BLIS - Additional LED Mod (How To)

[Kodiak]

Shout out to Buyer2021 for supplying the pdf wiring diagrams and who’s testing made this mod possible.

Background – I love the BLIS system, but I found it lacking in a couple of areas. After driving a vehicle that had the BLIS warning in the side mirror and in a HUD, this just made the deficiencies even worse to me. Maybe it is due to age, but I just found my peripheral vision was not enough to alert me to BLIS activation and I would have to physically turn my head, then refocus on the BLIS in the side mirror, then either focus on the side mirror or return my head to looking forward if BLIS was active. Direct sunlight did not help either. I wanted something more.

(3) BLIS - Alternative Option For Interior Signal Experiment (Edit) | F150gen14.com -- 2021+ Ford F-150, Tremor, Raptor Forum (14th Gen) | Owners, News, Discussions

This link is to a thread that was previously started and shows a little of the evolution about this mod. This goes into the background and why this was settled on the positioning and what is easily possible for this mod. The wiring and an easy spot to place the additional BLIS light had a lot to do with everything.

In the first picture you will see that I settled on a Chanzon 5mm 12v prewired frosted LED (Amazon) and a metal LED housing that had the LED just sticking out from the housing. I tried about 4 different 12v LED’s and I settled on the amber (orange) color for that frosted LED. This was the most pleasing look and brightness IMO. I also tried about 4 different housings and settled on the metal housing with the silver finish. This housing felt far more robust than the plastic housings and although I could not use the provided LED holder for those housings, I was able to use some rubber electrical tape and made a plug myself. The housing for the 5mm LED’s come with a plug that holds the LED in place, but that is for an LED that is plain without any resistor. I used the LED with the resistor already attached so I improvised. You will see this in the picture of the LED and housings. BLIS 1.

This next picture just shows the positioning of where I wanted to place the housing for the new additional BLIS light. Be sure your positioning does not interfere with any connectors or bolts.

This next picture shows the truck’s interior cover for the mirror wiring. This could not be more convenient.

In the wiring diagram for the LEFT BLIS MIRROR (Driver side) you will see the diagram for connection C521. This shows that wires 13 and 20 are the wires that are connected with the BLIS alert in the mirror. In the picture you will see the test set up with the LED positive lead (orange) going to wire 13 and the LED’s ground wire (black) going to wire 20. This worked perfectly with the truck’s regular BLIS alert in the side mirror and both the alert and new LED activated together. I used the Posi Tap 20-22 gauge to tap into those original BLIS wires (13 and 20) to make my connection for the additional LED.

NOTE: In the wiring diagram pdf (at the bottom of this post) you see what the wiring diagram C521 would look like from the other side of the connection. When you look at the wires after removing that cover you are seeing a mirror image of the wires in the pdf. You can tell by the side that the locking connector is on and space 21 has no wire in it. Use this missing space (21) as your guide.

NOTE: The passenger side connection (C622) was actually completely flipped over in the truck. Again you have to use the empty wire space (21) to be your judge. Wires 13 and 20 are the also the BLIS wires for the passenger side so use their location in relation to the missing 21 wire and look at the wires colors in the wiring pdf file. Just double check, and it is easy.

These next pictures just show the test LED removed and the final LED housing attached to the plastic cover in the position that I determined earlier. I used a 5/16 drill bit for this particular housing and tested it on a block of wood first. The hole for the LED and housing was perfect. I then threaded the wires through and attached them to the Posi Taps and tightened down the housing. Then just snapped the interior cover back on.

These next pictures show the additional alert LED both on and off. The direct sunlight washed out the truck’s side mirror BLIS but it lights up just the same as before. Although this is really just a limitation of the camera’s exposure it highlights one of the issues I have when direct sunlight is on that mirror. It makes it harder for me to see the side mirror BLIS and I have to really focus on it to see it. This additional BLIS light inside the cab helps that tremendously.

