Compass, and Temperature, and Auto Dim! Oh, My!

One of the features that the Envoy didn't have that the Suburban did is the interior rear view mirror with the compass, temperature, and auto dim features. I really got used to this feature on the Suburban and had no idea how much I would miss knowing what the temperature was until I didn't have it on the Envoy!

Since we bought the Envoy, I occasionally do some browsing on a Trailblazer/Enovy website and forum, http://www.trailvoy.com/. It seems that many other people miss the same features on their interior rear view mirror, and someone had done some research and written an article on how to add a mirror with these additional features. The article can be seen HERE.

The first step was finding a donor mirror. This was a little more difficult than I thought. Since our Envoy was originally a rental car, it was ordered without OnStar. The issue this was creating is that most cars come with OnStar and have it mounted on the rear view mirror. So, finding a mirror with the compass, temperature, auto dim features, and passenger air bag light WITHOUT OnStar was challenging. After a little searching on eBay, I found one out of a totalled out 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The company that sold it is LKQ Corporation and were very easy to work with. The mirror arrived in a few days and was in really good condition.

The next step was getting a few smaller parts. I needed the Ambient Air Temperature Sensor (GM Part #15047946), wiring harness with pigtail (GM Part #12101856), female terminals (Delphi Part #12191818), and cable seals (Delphi Part #15366021). I ordered the Ambient Air Temperature Sensor and wiring harness from Rock Auto and the Delphi parts from Mouser. I had a very good experience with both these companies.

Now, onto the installation. If you would like in depth details of the installation, refer back to the original article HERE. First, I removed the cable cover which was held in by a clip on one end and a grove on the other. Removal involved collapsing it into itself. Next, I unplugged the existing wiring harness. Then, using a Torx driver, I loosened and removed the mirror mounting screw. Now, slide the old mirror off, slide the new mirror on, then install and tighten the mounting screw, plug the wiring harness in, and reinstall the cable cover.

The next part is not very difficult, but can take a little while if you do it the way I did. I wanted to keep the look under the hood as factory as possible, so we (Dad and I) took the time to feed the wires needed to connect the Ambient Air Temperature Sensor to the factory harness plug, into the factory wiring loom. This involved taking the battery out and unclipping the loom from the engine compartment. When we were done, the installation was completely factory looking and no one will be able to tell this feature was added!

After we got the parts installed and the wires ran, we got the Envoy back together, turned the key on, and everything worked!! Once again, I have an interior rear view mirror with the compass, temperature, and auto dim features! Overall I was very happy with how easy this installation was and am very thankful for finding the instructions on TrailVoy!

Inventory/Cost:

Mirror Assembly - $ 36.71

Ambient Air Temperature Sensor - $15.06

Wiring Harness with Pigtail - $12.20

Female Terminals (2) - $0.26

Cable Seal (2) - $0.08

Total - $64.31

The Pheonix is Flying Again!

Mileage: 88,443

Today I finally got the Trans Am out of storage and moving! The past few days have been nice, but we needed a good rainfall to wash some of the salt and dirt off the roads. Well, the other night we got a good thunderstorm, so Maeve and I headed out for a quick trip around the lake and down the highway!

I am hoping this year I will be able to get started on some of the Trans Am projects that I have been putting off and acquiring parts for over the last couple years! I know that the exhaust, heater core, and blower motor will be done for sure and I would love to get some of these interior pieces painted and installed so they aren't taking up so much room inside the house!

...gone!

Well, it's official. As of today, April 7th, 2011 there is no more snow in our yard! What little bit was left, vanished quickly with the temperatures in the 50's! The kids have pretty much been living outside since we have had nicer weather. They both LOVE the swing set and we have even been to the park a couple times! So, I leave you with the last couple "snow related" front and back yard shots of the year. We might possibly still get a little snow, but whatever we get won't stick around for long!

Going, going...

The below pictures were taken today. Pretty much all of the snow in the front yard is gone, and the only snow in the back yard is close to the house where the sun doesn't hit directly. As you can see it is leaving pretty fast! I'm guessing, since they are predicting temperatures in the 50's for the rest of the week, by this weekend, we might be 100% snow free!

Enovy Update:

So far, both Shannon and I love the Envoy. The first tank of gas that we put in it was all city driving and we got 15 mpg, which is considerably better than the 8 to 10 mpg we were used to with the Suburban! The Envoy didn't need much when we bought it, but a couple things did need some attention. It only came with one keyless entry remote, so I found another on eBay for $13! I also had to fix the center console armrest, which just needed to be reinforced. The last thing it needed was to have the rear license plate pocket to lift gate gasket replaced. This is a VERY common part to go bad on Envoy's and Trailblazer's so I wasn't too surprised mine needed it also. The part was $14, and took about an hour to fix! In the below picture, the gasket that I replaced is the small black strip surrounding the license plate pocket.