHRIS

chris thats a bad idea doing that as from a few deloreans mag back some things like to go up in smoke Sad and i think martin will back me up on that one as he put the ad in the mag even herman has three master switches in it know thats turns all power off just to be on the safe side ( learned that tip off chrispy) any way this list of yours seems to be getting bigger you will be cathing up with mine soon Big Grin
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#6
Has anyone even read what happened to the Delorean that went on fire?? It was not caused by an electrical fault but by a FUEL FIRE resulting from a burst hose. It happened about 15 years ago and there was an article about it in DW magazine, it could happen to anyone at anytime but for some reason it has been turned into an electrical fire on quite a few websites I have seen recently.

The convex mirrors come with fuses and is all top notch wiring. I have fitted a set to a mates car and they work like a charm and his car has not spontaniously combusted yet.
Alistair McCann
Northern Ireland
1981 Delorean #Vin Pilot 25
1989 Renault Alpine GTA Atmo.
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#7
Thanks Alistair for stopping the twitch I had just developed from reading Glens post!

Glen, what are you trying to do, scare the living dooberies out of me :lol:

I have the kit, it is well made and providing there is a failsafe in place what can go wrong? Shock
Regards,

Chris Hawes
DOC 138
Ex owner of VIN 5255 Grey, 5-speed
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#8
hehe

got you going then chris you got your new fire rug for your car yet as you need it the m6 wireung in the back Big Grin Big Grin

its allways good to have fuse in it alister but i thought i heard chris say he was going to wire them to stay on

sorry mate :o
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#9
The mirrors are wired into a switched 12v wire that is already in the cars wiring loom. For some reason the car already came pre-wired for heated wing mirrors but this was never used before DMC closed down.

When you turn on the ignition this wire becomes live and will supply power to the heater in the mirror glass untill car is turned off again.

There are a number of wires like this on the car, one example is under the shifter plate on manual cars. If you take this panel off you sometimes see a bulb socket UNDER the panel, on automatic cars this was used to light up the N-D-R on the shifter plate but it is still on manual cars and is always live when you are driving the car. Always a handy place to take a 12v feed from for accessories though!!
Alistair McCann
Northern Ireland
1981 Delorean #Vin Pilot 25
1989 Renault Alpine GTA Atmo.
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#10
Glen, the mirrors are always on... I did say that Smile but ONLY when the ignition is on :lol: . Not as you thought when sat doing nothing with the alarm also draining down the battery :roll: Shock :? :lol: Big Grin LOL LOL LOL, oh there now look what you have done, my sides have split and I now need to pick up my intenstines!!! :wink:

See the instructions here:-
http://s89196484.onlinehome.us/files/Mi ... ctions.pdf

www.deloreana.com is the homepage for reference and Tom is very helpful...
Regards,

Chris Hawes
DOC 138
Ex owner of VIN 5255 Grey, 5-speed
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#11
Tom has also confirmed that the heaters will not cause a fire. He has also confirmed the following:-

With such low current there is no possibility of anything going up in smoke. The circuit that can cause fire is the fans, headlights, and A/C compressor. Those are high current circuits that often overheat and cause trouble. The fans are the worst... and when you think about you can see why. Each fan can draw 15 amps.... That's 30 amps on one circuit. The heaters are 2 amps max and only for a short while, because the current drops when they warm up.
The mirrors use glued strips that are designed to cope with the heat. Posts from customers on the DML say how strong the glue is. This stuff will never come off. Just wipe the backing plate with alcohol before applying the new mirrors and you'll be fine.
I noticed that you are worried about the mirrors fading like OEM mirrors.
Don't worry! If that ever happens just let me know. We'll get you some replacements. But I wouldn't worry about that for the next 20 years or so Wink

Good luck with the installation (if you have not installed the mirrors yet)

Tom
Regards,

Chris Hawes
DOC 138
Ex owner of VIN 5255 Grey, 5-speed
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#12
http://www.multivexmirror.com
http://www.multivexmirror.com/products1a.php?refID=

(scroll down the page)

24059LH
24060RH
81 - 83 DeLOREAN


Interesting alternative to the ones mentioned above.
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#13
I've just ordered me a pair of deloreana's mirrors, and I'm looking forward to installing them. Smile

I just got them in time, too. They were despatched to me the day before they sold out Smile
-------------------------
- Dave Smith

VIN: #00944 DOC: #535
VIN: #03193
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