Folding Mirrors

[aly-g]

Yes I meant sat nav DVD radio control unit worth checking no loose connectors ....

Allan

[toffee_pie]

right, so i went out and turned on the lock function to operate drivers door only, (in the instruction manual), the alarm did go off when i was inside the car but still no sign of the intrusion sensor on the satellite control.

I took off the glove box and double checked the looming on the a/c ecu and its fine, the flap opens and closes as it should but no 'auto' function.

next stop is to take out this sat nav ecu (from the diesel one remember) and replace it with my oem one, perhaps the diesel and petrol had different programming.

[toffee_pie]

ok, Im back

this was my living room earlier.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q4zu8f8d9h7loee/20140713_160943.jpg

yes, a mess.

good news is my sat nav works depsite the tear down and open heart surgery.

I took the 2 OEM (from when i got the car) ECU/LCD DISPLAY modules and replaced them with what was on the diesel sat nav, (the ECU module had same s/n but the display one had a different one).

long story short, its back as it were, the 'auto' still does not work.

nor have I got the intrusion showing up on the satellite control, the alarm did got off though, so it does work.

I think its a job for lexus as something seems to be disabled somewhere., I know for some programming/settings its a lexus dealer job?

The sat nav works fine so no point taking that off again, the a/c works fine too but when you press the last button on the right it does not go into 'auto' mode, just the other 2 ones.

.....

stumped.!

[johnatg]

Just reporting a succesful installation of the PO-40 on my 2006 IS250. Great service from Michael (many thanks!). Hardest part of the job was actually getting the door liner back on - there's a socking great spigot up near the upper left which has to locate into a hole - when the top of the liner is hooked over the top of the door!

I chose to crimp all my connections (despite Michael's advice to solder!) You might think that soldering is obviously better than crimping - well, it's controversial. Google 'solder or crimp' and you'll find both sides of the arguments - from a whiole lot of people who all think they're correct! The clincher for me is that I have in the back of my mind that soldered wire-to-wire connections are not allowed in aircraft (although I can't just find it in black and white). Anyone who's been in the game for a while will have come across dry joints on circuit boards or relays caused by the solder cracking.

Whichever method you choose, the important thing with all electrical work on cars is to do it properly - if you solder, the wires must be hot enough to be 'wetted' by the solder, but not too hot, and you need to use just the correct amount of solder - not too little, not too much. And no spikes! Joints are best protected by heat shrink, but there's not really enough room to use that in this installation. I hate insulating tape for protecting live wires!

If you crimp, you should use a proper ratchet crimp tool (not the plier type things) and proper connectors. (I used the red ones - mostly in line, but bullet and socket for tapping into a line). If you arranged the bullets and sockets carefully, and used them for all the joints, you could quickly and easily remove the PO-40 at a later date.

There's a good guide to crimping here: http://www.aviationlearning.net/files/Aircraft%20Wiring%20Practices.pdf

Not all of it is relevant to cars, but there are lots of good hints!

Now I'll just go and lock and unlock the car again a few times!

[aly-g]

Well done John , I bet our friends from over the big pond get so envious when they read about our auto folding mirrors , but then I suppose they have got so much room over there they don't need such accessories .....

Allan

[toffee_pie]

or how about Singapore where a 08 lexus would cost about 30k and thats without sat nav..

[Guest bigbullhead]

As a novice is there anyone local that would fit PO 40 for them for us members who are not too confident do that sort of thing?

[Ashpoint]

I'm going to be in England between (dates not fully firmed yet) October 14-22 staying in London N8

When I get closer to the date, I was thinking to meet some of my Po-40 friends for a beer (or two).

Cheers,

Michael

[toffee_pie]

I would meet for beers but London is not one of my favorite places to go.....

I like to me in moving traffic. :p

[Ashpoint]

JohnatG has made some very convincing argument for the use of the "clip lock" style of connector as against my recommended soldering.

He is perfectly correct in saying that soldering is not permitted in airlines but then again other fastening systems are frowned. One needs to remember that the service life for a modern aircraft can be 25 to 30 years and so the style of wiring has more to do with the longevity than security of the loom.

Both my sons (one graduated as a LAME and the other a LAAE) were telling me of the methods relating to aircraft wiring was owed to history.

I have heard that the twisted wire around square pegs is the method of choice in vehicles that fly into space.

If your car had been one of the IS range 2008 to 2010 you would have used the T quick harness which joined up to the existing harness with the proper connectors and you would have been left with just 3 wires to merge with the rest of the car.