These next 3 pictures give you another drivers view of this mod both on and off.

Final thoughts. This mod ended up better than expected. While I would love this BLIS information in a HUD that just is not in the cards for the F-150 and I doubt that will happen anytime soon. I now find that when I get the thought to change lanes, I can quickly just glance my eye down to see if it is active or if I want to go further with the lane change mechanics. I do not have to take my eyes off the road and turn my head to find the mirror or the BLIS in the mirror only to have to refocus on the road if something is there. This ended up being a wonderful compromise on the BLIS position and with a small 5mm LED, it is not a distraction in the least.

I still have to do the passenger side and that will just be repeating the same process so I did not do that yet and worked on this write up. Although I believe the interior passenger side new BLIS light will be significantly easier to see, I do not believe it will have the same impact that the driver side has. You will still have to turn your head to see the light, but it will be easier to see.

Good luck if this helps anyone and as always, proceed at your own risk.

Sponsored

 

[Buyer2021]

I like it, kudos! Thanks for the many pics of the system in action.

Having the TT mirrors with the BLIS warning even farther outboard than your standard mirrors even when not extended, I really like this.

I'm a tad unclear on sourcing the exact LED & silver bezel / housing components used for your final installation - would you please post the link(s) required to replicate your installation?

TIA

 

[Grafx36510]

Excellent write up @Kodiak!

 

[Kodiak]

I like it, kudos! Thanks for the many pics of the system in action.

Having the TT mirrors with the BLIS warning even farther outboard than your standard mirrors even when not extended, I really like this.

I'm a tad unclear on sourcing the exact LED & silver bezel / housing components used for your final installation - would you please post the link(s) required to replicate your installation?

TIA

Here you go! These were on Amazon. I tried about 4 housings and 4 different LEDs and this was the best combination IMO.

 

[9663mu]

Perry cool! Reminds me of the Audis blind spot. Another forum member who is a lot handier then me

 

[StoneGray22]

Very cool, glad to see you were able to find a housing and led that would work together for the project. Done any night time driving yet? If so, thoughts on the brightness in that situation?

 

[Kodiak]

Very cool, glad to see you were able to find a housing and led that would work together for the project. Done any night time driving yet? If so, thoughts on the brightness in that situation?

I just did some night driving and the frosted LED is just a pleasant glow. Not distracting or overly bright in the least. It is just another little light among many.

Now at night this has diminished value as the regular BLIS light in the dark really stands out and is easy to see. It stands out at night so much that just a quick flick of your head and you will know if it is on without having to focus your eyes to look for the little light in the mirror. My big issue is during the day. The mirror BLIS light is harder to see so I have to shift my eyes focus to find it. Then shift the focus back to the road if it is on.

The closer you sit to the steering wheel, or the further away to your peripheral vision that original BLIS light is, just makes it that little bit harder to see and find in the day.

With that said this was nice to just have a BLIS light inside the cab that is easy to identify without having to take my eyes off the road, or turn my head.

 

[DcnPat]

Just wondering if you could have achieved a hud style alert by placing the led in the dash near the windshield. My wife's Subaru Outback has 3 leds close to the windshield in front of the driver for blis and other alerts and they reflect off the windshield.

 

[Old Bear]

Excellent write-up! I made the habit of looking in the TT convex mirror which allows me to see the blindspots. But this is still a great idea, and I will have to give this one some thought as an add-on myself!

 

[sbi]

Great write-up @Kodiak . Thank you!

Just wondering if you could have achieved a hud style alert by placing the led in the dash near the windshield. My wife's Subaru Outback has 3 leds close to the windshield in front of the driver for blis and other alerts and they reflect off the windshield.

Just the other week I talked about it with my oldest daughter and her husband, how I don't like the fact that I need to turn my head to the edge of the mirrors just to see if I can even think of a turn. I would love to have an additional indicator like this in front of me. I can see the one that @Kodiak did here to be very helpful on the driver's side, but I think that the same thing on the passenger's side would have little to no help at all. If you move your eyes to the right to look at that location on the passenger's side, you would probably see the original BLIS on the mirror as well. A HUD style or somewhere in the dash area would be ideal.

