Nissan Titan Forum banner
Cancel

How to convert and install Big Tows w/memory on non-memory vehicle

39189 Views 32 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  pbsimpson, 
davepjr71
4
I've seen a few threads about replacing Big Tow mirrors and people asking what they can do if they find a set of memory mirrors but their vehicle doesn't have them. I just finished swapping out mine and decided to start a new thread on it to help other people that may run into the same predicament.

So, you find a great price on a set of Big Tow mirrors with memory. You know that your vehicle doesn’t have memory and the plugs won’t match. The memory mirror has 9 wires on the plug and the non-memory only has 3. So, what are you going to do? The 1st thing you need to do is figure out what wire is what. And, it’s a lot easier than it seems.

You have 2 options for mounting.
1. Use Factory plugs and splice each wire.
2. Buy some male and female 6-pin Molex connectors. Most of this install will work with either but after a certain point it’s Molex driven since most people probably will sell their other mirrors.
If you are going to buy the Molex here is what you will need:

RadioShack 6-Position Male Polarized Connector : Connectors | RadioShack.com
Picture 1
RadioShack 6-Position Female Polarized Connector : Connectors | RadioShack.com
Picture 2

Next is determining what wires are for what function.
When you look at the memory mirror plugs you can see that the wires are all grouped. On the bottom row from right to left there are 3 wires together, then 4. On the top there are 2 grouped together on the right side. So, how can you figure out what wire is what without having to do a bunch of testing?
First, you do a little internet surfing and find the wiring diagrams for the mirrors. The following pictures are clips from the diagrams with the areas that concern the installer.
Looking at Picture 3 you see that there are 3-pins for the motor in positions 1, 2 & 3. The picture only shows the non-memory. Picture 4 shows the "Heat" function and has both the memory and non-memory plugs shown viewed facing the male plug. It also shows helps determine what the pin numbering is for the memory plug. Knowing that 10 and 11 are in the upper right corner and knowing that the non-memory plug starts with 1 in the lower right corner you can assume that holds true for the memory as well.

Next part to follow.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 4
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
davepjr71
4
Now you know which wire is what on the memory plug. Picture 1 is looking from the front. Picture 2 from the back. Now the best thing to do is label all of the wires to match the pins you need for the 6-pin connector. Pictures 3 & 4 Pins 1-3 are for "Motor". Pins 5-8 are for "Memory". Pins 10 & 11 are for "Heat". Cut the wires on Pins 5-8 and tape them back up against the harness so they are out of the way.

For people using OEM plug from here on out is easy. You would just cut each wire and splice to match the number on the tag to the pin number. You can twist the wires together and solder, and tape, or use a butt splice. Always remember that the #1 pin is in the lower right when looking at the back of the plug, lower left when looking at from the front.

For people using OEM plug from here on out is easy. You would just cut each wire and splice to match the number on the tag to the pin number. You can twist the wires together and solder, and tape, or use a butt splice. Always remember that the #1 pin is in the lower right when looking at the back of the plug, lower left when looking at from the front. To remove and replace mirrors see the following:
How To: Remove and replace Big Tow Mirror - Nissan Titan Forum: Club Titan Forums

For people that don't have the OEM Female plugs read on.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
davepjr71
4
For the people doing Molex:
Cut each wire and place a female pin on it. I’d recommend soldering the wire since the wires are so small and you will assure a good electrical connection. See Picture 1.

After that is done take your Molex connectors and mark your terminals. Again remembering that on the female plug #1 is the lower right looking from wire insertion and #1 is lower left looking at pins lower right looking at back of plug Picture2. And mark the connector Picture 3.

Now plug in all of your pins and you have a completed Female Molex Connector. Picture 4

Repeat for the other mirror and now you are off to your truck to do replace the male connectors and install your mirrors.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
davepjr71
2
At the truck the 1st step is removing the panels. Here is a good write-up with pictures on the process:

How To: Remove and replace Big Tow Mirror - Nissan Titan Forum: Club Titan Forums

Step 2 differs on my truck. For the late models you have to pry off the plastic cover on the door grab handle and take out 2 screws. I had to use a small screwdriver to start the plate out and then a bigger one to grab it. This cover is a pain to remove and you have to watch not to damage around where you use the screwdriver.