Unfortunately, the availability of aftermarket plugs and sockets are either not available or are of inferior quality and we wouldn't use them. Remember also that the Po-40 control box does not change only the connection method. The Po-40 and the universal cable works very well with Ford (Ranger), Mazda, Honda, Mitsubishi, etc.

Generally when I am assisting an enthusiast installing the kit in his car, I've taken the easy way out and suggested the best way to teach a novice is to teach soldering. It's surprising how quickly they can produce an excellent soldered joint that will not come apart in spite of the vibrations within a motor car.

I just loved the attachment. Next time you attack your door, have a look at the several wiring "no-nos" that you see in that single door. I also love the cable ties that the airlines use which has the ability to act as a fastener and as a mounting point.

A valuable contribution John

As a quick aside, it would be interesting to know how long it took you to install the kit and where did you stow the control box.

Have you explored the remote control buttons sequences of lock-unlock and unlock-lock? I had to use the lock-unlock feature last week when my car got jammed in at the supermarket.

Thank you,
Michael

[johnatg]

It probably took me a couple of hours from start to finish, but I wasn't rushing and spent some time chatting to my neighbour about what I was doing and also time finding the bullet and socket connectors from a jar I have with all sorts of electrical bits and pieces but very few of the connectors I was looking for! ( I had a packet of in-line ones). Crimping the wiring is a bit fiddly - most of the wires are 20/22 gauge - that's very thin and it needs patience to get a secure crimp. And you're working with short lengths in the door between fastenings and plugs.

I have a set of plastic levers for dismantling trim - they are jolly handy for various parts of the Lexus (eg internal light fittings) - bought on eBay. I also was armed with a print out of the pages from the workshop manual showing how to dismantle the door trim - in particular it shows exactly where the trim clips are.

My PO-40 came with the T-quick harness - I needed to cut the two connectors off to convert to Universal. My car has the 9 pin 'Connector A' and the 'Big type' 'Connector B'. All wiring (colours and positions) was exactly as described in the PO-40 installation manual. Connector C seems to be as described in the manual - at least I connected PO-40 white to Light green and PO-40 blue to White and it works!

I stowed the PO-40 just behind the Master Switch panel, just forward of the screw you remove to remove the door trim - I wrapped a piece of bubble wrap round it and put the whole shebang inside a self seal plastic bag - the wires emerge from a small gap in the sealing strip.

For the remote - with mirrors folded and car deadlocked - press lock - nothing happens (except flashers flash momentarily). Press unlock - car unlocks and mirrors unfold - press lock - car locks but mirrors stay out - press lock again (quickly) - mirrors fold and car deadlocks.

Pretty much the same with the door handle/button really - one press on the button - normal single lock, another press without delay - mirrors fold, car deadlocks. (BTW - never deadlock the car with someone inside). Touch the inside face of the handle - mirrors unfold, car unlocks.

A pleasure to do business with you, Michael! Many thanks! I still think it's really cool!

[Ashpoint]

Hi John,

A couple of important points from your message.

Nine wire Connector A: This is the forward connector on the Master Switch Panel. You SHOULD have been able to use the T quick harness that came with the kit. Did you test it? It is a tight fit but if you had 9 wires there, the T quick harness should have worked. Then, you would only have had 3 wires to accommodate. I wonder if you still have the connectors you cut off the harness and could try and see if it connects to the Master Switch Panel. I am not suggesting you should redo the installation , but it would be useful to know if you missed the opportunity to use the T quick harness in the 1st place. Maybe I need to highlight the initial test of trying the T quick 1st.

Knowing where the clips are located: I have such a file but have never thought it would be useful to folk. I will revise the instruction sheet and include that information as an appendix. Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. (I will appended to this thread for anyone else to download).

Lock Lock needed to lock the car and fold the mirrors. Keep in mind that the Po-40 is designed to keep supplying 12v to the circuit after the car would have normally been shut down – so there is a latency period. Pressing the buttons in quick succession is only programmed for 2 instances.

A ) Car locked and closed, Lock–Unlock will unlock the car and leave the mirrors folded. (they should open when the starter is activated)

B ) Car unlocked, Unlock-Lock will lock the car and leave the mirrors unfolded.

I think this could be two possibilities. The Po-40 red wire is supposed to be attached to a constant 12v in the car. Sometimes the 12v is not there until the car is brought to life. So, in your case, the 1st lock press triggers the central locking system to unlock the car and supplies 12v to the Po-40. the 2nd unlock unfolds the mirrors.

The car's blue wire at the puddle lamp seems to be a constant reliable 12v.

