DIY Cheap and Easy Homelink Garage Door Opener Solution

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Therock88

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Hi Group...

Newer to this group, but have been in the Porsche 911 Turbo, Porsche Boxster S, Jaguar F-Type, BMW, and Jeep Wrangler forums for some time. I typically post DIY's for the forum members whenever I feel it may help others and/or solve a common problem. I will likely put this in a PDF format for easy download, but for now, this may help some interested in this solution?

So I was shocked that Garage Door openers (HomeLInk or similar) did not come stock on these trucks? As I was looking at other solutions, some of them are a bit sucky and/or expensive. I also hate carrying a Garage door opener in the cars, or on the visor (OCD).

So for anyone looking for an easy solution, I have outlined a DIY below. Hope it helps.

DC

Gentex makes mirrors for most manufacturers (Nissan/Toyota/Honda etc.) and as luck would have it the mounting plate is exactly what we have in our F-150 Raptors. The specific mirror to get if you are going to do this is the Gentex 453 - It has a built in Compass, Auto Dimming, and 3 Homelink Programable Garage Door Opener buttons. You can find these all over Google, or eBay for $25-$50. Then price the Ford Visor with HomeLink, and you will see why I went this route :)

Gentex 453 Mirror - Note: You can get the Compass in Orange/Amber color, or a Blue/Green color LED
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Any mirror in the F-150 (or at least most) have wiring to them for Auto Dim, or a Light. You can use that for the Gentex, and it looks factory.

You basically splice in to the wiring as indicated below (you need to use the plug end that comes with the Gentex), and slide the old mirror off the windshield mounting block and slide the Gentex on, and you are done. Took me <30 minutes, including figuring out the wiring. I have included the wiring diagrams etc. below, but note some may be different, so just use a multimeter if so.

After you splice the wires, you mount the mirror and plug in the connector, and you are all set. Then just program the door opener buttons. Included that below as well.

Gentex installed in place of OEM Mirror
20210920_220044.jpg

Wiring Diagram - How I did it - Do what works for you. The Constant power from the Gentex can also be switched if you like - Then you just can't use
the openers unless the ignition is on. You can pop down the Overhead Panel (Just pulls down - Held in with clips - to access and tuck the wiring.
Wiring-Diagram.gif

OEM Mirror Wiring/Connector
AD0EE0B0-F361-4216-BB31-BBFC64976237_zpsj4i01gql.jpg

Gentex Wiring/Connector and back of mirror that slides on to windshield.
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Link to a document on how to program the Gentex etc.. Placed this on my cloud drive. LINK HERE
Good luck.
DC
 
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pastorwug

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Great idea, found several ion Ebay and purchased one for $64.
Hoping everything is as straight forward as you found it.
I also have a blendmount for my VAL1 that I'll work around but should work out great.
I'll let you know.

Thanks!
 
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Therock88

Therock88

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Great idea, found several ion Ebay and purchased one for $64.
Hoping everything is as straight forward as you found it.
I also have a blendmount for my VAL1 that I'll work around but should work out great.
I'll let you know.

Thanks!
Yeah...Great! If you get stuck, let me know and I will try to assist. I used this same mirror in my Jeep JK Sahara Unlimited as well...works like a charm! Just make sure to get one with the plug and pigtail wires, as the OEM ford connector won't fit.

Good luck,
DC
 
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Therock88

Therock88

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Y'all don't have the buttons on your sunvisor?
Nope...See my second paragraph "So I was shocked that Garage Door openers (HomeLInk or similar) did not come stock on these trucks?"

That is why I offered this solution. And because if you want to buy the one in the visor, it is pricey...And by pricey, and mean gouging price!

DC

Screenshot 2021-11-08 155233.png
 

HighwaySentinel

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Thanks for sharing this solution. I knew this, too, and I used to put it into practice until my old garage door broke down. It seems that it was of very poor quality. That's what happened to me, and I hope it doesn't happen to you. And from that moment I was very careful about which garage door I would buy to replace it. I didn't want to buy another new one that would break quickly. And after a while of surfing the internet and searching, I found this website https://advantagegd.com/garage-door-sales/ where I liked the doors I saw and ordered, and I am satisfied.

This thread is about garage door opener solutions, not actual garage door sales. Great first post spamming us.
 

The Car Stereo Company

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This thread is about garage door opener solutions, not actual garage door sales. Great first post spamming us.
hey its relevant. maybe he had problems programming his garage door so he decided to replace the garage door to see if it programs to the truck. i mean, cmon now. a garage door is much cheaper to replace than buying a new truck. i would do the same thing if i was an idiot.
 
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