Part 1, continued in second post.

Recommended tools and supplies:

Mirrors used in this example ProEFX part# EFXMRFSD03HECP (Taiwan)
Needle nose pliers
small awl/punch/pin/pick etc.
11mm socket
7mm socket
5.5mm socket

basic wiring tools - Solder and heat-shrink would be preferred, but splices and taps can be used
small split-loom
Gopher or equivalent fish tool.

patience and beer, maybe a friend if you need one.

The mirrors I used are plug and play for 03+ SD and Excursions. Earlier models like mine (2002) do not have the running/park light wire feed into the door, but do have the turn signal feed. From what I can tell, the 2000-2001 trucks did not have the ten pin connector at all and will require custom wiring or adapters. Ford does make adapters that run ~25 bucks a pop at the time of this writing. Part#'s 1C3Z14A411BA and 1C3Z14A411AA, and from what I can tell, still need to be modded to add lights. See this write up for more info on that generation. My original mirrors were also heated so I did not have to add that either. It took me ~ 3hrs with the picture taking and looking at wiring diagrams on AllData, beverage intake and a lunch break. YMMV


Start by rolling the windows down and removing the door panel, the small black pod above the door panel is held in by clips, it just pops off. Lift up at the front of the switch panel and lift it out of the door panel. Unplug the panel and set aside. Remove the courtesy light lens in the door by popping it out at the notch. remove the two screws that you have just revealed, they are 7mm.




Simply lift up on the door panel, being mindful of the courtesy light socket, it just twists out. Set the door panel aside where it can’t get hurt.

Now look behind the mirror and you will see three body plugs and a strip of weather shield.


Pop out the plugs and carefully peel the small strip of weather shield off. You will see the four 11mm nuts that hold the mirror in place. Do not remove them yet.



Carefully peel the upper corner of the main weather shield back to reveal the mirror harness and connector.


Separate the connector and push the mirror end into the door. Now remove the original mirrors but removing the four 11mm nuts. This is where that friend might come in handy to hold the mirror, I just grasped the upper arm through the window and held the mirror. Pull the mirror away from the door, the gasket may stick on you, and fish the wire out of the door. Set the original mirrors away for safe keeping or resale. On the outside of the door, you will see two large holes that the connector can fit through, it goes in the rectangular one, not the round one. The mirror has a locator that goes in the round one.



Slip the wire of the new mirror in the proper hole and let it fall into the door, is easy to get to through the speaker hole, the speaker is held in by four 5.5mm screws. Fasten the new mirror to the door being careful not to over tighten the nuts, but make sure the mirror is pulled all the way up to the door, compressing the gasket and hugging the outer window frame.



Reach in through the speaker hole and fish the mirror harness back up through the hole in the top of the door that you pushed it through earlier.


Now detach the vehicle side of the connector from the door, this is done by carefully prying the locking end of the mounting clip and sliding the connector off of the clip, it slides toward the latch, not away from it.



Now to source the pins, I had a couple of the power mirror only adapters sitting around and snagged a couple of pins out of it. Ford uses the pins in a lot of their connectors. They can be in various pigtails from the parts store or junkyard. The pins are also available bare, 25 to a box, from Auveco or Ford. Auveco’s part# 20475 and can be had for cheap online. Ford’s part# on the pins is E7EB-14461-BA, unsure on pricing ATM. If you are scavenging like I did, make sure you have a long enough piece to make a connection. To remove the pins from the connector, look at the back of the connector and you will see a small notch that you can push a pick through, this will unlatch the pin lock, then pull the pin lock out with a pair of needle nose pliers. The carefully lift up on the locking tab to release the pin, and push the pin out through the rear of the connector. This may be tight, but do not bend the pin.





Now to tap the feed for the running/park lights, I wanted to keep things on the fused side of the equation so I pulled it from the back of the relay panel, it is in the 4th plug over from the right on the bottom row.


It is the solid brown wire in position #12, next to the black/pink wire that is the reverse light feed.



I used a t-tap to make the connection.



Time to fish the wire through to the doors. This is where my friend the Gopher comes in handy. It is simply the best $15 piece of plastic I ever bought from my Snap-On man. It has saved me countless hours over the years.



Pull the door conduit away from the vehicle side and fish the tool through from the door side.



Pull your wire through the door conduit.



Now I pulled the kick panels as a precaution but depending on your angle of attack you may not have to. Run your fish tool through the hole in the vehicle side and find where it is coming out at, if there are any moving parts, route the wire away from them. do this for both sides.



The door end of the circuit I ran through the hole in the door that the mirror harness is fed through. More on that next...