wireman

I have a 2011 HHR LT. I don't know if any HHR's came with the Home link option from the factory. I have looked at a couple aftermarket kits on Ebay and other sources.
So a couple questions, was it a factory option on any HHR trim level and where were the buttons mounted ?
2, has anyone added a aftermarket kit to there HHR?
For anyone not familiar with Home link, it replaces any garage door opener or security gate opener with flush mounted buttons mounted on the sun visor or the headliner. Therefore no need to keep those bulky openers in your car.
Thanks for any posts in advance. Wireman

Lucky

The hhr never came with the home link option. However some people have added them to the hhr. Use the search bar at the top of the page and type in home link and it will pull up mutable threads to read over.

wireman

10-4 LUCKY. Thanks for the info.
Anyone else come up with a solution who didn't post on the subject. Wireman

MrCatPC

I have been away from the forums a long time, now having a budget for possible mods on my 2006 2LT & doing my research...

If you are still investigating this project, I suggest you take a look at circa 2006 VW Beetle driver side visor with the vanity mirror, which has HomeLink 3-button controller built into it. My mom drives that Beetle & I programmed her visor to open her garage door for her. Why am I talking about a VW Beetle on our HHR forum?

That Beetle just so happens to use a sliding visor just like the HHR! My bet is that the wiring would withstand the bend/stretch necessary to be compatible with our HHR visor functionality while getting power/data through the visor support rail attaching it to the headliner. I pondered doing this sort of mod, too, but I had better invest in a garage first, so I can justify the mod, right? (:K

Let me know if I can clarify further or if you need pics. She's visiting us next weekend and will arrive in her li'l red bug so the visor I have seen will be handy soon...

a_bartle

I installed one in my '06 Pontiac Torrent just below the doom light (which the doom light opening gave me easy access to the headliner). I was looking at HHR and was wondering how I could do it again. Not sure if the mic in the headliner (for On-Star) is easy to remove, and thus again giving me access to the underside of the headliner (without completely taking it down). Another "thought" I had, maybe installing it in the dash to the left of the steering wheel (seems to be a large open space there). I'd be surprised if "someone" hasn't made this mod.... would be nice to see what others did????

amarv12

New guy here, just got my SS a few weeks ago, retrofitting the Homelink was one of my first mods. With how cheap these things are at junkyards, I have retrofitted them in each of my last four vehicles, love em.

Anyway, here is what I did...

I considered a lot of different spots, into the headliner, on top or in front of the RPD, various spots on the dash or console, into the visor... after a lot if brainstorming, I found a spot I really liked. Under the steering wheel into the knee-panel.

Had to start out by cutting out a small section of the white panel (with how little was removed and what i have added, not worried about integrity during a collision).



Sanded down the backside of the black panel so that the homelink could sit more flush. Siliconed the homelink housing and the faceplate to the black panel; since the panel was too thick to allow the buttons to make contact with the switches, I had to cut some small aluminum cylinders to "extend" the buttons and make contact with the switches again. The spacers are sandwiched in between the housing and the faceplate and held captive in there.





Final product:



I was worried about range in this location, but it works great, further then my regular garage door opener.

a_bartle

Amarv12, that is "exactly" where I was thinking about putting one too! However, I hadn't done the research yet, so thanks for the information (and pics). You mentioned making "extenders" for the buttons, can you expand on that a little more? Any problems getting the homelink outer housing (button cover) to fasten with the added thickness of the kick panel (or does it not even snap to the homelink housing anymore, just the kick panel...)?

Oldblue

Amarv12, nest mod , just need a few more details like what did it come out of and where did you wire it to?? Are there just the power , switched power and ground wires??

And Welcome to the site!!

a_bartle

I'm going to go a little different route. Bought this on eBay today, it's a HomeLink from a Land Rover. Seems like it'll have more of a "Pod" look on the lower dash. I hope I'll have enough clearance! Wish me luck.

amarv12

Happy to help. The extension pieces are made from an aluminum [round] rod that I had laying around; basically I just cut 3 small pieces off and used them in between the rubber part of the buttons and the switches inside the housing.... there is a little "well" in the housing that they slide into and stay inside of. The length of those cylinders depends on how much material you are stuffing between the housing and the faceplate, I had to fine tune it... if the cylinders were too long, the buttons stay pressed all the time, too short and i wouldn't be able to press the switches. I will have to try and take some pictures on a spare module later, that would be much more clear than a wall of text. In my case, the thickness of the black panel was such that the faceplate could no longer snap into the housing.... with the setup i created, it doesn't snap into the black panel either (the press fit studs on the faceplate break apart after just a few uses anyway, so probably not worth the hassle to go that route) that's why the both the housing and the faceplate are siliconed to the black panel.

I got this one a long time ago, I believe it came from a Lincoln Mark VIII??? The black faceplates were a little harder for me to find at my local u-pull-it joint, but the Mark VIII had them i belive; they are easy to paint if you can only find another color. Just needs 12V const and ground, I tapped a fused line into my dome light circuit for 12V const, its a very small load, and used a bolt near the interior fusebox as a ground.