how to fix broken LCD rear view mirror glass

yoyoshopping · 09-14-2005, 10:01 PM

Hi,
My audiovox LCD rear view mirror glass is cracked . The LCD behind the glass is intact. Is there any replacement glass I can buy to fix it? If I buy a normal rear view mirror and cut its glass to fit, will it work? Not sure if the LCD will still show through?
Thank you so much! Please help!
yoyo

xdjxklusivex · 09-14-2005, 10:13 PM

you can prolly make your own search displays in mirrors or something like that

yoyoshopping · 09-14-2005, 10:32 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by xdjxklusivex

you can prolly make your own search displays in mirrors or something like that

The LCD screen is beneath the glass. I did google around and it shows me pages of LCD mirror product, have not found any link about what kind of glass that is yet....

I could spend 30$ or $40 on ebay to buy a mirror, but not sure if this mirror is any special since the LCD must be able to show through when turned on.

any idea?

thank you!

turbocad6 · 09-14-2005, 10:52 PM

most regular mirrors are coated on the rear & not transparent, but you can usually scrape the rear coating off just where you need the sqare to be transparent...if you do this neat enough it may look o.k. in the end

another choice is to recreate the shape from regular glass & then just mirror tint it, the lcd should show through that fine & it should still be pretty usable as a mirror, althouh the first methiod would give better results if you can do it neat enough.......

yoyoshopping · 09-15-2005, 09:38 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

most regular mirrors are coated on the rear & not transparent, but you can usually scrape the rear coating off just where you need the sqare to be transparent...if you do this neat enough it may look o.k. in the end

another choice is to recreate the shape from regular glass & then just mirror tint it, the lcd should show through that fine & it should still be pretty usable as a mirror, althouh the first methiod would give better results if you can do it neat enough.......

Thank you very much!

I took apart the mirror. The glass is really nothing special - it is just a piece of tinted FLAT glass with a piece of black foil (sort of) taped to the glass. The place for LCD is left out so LCD can show through.

what confuses me is: shouldn't rear view mirror be thicker on top and thiner on bottom (a wedger shape)?

this mirror is dim even at broad daylight - probably that is how they made it so that it can be flat and not too bright at night.

Any idea?

thanks

turbocad6 · 09-15-2005, 10:18 AM

it sounds like the mirror they made isn't a normal conventional mirror, they used paper backing instead of coating it... you could also experiment with tinted glass...mask off the square, then paint the rest silver, then back it with black... the trick will be to not melt the tint with the paint....experiment & spray very dry coats

as far as having it be two way like a conventional rear view mirror, I think that would be very difficult.... the only way I can think of attempting this would be to start with an oem mirror & open it & see if you can adapt it somehow.... don't think you'll have much success there though... you should just settle for getting it back to what it was...

yoyoshopping · 09-15-2005, 10:54 AM

These are the pictures of the LCD mirror from audiovox (part of RVMPKG3) the mirror itself is RVM3.
It is kind of bad for such an expensive kit that they use such cheap flat glass ....

What is the copper foil glue to the glass for? The wire is soldered to the LCD screen frame, and to the circuit board - appear to be ground only.
So is it for grounding? (doubt it) - or for releasing heat (I guess so). How much heat that little 4" LCD monitor is going to generate...

pictures for your enjoyment

turbocad6 · 09-15-2005, 11:05 AM

you got me...the fact that it is copper would make you think it's for heat.....

turbocad6 · 09-15-2005, 11:09 AM

have you contacted audiovox & asked about a replacement glass...

yoyoshopping · 09-15-2005, 11:17 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

have you contacted audiovox & asked about a replacement glass...

yes. they said they do not have it. Only replacement mirror (RVM3) which costs around 180$ on the web.

I will settle with a plain tinted glass for now... I can even peel off the backing from the broken glass

I guess homedepot would have this kind of glass....

thank you so much for the help! I thought it was all magic glass

yoyoshopping · 09-17-2005, 01:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

... you could also experiment with tinted glass...mask off the square, then paint the rest silver, then back it with black... the trick will be to not melt the tint with the paint....experiment & spray very dry coats
...

Did not realize how hard it is to find a tinted glass... nobody has it!
Maybe I should get a regular glass and order a two-way mirror for later use....

turbocad6 · 09-17-2005, 01:08 PM

dude, clear glass & then mirror tint film...

turbocad6 · 09-17-2005, 01:09 PM

if you back that up with paint it should be real close.... experiment with it really....