 

[Kodiak]

Just wondering if you could have achieved a hud style alert by placing the led in the dash near the windshield. My wife's Subaru Outback has 3 leds close to the windshield in front of the driver for blis and other alerts and they reflect off the windshield.

This was part of my original idea. I thought I would have some kind of LED that was on the dashboard on either side of the steering wheel section. I even looked at the small amber lights people put on top of the trucks. Like 5 of them but I would use one on each side on the driver dash so I could easy see it while looking straight. However that was before I found out the easy access wiring in the door panel. I though was easier than wiring through the dash.

I figured with the ease of this mod I would try it and if it did not work out I could go the more complicated route. However this really exceeded my expectations. It works great for me. It is a compromise on the location, but it is simple.

Great write-up @Kodiak . Thank you!

Just the other week I talked about it with my oldest daughter and her husband, how I don't like the fact that I need to turn my head to the edge of the mirrors just to see if I can even think of a turn. I would love to have an additional indicator like this in front of me. I can see the one that @Kodiak did here to be very helpful on the driver's side, but I think that the same thing on the passenger's side would have little to no help at all. If you move your eyes to the right to look at that location on the passenger's side, you would probably see the original BLIS on the mirror as well. A HUD style or somewhere in the dash area would be ideal.

Yes the passenger side will be the biggest compromise for this mod. However that is the side that really gives me the most grief. In the sun I just have a hard time looking for the BLIS in the passenger side mirror. I really do not like the focus I have to give it to see if it is activated. I also plan on possibly getting an ARE Topper so seeing out the side will be even harder. This will give me a wonderful little LED on the inside of the truck, probably shaded in its location, and while I still will have to turn to look, I should be able to pick it up significantly faster.

 

[WalterMitty]

Shout out to Buyer2021 for supplying the pdf wiring diagrams and who’s testing made this mod possible.

Background – I love the BLIS system, but I found it lacking in a couple of areas. After driving a vehicle that had the BLIS warning in the side mirror and in a HUD, this just made the deficiencies even worse to me. Maybe it is due to age, but I just found my peripheral vision was not enough to alert me to BLIS activation and I would have to physically turn my head, then refocus on the BLIS in the side mirror, then either focus on the side mirror or return my head to looking forward if BLIS was active. Direct sunlight did not help either. I wanted something more.

(3) BLIS - Alternative Option For Interior Signal Experiment (Edit) | F150gen14.com -- 2021+ Ford F-150, Tremor, Raptor Forum (14th Gen) | Owners, News, Discussions

This link is to a thread that was previously started and shows a little of the evolution about this mod. This goes into the background and why this was settled on the positioning and what is easily possible for this mod. The wiring and an easy spot to place the additional BLIS light had a lot to do with everything.

In the first picture you will see that I settled on a Chanzon 5mm 12v prewired frosted LED (Amazon) and a metal LED housing that had the LED just sticking out from the housing. I tried about 4 different 12v LED’s and I settled on the amber (orange) color for that frosted LED. This was the most pleasing look and brightness IMO. I also tried about 4 different housings and settled on the metal housing with the silver finish. This housing felt far more robust than the plastic housings and although I could not use the provided LED holder for those housings, I was able to use some rubber electrical tape and made a plug myself. The housing for the 5mm LED’s come with a plug that holds the LED in place, but that is for an LED that is plain without any resistor. I used the LED with the resistor already attached so I improvised. You will see this in the picture of the LED and housings. BLIS 1.

This next picture just shows the positioning of where I wanted to place the housing for the new additional BLIS light. Be sure your positioning does not interfere with any connectors or bolts.

This next picture shows the truck’s interior cover for the mirror wiring. This could not be more convenient.