Alternatively it could have something to do with the way the car was programmed prior to the installation of the kit. A number of the cars are programmed so that one press of the unlock button opens only the driver door and 2 presses unlock all four doors. Try the following toggle – on your remote, hold the lock and unlock buttons together until the car beeps. Now, the car will be programmed to open all doors at one press of the unlock button. (Repeating the procedure reverses the situation).

Location of the control box: You have picked the correct location to put the box and a note to that will be an appendix in the next revision of the instruction manual. By the way I found that you don't even need to wrap it in bubble pack. Mine is in the same spot, unprotected and I never hear it rattling or moving. It's quite a neat fit.

Thank you for your well reasoned and descriptive report. Also for sparking some improvements in my documentation.

Best regards from Down Under,

Michael

WhereToPutTheControlModule.pdf

Lexus_DoorClips.pdf

[toffee_pie]

my po-40 is as suggested, just got wrap around it, quite alot.

should do the job and in any event you can access it by prising off the switch cover.

the red gunk is liquid tape, good for electrical insulation.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f21p9r1re7eiswx/20140716_202837.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jakx6xid64o7rj7/20140716_202842.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pf11h2n61mz9o52/20140716_203038.jpg

[toffee_pie]

locking an unlocking a car has never been so much fun......

[toffee_pie]

Mike...

Do people call you Mike?!

DO Aussie cars have the beep when you arm the car? I noticed cars here in UK dont, no big deal to me though.

Eric

[johnatg]

Doh! The T-quick connector would have worked! Had I read the manual properly, I would have saved about an hour! Not for the first time....... I shall stick a label saying 'RTFM' on the piece I cut off and leave it somewhere where I'll come across it now and again, just as a reminder. You can't cope with idiots who don't read instructions!

My car has, and the manual shows, two extra trim clips (9 in total). The extra ones are on the bottom edge, one roughly in the centre and one near the back corner. And the others are positioned slightly differently. Actually - are you sure that's a IS250 door - the handle etc doesn't look quite right?

The lock and unlock buttons and the door handle work as I described before - I'm perfectly happy with it like that! The reprogramming bit by pressing both buttons makes no difference.

I think this obsession with wrapping things up and protecting them is more to do with our experience with the inside of car doors getting wet! But of course....this is a Lexus - it's all bone dry in there!

Thanks again - I hope our discussion has been useful and encouraging to others!

[steveledzep]

What an overwhelming response......thank you everyone. My SE-L is UK registered Nov 2008 so doesn't have the facility. It's not so important for me to retro-fit it, just thought I might be missing a way of turning it on !

[Ashpoint]

My thanks to Steve for rekindling this thread. The Po-40 Folding Mirror Kit is still available to retrofit the facility (folding the mirrors) should you desire.

Others might like to know that we have a new Control Module (actually it was designed for the Ford Ranger). The new Control Module now has wires available to connect to a cheap ( less than $10) piezo siren/buzzer to create a "chirp" sound when the car is locked/unlocked.

Send an email to me at MichaelR@Ashpoint.com.au if you would like additional information.

[toffee_pie]

great gadget, as for the chirp sound. I'm sure you can get that function done from a lexus dealer, the uk cars dont use it, but its there im sure, just not activated.

[Ashpoint]

I don't think the chirp is a Lexus dealer programmable option - maybe a UK dealer employee could confirm that.

The chirp is more needed in the Ford Ranger because it's a work vehicle and often parked in the noisy environment of a work site.

I'm attaching the Installation manual and point readers to the (work in progress) Appendix E.

ENG_Po-40_RCM_Lexus_is250_Nov_26_2014.pdf

[toffee_pie]

ive never heard a chirp on any uk cars, only on usa ones (on tv), are americans a tone deaf ?; :p

[Ashpoint]

The IS range in the USA does not have folding mirrors. I've sold a few Po-40 kits to enthusiasts who import motorised mirrors from wreckers in Europe and retrofit them to their cars.

[steveledzep]

Only ok for USA if they come from a LHD in Europe. A set of mirrors from a UK car would be the wrong angle for a LHD.

[aly-g]

I don't think there would be any difference with left or right hand drive cars you should be able to adjust the mirrors accordingly,

Allan

[steveledzep]

In my experience with other marques, on RHD vehicles the LH mirror housing is at roughly 45 degrees to the door but the RH housing is maybe at 75 degrees. Guessing the angles, but the different housings allow the adjustment of the mirror glass to be small, rather than the adjustment necessary for a universal LH/RH housing.

I maybe incorrect, I'm sure someone will tell me ?