I’d recommend getting yourself a set of trim removal tools. Because of the wide flange on them you will be less likely to break the door plugs compared to using a screw driver. The top was a PITA compared to the bottom.
For the people doing plug and play you just follow the link and you are done.

Remove your old mirrors and install the new one. Warning: Definitely remember to follow the cable routing. Recommend typing a line to the old mirror harness when pulling it out. I didn’t and when I put the window down I pulled the pins right out of the plug. A 20 minute install took an hour.

For anyone who has to replace the male plug continue on.

Once you have the panel off and the harness unplugged you have to cut off the OEM male plug and place the male pins on each wire. Picture 1 is before soldering.

Now insert each pin into the connector in the locations as shown in Picture 2. Plug the female into the male and test. Everything should work well. Oh, look at your switch position before testing. I freaked myself out because I didn't check and the switch was in the "passenger" position and I couldn't figure out why my mirror didn't work.

Button the side back up in reverse of panel removal and repeat on other side.

You know have 2 beautiful Big Tows.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
davepjr71
Sorry if some of the pictures are upside down. they look good on my PC and in the preview so I'm not sure what happened.
Reply
Save
Like
thad5515
Nice job, that was a lot of work...
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
davepjr71
Thanks, do you mean the write-up or the conversion? lol The conversion wasn't that bad once I sat down and went through everything. Having a gas soldering iron really made life easy working in cold temps. Just have to watch for the heat port or things tend to catch on fire.
Reply
Save
Like
beachside321
Nice write up man! Full of info!


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
Reply
Save
Like
Cuban11182
What vehicles had/have memory mirrors.

AutoGuide SUX!
Reply
Save
Like
fish
great write up, thanks man!
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
jdmartin
Great write up! And I know there's a great set of Memory big-tow mirrors on the classifieds right now just waiting for someone to scoop them up and give this a go! ;)
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
davepjr71
jdmartin said:
Great write up! And I know there's a great set of Memory big-tow mirrors on the classifieds right now just waiting for someone to scoop them up and give this a go! ;)
Click to expand...
Thank to everyone.

The conversion was completed yesterday on my truck. Once the 1st door was done the 2nd door was a snap.

I had a set of memory mirrors for sale before realizing how easy it was to convert. Once I figured out the wiring I changed to "not for sale" and started marking up drawings and wires.

Something else that I should have added to aide in install. it's minor but can make a difference with frustration levels
Pre-bend the tabs on the pins just far enough to hold on to the wires before trying to crimp them. They're a lot easier to hold in your fingers and bend than when around a wire. And, once you slide them on they stay in place easier while crimping than trying to bend the tabs while on the wire. I used a small set of pliers to do all the crimping instead of a wire crimper.

Also, if you accidentally put the wrong pin in the wrong place use a micro flat head screwdriver to push the 2 tabs inward and pull the plug out. You can then use the same driver to bend the tabs back out.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
baseballfanz
Great write up, will help a lot of peoples for sure. :thumbup:

☞Sent from here☜
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
davepjr71
Thanks, heat function successfully tested with the storm today. Mirrors were clean and after work with the use of remote start started a few blocks away. Good bye to foggy mirrors as well.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
esars
Good to hear everything is working, thanks again!
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
davepjr71
esars said:
Good to hear everything is working, thanks again!
Click to expand...
Eric,
Let me know which way you go connector wise and how you install goes?
Reply
Save
Like
esars
Will do bud
Reply
Save
Like
honda250xtitan
This should be a sticky. Good job on the write up.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
ofl0926
forgive my question, but what does the memory function do?
Reply
Save
Like
davepjr71
honda250xtitan said:
This should be a sticky. Good job on the write up.
Click to expand...
I was wondering how I could get this done since I've seen this pop up a few times since I joined?

ofl0926 said:
forgive my question, but what does the memory function do?
Click to expand...
MEMORY STORAGE FUNCTION
Two positions for the driver’s seat, accelerator
and brake pedals, and outside mirrors can be
stored in the automatic drive positioner memory.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Nissan Titan Forum
Nissan Titan Talk Forum is a community for truck owners to discuss the Titan Cummins, Warrior, Midnight Edition and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Titan General Discussion Buy/Sell Titan Performance Modifications Titan Suspension Titan Parts & Accessories
Top