In the wiring diagram for the LEFT BLIS MIRROR (Driver side) you will see the diagram for connection C521. This shows that wires 13 and 20 are the wires that are connected with the BLIS alert in the mirror. In the picture you will see the test set up with the LED positive lead (orange) going to wire 13 and the LED’s ground wire (black) going to wire 20. This worked perfectly with the truck’s regular BLIS alert in the side mirror and both the alert and new LED activated together. I used the Posi Tap 20-22 gauge to tap into those original BLIS wires (13 and 20) to make my connection for the additional LED.

NOTE: In the wiring diagram pdf (at the bottom of this post) you see what the wiring diagram would look like from the other side of the connection. When you look at the wires after removing that cover you are seeing a mirror image of the wires in the pdf. You can tell by the side that the locking connector is on and space 21 has no wire in it. Use this missing space (21) as your guide.

These next pictures just show the test LED removed and the final LED housing attached to the plastic cover in the position that I determined earlier. I used a 5/16 drill bit for this particular housing and tested it on a block of wood first. The hole for the LED and housing was perfect. I then threaded the wires through and attached them to the Posi Taps and tightened down the housing. Then just snapped the interior cover back on.

These next pictures show the additional alert LED both on and off. The direct sunlight washed out the truck’s side mirror BLIS but it lights up just the same as before. Although this is really just a limitation of the camera’s exposure it highlights one of the issues I have when direct sunlight is on that mirror. It makes it harder for me to see the side mirror BLIS and I have to really focus on it to see it. This additional BLIS light inside the cab helps that tremendously.

These next 3 pictures give you another drivers view of this mod both on and off.

Final thoughts. This mod ended up better than expected. While I would love this BLIS information in a HUD that just is not in the cards for the F-150 and I doubt that will happen anytime soon. I now find that when I get the thought to change lanes, I can quickly just glance my eye down to see if it is active or if I want to go further with the lane change mechanics. I do not have to take my eyes off the road and turn my head to find the mirror or the BLIS in the mirror only to have to refocus on the road if something is there. This ended up being a wonderful compromise on the BLIS position and with a small 5mm LED, it is not a distraction in the least.

I still have to do the passenger side and that will just be repeating the same process so I did not do that yet and worked on this write up. Although I believe the interior passenger side new BLIS light will be significantly easier to see, I do not believe it will have the same impact that the driver side has. You will still have to turn your head to see the light, but it will be easier to see.

Good luck if this helps anyone and as always, proceed at your own risk.

I too wish my F150 had the warning light on the interior, and much closer to your peripheral vision. My wife has a QX80, and it has a nice oblong/pill shaped light on the inside right about where you did your mod (bit it's bit larger than yours). After a very short while, it becomes very intuitive and you just see it, and I think it's a lot safer than Ford's design.

Great work on your mod.

 

[Kodiak]

I too wish my F150 had the warning light on the interior, and much closer to your peripheral vision. My wife has a QX80, and it has a nice oblong/pill shaped light on the inside right about where you did your mod (bit it's bit larger than yours). After a very short while, it becomes very intuitive and you just see it, and I think it's a lot safer than Ford's design.

Great work on your mod.

My dad bought a Santa Fe and it has Hyundia's version of BLIS in the mirror and in a HUD. That HUD was fantastic and I believe is the "Holy Grail" for safety. Of course you have to have a HUD to get it.

I am in the process of getting a Lexus and sadly (I believe) they do not have that BLIS info in the HUD. A missed safety opportunity.

 

[BarryT82]

If you wanted a cleaner look you could get this trim piece with the blue cruise sensor built in. Replace the sensor with the LED and it would shine through.

 

[Kodiak]

If you wanted a cleaner look you could get this trim piece with the blue cruise sensor built in. Replace the sensor with the LED and it would shine through.

Thanks for posting this. This may be worth a look for future "upgrades".

Are those lights shining through or just a reflection of something?

Sponsored