Retrofitting folding mirrors

[paulc_bkk]

Spent the day wrapping it up and gave the car a thorough clean

I’ve read that Carly can automatically fold the mirrors on lock/unlock, but I’ve not tried it yet

[Jl-c]

Rather than quoting the whole post, I am confused by the picture that has the plug labelled 6 and then the table. I have all I need to do the job, I think, except the plug that goes into the white module. The picture says the plug is black, however the other pictures show it as a blue plug. So what would be really useful if someone has the part number I need to order for the blue plug. Thank you in anticipation. Jonathan

[Jl-c]

Rather than quoting the whole post, I am confused by the picture that has the plug labelled 6 and then the table. I have all I need to do the job, I think, except the plug that goes into the white module. The picture says the plug is black, however the other pictures show it as a blue plug. So what would be really useful if someone has the part number I need to order for the blue plug. Thank you in anticipation. Jonathan

Forget it, was being thick, all sorted now. Now just need the time to do the job

[JINGLE]

Good to see 1 of you guys finally sorted it, guess this means we can confirm its definitely doable at least! (That’s already better than what I could find online before this thread!!)

Would you be able to order a spare set of plugs and wires and make up the “loom” as such and sell it as a kit ready to be wired in?

[paulc_bkk]

I’ll go back through my notes and share some more specific findings such as part numbers, connector locations, plug/pin assignments, and lengths of wires I used

I’m currently (on vacation) in the UK but flying back (to Thailand) later today, so it’s unlikely to be until Sunday at the earliest that I can find and make sense of my notes and see what other photos I took at the time of install

Reflection on my install is that while everything works, the passenger side mirror sometimes hesitates a little when folding up. I’m not sure if this is a motor related issue or a power supply issue - it’s possible that I didn’t use a thick enough gauge wire for the power and earth into the module...

[Bufort]

So... Did this ever get a full write-up anywhere? Also, what are the requirements to do it? It seems some cars have the wiring loom in there from factory and some don't, but which models/years have it and which don't? Is it possible without it, just requiring more effort?

[Vanne]

I just removed my power folding mirrors. Parts available.

[Wookster78]

Hi, new to the forum but done many upgrades on my Z4, got all the parts and attempting the power fold retrofit, just wondering if the how to guide ever got completed? Luckily I have all the pre-wiring in my car as it’s an early build but was wondering if anyone had the coding parameters that need to be added? Thanks

[paulc_bkk]

No coding required

The Carly options to auto open/close when locking or unlocking the car don’t work.... and neither does the passenger auto dip when reversing

[Wookster78]

Oh really, I am sure there are two type of power mirrors ones that just fold and ones that have additional motors to dip when reversing, my mirrors have the duel function (11 wires on the harness vs 7 on the other type) when fitted will try Carly to code and report back if it functions

[Wookster78]

Hi all,

Just thought I’d provide an update for anyone that has the pre wiring in their cars and want to retrofit the power fold mirrors.
My car is a jan 2004 build E85 and has the pre wiring as follows:
Drivers door switch to drivers door main coms plug
Drivers door coms plug to control module
Control module to passenger door coms plug

I bought the power mirrors and fitted as previously posted, I then bought the control module and fitted to the existing connection under the dash.
I then tested the system and found that the drivers door worked straight away but the passenger one would not.
Did some more investigation and found that although the car is pre wired for this the cabling in the passenger door is not present.
What I did was run two new cables from the coms port in the passenger door to the control switch in the door panel. Pins 14 and 15 in the coms port and pins 8 and 3 in the door switch.
Once connected both mirrors work perfectly.

Did not need to strip the door just took off the bolt for the coms port switch, took out the window switch in the passenger door and used a coat hanger wire to feed the new wires through. 30 mins max from start to finish. Hope this helps people that want to do the retrofit and already have part pre wiring.

[Vanne]

Oh really, I am sure there are two type of power mirrors ones that just fold and ones that have additional motors to dip when reversing, my mirrors have the duel function (11 wires on the harness vs 7 on the other type) when fitted will try Carly to code and report back if it functions

there are not! no dipping of mirrors when backing out. will not function regardless of how mush you wish/hope for it.

[Wookster78]

Confirmed no dipping of mirrors

[Zulu4]

I have nearly completed this project too.

I'd like to thank paulc_bkk and AngryZed for their photos and explanations. Pretty much everything I needed to know was gleaned from this thread and the BMW WDS wiring diagrams. It seems a bit daunting at first but when you go through it methodically, it all falls in to place.

https://bmwteka.com/wds/ru/e85/e9f279d9

I'd also like to thank Umfaan (Barry) for not only selling me the powerfold/dimming mirrors, door switches and control module but also (and without prompting) asking if I'd like the old door wiring harnesses and control module connector plug. This proved to be a great help since without these the job would have been more challenging, in particular the control module plug would be tricky to source.

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I started by pulling the outer shells of the mirrors off (silver) and swapping them with my current shells (Montego blue).

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I then stripped out my door loom and got ready to replace with the donor loom:

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I found that as the donor loom came from a pre-facelift car, it only had two wires going to the window motor plug, whereas post facelift looms have four wires. So, I swapped the window motor looms over. The BMW wiring connectors are really easy to de-pin and then re-insert into a new connector block.

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All I needed to do then was connect everything up ! Fortunately, as I now had two spare door looms with loads of different pin types, I was easily able to cobble together lengths of wires to go from the door hinge to the control module. You only need two wires for the passenger's side and three from the driver's side.

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[Zulu4]

The 12v power for the module, as stated by paul_bkk, comes from pin 8 of the purple X11004 block on the fuse board. Fortunately, one of the spare window power wires I was left with had exactly the right connector on the end and just pushed in (this is indeed protected by fuse 27). The blue/white wire here :

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A point of interest is that ALL driver's side window switches have the ability to add the powerfold button - while pulling the switches apart for cleaning and painting, I found that the contacts are in there, it just needs a hole drilling in the plastic casing and a suitable button inserting (maybe 3D printed):

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From TIS I have worked out that this button simply momentarily connects the blue/purple wire going into pin 12 of the control module to ground, which then either folds or unfolds the mirror. I'm not sure if folding on locking is available via coding, but if not I guess it could be done via a signal (and relay maybe) to momentarily ground this wire.

Here's another photo of the driver's door connector (X257). The white dots are where the new wires go into pins 13, 14, 15. Note that these connectors are held to the car by a bolt at the top, but they then must then be moved up by about 5mm to release a tab at the bottom. This one has that tab snapped off.

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Some more random photos:

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In between snow showers, I'm currently fitting the control box in to place. It goes above and behind the fuse box (RHD car) and can be accessed more easily by lowering the GM5 module.

I'll then have a look at wiring up the electrochromic dimming, but I'm not too bothered about that yet.


If anyone wants any more photos or info, ask quick before I put everything back together !