Pigtail for sideview mirror

Tiny
BUDDY SCHALLENMULLER
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 TOYOTA CAMRY
  • 229,000 MILES
I bought sideview mirrors for both sides of my wife's car (listed above). One came with the pigtail to convert the original horizontal Japanese connector to the square 3-prong American-made connector. The second mirror was missing the pigtail. The seller refunded me for the mirror without the pigtail and told me I could keep the mirror (nice of them!). So now I need to find the pigtail.

A google search has not yielded any part number or even any identification of this part, except that some mirror assemblies indicate that the "Pigtail is included".

Any suggestions on where I can find/order the pigtail by itself?
Friday, June 18th, 2021 AT 4:51 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,572 POSTS
That looks to be something only made for those mirrors as the OEM units would have a long pigtail with the correct connector on it. About the best solution would likely be to look in a salvage yard to see if you can find a mirror and cut the connector off, then buy the connector to fit the mirror you have and make the pigtail. You should be able to find that style connector online if you search for it. What brand are the mirrors and where did you buy them? Perhaps there is a close up of the connector with a part number on it.
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Friday, June 18th, 2021 AT 6:31 PM
Tiny
BUDDY SCHALLENMULLER
  • MEMBER
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Thanks for the reply, Steve! I bought them through Amazon from "Overdrive Brands". They are not the manufacturer, and apparently have limited communication with the manufacturer (Dependable Direct).

I often see the pigtail included in one of the pictures of the mirror assembly, and sometimes the details mention it as well. But - as I said - I haven't been able to find the pigtail itself, by itself.

Apparently the Japanese-made cars had the horizontal connector (which the original mirrors have). Most of the aftermarket assemblies use the American-made style which is a square 3-prong connector. I already installed the right-side mirror and used the pigtail it works perfect. I only need one more pigtail and I can get the left side working.

I'll keep checking around - and even check with the parts department at a local Toyota dealership to see if I can get some leads on it. If a body shop replaced one for someone else that had an American-made Camry, they wouldn't need the pigtail. If they didn't throw it away, I might get lucky and find one.

While I used to "MacGyver" wiring when I was younger, it doesn't have the same appeal to me that it used to. But I may have resort to that if I run out of other options.

Thank you for your suggestions. Please don't hesitate to share any other ideas that come to mind!
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Friday, June 18th, 2021 AT 7:06 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,572 POSTS
Okay, looking around a bit and overdrive is an importer of a lot of things. Dependable is a brand they own and import under the name of. Your car must be one of the Japan built ones but the Chinese factory made the mirrors for the US built vehicles not the Japanese built ones. As such they also make that harness. The US connector design is a part of the door harness. The Japanese built ones use a pigtail that is part of the mirror itself that then plugs into the japanese design door harness connector. The small adapter harness you have isn't an OE part so I doubt you will find one on the shelf.
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Friday, June 18th, 2021 AT 9:08 PM

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