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497 Posts
Hi Guys,
I recently picked up a used mini and was thinking of putting a HomeLink garage door opener in it. These things are mighty handy and can replace up to three garage openers, plus they can turn on lights, etc.. I scored two units at two local boneyards today for a total of less than $5, complete with the LHS sun visors they were in (I don't think the yard operators looked too closely at the visors).
I couldn't use the whole visor so the next step was to remove the HomeLink from it, which is not that easy since the visor is not meant to come apart. The plastic bezel with the three buttons will pry off with a flat-bladed screwdriver. After that you pretty much have to strip off the upholstery. Then you can carefully pry out the unit (it's about 2.5"x3"x.6"). If you want to rescue the wiring It's probably easier to disassemble the whole plastic visor, which folds together like a clamshell and can be pried apart with a screwdriver and some effort. Then take out the innards and throw the rest away.
I could not figure out the polarity of the self-contained HomeLink unit (there are only two inputs on mine; a +12 and ground). I looked all over the web and finally found a good article where a guy took a Chrysler unit and remote mounted it in an Audi. This is slick because you can hide the unit and put the switches and LED wherever you want. The link is: 2007 Audi A3 Homelink Install
Incidentally, the + connector is the one closest to the corner of the unit. If your car sits outside your garage, wire the HomeLink to a switched 12v source. Otherwise, someone could get into your car and then open your garage.
Have fun! I hope someone can use this information.
Dodgeboy77
I recently picked up a used mini and was thinking of putting a HomeLink garage door opener in it. These things are mighty handy and can replace up to three garage openers, plus they can turn on lights, etc.. I scored two units at two local boneyards today for a total of less than $5, complete with the LHS sun visors they were in (I don't think the yard operators looked too closely at the visors).
I couldn't use the whole visor so the next step was to remove the HomeLink from it, which is not that easy since the visor is not meant to come apart. The plastic bezel with the three buttons will pry off with a flat-bladed screwdriver. After that you pretty much have to strip off the upholstery. Then you can carefully pry out the unit (it's about 2.5"x3"x.6"). If you want to rescue the wiring It's probably easier to disassemble the whole plastic visor, which folds together like a clamshell and can be pried apart with a screwdriver and some effort. Then take out the innards and throw the rest away.
I could not figure out the polarity of the self-contained HomeLink unit (there are only two inputs on mine; a +12 and ground). I looked all over the web and finally found a good article where a guy took a Chrysler unit and remote mounted it in an Audi. This is slick because you can hide the unit and put the switches and LED wherever you want. The link is: 2007 Audi A3 Homelink Install
Incidentally, the + connector is the one closest to the corner of the unit. If your car sits outside your garage, wire the HomeLink to a switched 12v source. Otherwise, someone could get into your car and then open your garage.
Have fun! I hope someone can use this information.
Dodgeboy77