DIY: Adding Functioning DRL to OEM Toyota Power Folding Tow Mirrors

This is for all those out there who want the DRL (amber driving light) running lamp feature on the factory Toyota OEM Power Folding Tow Mirrors to function but are not wired for it. I've only read about the Platinum packages lacking this wire, but it may affect other trim levels, too....Having this functioning DRL makes the loss of your puddle lamps and mirror memory more worth the swap in my opinion.

Long story short, we need to run a power wire from the cab, through the doors and up into the mirror harness, you don't need to run a ground or neutral wire as the wiring harness provides this when plugged in. The Toyota tow mirrors all have these amber running lights, its a matter of whether your truck has the correct wiring to power them up. I chose to use an add-a-fuse and I tapped into the DRL fuse of my front end marker lights for power using the fuse box by my left foot. The next steps show what I did....

After I found a suitable wire to tap into, I ran a 16 gauge red wire from the driver's side foot-well area to the passenger side and into the door. This was by far the most time consuming part, be patient. Getting that wire from the cab into the door thru the off-set rubber grommet is difficult. I found that by starting from inside the cab it was easier to pass the wire to the outside door. I folded the rubber grommet back onto itself to make less rubber to pass through. I used a wooden shish-kabob skewer with my wire tightly tapped to the back, this allowed the sharp end to pass through, without damaging other wires and it was flexible enough to somewhat bend. I was very nervous about puncturing other wires in there so I didn't use my metal snake wire...

Pain in the arse grommet....


Here's a pic of the Tundra Platinum Mirror wiring harness. Its a 18 pin connector and 17 of the 18 wires are there, we need to add the 18th wire, it goes in the very bottom right slot that is empty.


My 16 gauge red wire wasn't going to cut it, it was stranded wire and would never go into the harness ( I don't know how to open the harness and do this correctly, so please bare with me). I butt-spliced a single strand of 22/4 gauge doorbell wire (yellow wire) onto the end of the red 16 gauge, this is nearly identical to the other wires going into the harness.


Strip off 1/4 inch from the end 22 gauge yellow wire, place it inside the empty harness slot (bottom right ) and make sure the exposed wire is proud of the harness by a bit before plugging the harness back in, I found that by doing this, your wire gets pinched against the metal male connector within the mirror harness and secures it...


Once you've made this connection, turn on your driving lights and you should have daytime amber running lights off the side of the mirrors, the bottom is DRL and top half is blinkers...Repeat on the drivers side, tapping into the same wire you used for the passenger side and you're done...




Mirrors: Power fold
https://parts.toyotaofcoolsprings.com/oem-parts/toyota-mirror-879100c281/?c=aT04MTkyNzQ1NSZyPTE=
https://parts.toyotaofcoolsprings.com/oem-parts/toyota-mirror-879400c281/?c=aT04MTkyNzQ1NSZyPTE=

 

Bad ass dude! I may be doing this if the snap on tow mirrors don't make the cut during dune season! Also "wooden shish-kabob skewer" I love it! well done.

 

Do you happen to know which wire is the turn signal? I'm thinking of making a jumper from the turn wire to the DRL to make it one large turn signal.

 

I don’t, thought about this myself...

 

Awesome write up! I just installed tow mirrors on my 09 Limited and thought something was wrong when the marker lights didn’t come on.

 

Great write up. I'm curious as to which fuse you tapped to exactly in the interior fuse box? Looking to add this feature to my 2017 Platinum.

 

The one labeled DRL, so it’s powered whenever the truck is on...not necessarily “on” but powered...

 

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Thank you for the pics and the write up. Very helpful. I too was surprised when the marker/running lights on my new oem tow mirrors didn’t work because of all things Toyota didn’t run the wire on the limited/platinum? I’ve been planning how to run the wire and scouring the forums. I should have the parts and the time to do this in a few weeks weather permitting.

Start with an molex mini-fit jr female connector, connect 18ga wire and insert it into the appropriate slot in the wire harness receptacle. I’ve read and watched how to disassemble the receptacle to add or repair wires so we’ll see if I can do it to add the molex connector. If I can’t get the connector in or it’s not the right kind I’ll use the solid copper wire trick mentioned earlier in this thread. Run the wire down and through the door and into the kick panel area. There I will use a low profile ATM fuse tap to tie into the tail lights and parking lights fuse (#20 in the kick panel fuse diagram). Same process for passenger side. Crimp the 2 wires into the fuse tap. Hope that works. Marker lights should come on when the tail lights come on.

If anyone thinks I’m doing something wrong please tell me! I’m definitely not a pro. Thank you in advance for any suggestions or corrections.

 

Mine was plug and play - 2008 Limited. Everything worked as designed (power fold, running lights, heated) with no wires needed

 

*Update
Did more research how to add the female connector to the wire harness going into the mirror pin connectors and saw a Toyota manual that showed a different type of connector clip/flange than what I was seeing on Amazon. It was difficult to discern exactly what it was supposed to look like so I went to the dealership and asked them to go to exact part. They did and I ordered 2 of these:



Getting these into the housing was easy. I used a small jewelers screwdriver to pry up the retaining clip on the harness assembly (comes up only about 1/32”). Make sure the flange on the new connector is oriented correctly. When correctly oriented it slips right into the harness assembly with an audible and tactile click. Then press the retaining clip closed and this step is done. It was a lot more expensive to get the exact part through Toyota but I’m glad I did.

Next was getting a wire from inside the door to inside the passenger compartment. I watched several YouTube videos for this. I found the most helpful video for this step was an instructional video for an aftermarket mirror seller. The trick is going through the thick rubber grommet/passage between the door and main body. The openings are at different levels and it’s all happening in a very tight space. I used a hanger and wrapped the solid copper 20awg wire around the curly end of the hanger. I was careful not to force it. This was by far the most challenging part of the project. Once through there’s an obvious opening inside and easy to pull through.

I used a tap to go into the tail lights fuse. Under the dash are low profile ATM fuses.



Both sides come on when I turn on my parking lights and headlights. If you want the marker lights to come on whenever the truck is on you can tap into one of the other fuses. I am happy and relieved.

 

Looks like 090IIU (Nope, it’s 0.64 II) to me from that photo. If so I have tons. I can ask someone who might know. It would be pretty easy to crimp that at just the right length to an add-a-fuse, color match the wire, and put some braided sleeve on it for the $10 price tag.

Wish I had a 2.5 gen to play with myself. Or an option for tow mirrors.

Hunting down the terminals, I may be able to offer a no-cut / no-crimp solution if someone can work with me on the details. I assume one add-a-fuse to a short and long piece to each mirror. I think I would just need lengths at this point.