Greg Gore

Can I retrofit power defrost mirrors on an 03 Venture that has power mirrors now? I guess what I am asking is what else in involved such as switches and relays? Is the wiring harness with plugs most likely already present?

Thanks, Greg

GregA

Hey Greg,

I would 'guess' that everything necessary is already there.

I checked the factory manual and it says that the heated mirrors are given power through the Rear Defogger Switch. So if you have the rear defogger (and it works), you have the switching circuits needed.

There is also a fuse for the heated mirrors. It is fuse #14 on this page. The picture on that page shows my van, which does not have heated mirrors (as far as I know), but the fuse is there.

What I would do as a test is:
1 - Make sure power (12 Volts) is available at the fuse when the Rear Defogger is switched on. Use a test light or volt meter.
2 - Take the door trim panel off (if necessary), find the connector for the power mirror, and check that there is an ORANGE wire there. This is the wire that carries the power to the heater. Test that there is 12 volts there when the defogger is switched on. There should also be a BLACK Ground wire right next to it.

If all that works, you should be OK.

Take Care,

__________________
Greg A.
2001 Chevy Venture w/some "enhancements" ~ 72K Miles (July 2007)
1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo, 4.0L, Automatic ~ 131K Miles (July 2007)

Greg Gore

Thanks for the very helpful reply Greg A. I do have the rear defogger so hopefully the orange wire will be there. I see heated mirrors are available used for a reasonable price and I would like to see if I can install them. I bought an overhead console and with tips you provided on your webpage I will try to install it soon and see how much of it I can get working.

Regards, Greg

GregA

Guess what? It appears that I DO have heated outside mirrors!

It was about 40 degrees this morning and I needed to turn on the rear defogger to burn some of the dew off. After having the defogger on for a few minutes, I decided to check the outside mirror to see if it was warm. Sure enough - when I used the back of my fingers to check - it felt WARM.

It wasn't all over, but mostly close to the center-right (driver-side mirror). I had my son check the other side when he got out at school (only about a 5 minute drive), and he confirmed that the passenger side mirror was warm also.

So you original question helped me discovery another 'option' that I didn't even know I had

You might want to check your current mirrors also, before buying replacements.

Take Care,

__________________
Greg A.
2001 Chevy Venture w/some "enhancements" ~ 72K Miles (July 2007)
1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo, 4.0L, Automatic ~ 131K Miles (July 2007)

gls02

For those of you not sure if you have heated mirrors as a option might just want to check your vehicles RPO codes. The RPO codes can be found in different places. My RPO codes are listed on the air pump cover (left inside rear) of the vehicle. Some are located in the glovebox. The RPO codes can be looked up on line.

Greg Gore

The RPO code sticker for my 03 Venture is located on the back of the glove box door. I was able to find out that code DR5 was for "outside mirrors LH & RH remote control electric heated". C49 is for "rear window electric defroster" and I have that also. My rear window defroster works normally but the mirrors do not heat when the defroster is turned on so I have some circuit tracing to do; possibly a faulty relay. Is it possible DR5 and C49 are always grouped together?

Regards, Greg

GregA

Hey Greg,

Check it out. I just noticed that there are TWO fuses listed for the Heated Mirrors in my fuse panel. #14 & #15 (See here - Chevy Venture Fuses).

Did you check BOTH of those fuses?

Take Care,

__________________
Greg A.
2001 Chevy Venture w/some "enhancements" ~ 72K Miles (July 2007)
1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo, 4.0L, Automatic ~ 131K Miles (July 2007)

Greg Gore

Thanks for the info you posted Greg A.; very helpful. I printed it out and armed with a test light went out to take a look at it; clicked the switch on and wouldn't you know it started working and the mirrors heated up! I will keep an eye on it and see if I have an intermittent. The heated mirrors will be nice to have in NC as most of the time during the Winter the windows and mirrors are iced up in the mornings.

Thanks, Greg