E85 wing mirrors not working

[Zedebee]

Hi all. Just replaced the mismatched wing mirrors on my project car, but the mirror tilt function is not working on both sides.

Background:
- 03 2.5i originally fitted with power fold mirrors, but one had clearly been knocked off and replaced with a non-powerfold in the wrong colour. The powerfold function was working on the original mirror, but the mirror tilt function was not working on either mirror.
- both mirrors removed and replaced with a matching non-powerfold pair this weekend.
- electrical connections behind the door cards both looked OK, although somebody has obviously been in there before.
- fuse 21 looks OK.

Any ideas what may be the problem?

 

[Dr. Zed]

Have you got any way to pull any codes up mate?
I'd also check if there's power actually getting to the mirrors through the connectors using a voltmeter.

Starting points I'd recommend before you start pulling stuff off.

 

[enuff_zed]

Pretty sure it'll be the rocker switch on the drivers door.
The fact someone has been there before implies they've already tried to fix it.
I tried cleaning mine but it didn't work.
New ones are expensive, but I had to bite the bullet as there were no used ones on the market at the time.

Also, bear in mind that the trim comes in different colours, but you can easily swap yours onto the new unit.

There are also some LH drive versions on ebay. The switch layout is the same though, so I wonder whether it is just the trim piece on top that is handed?

 

[Zulu4]

I'd also bet on the rocker switch. Maybe ask Bigwinn or Umfaan if they've got a spare ?

 

[bigwinn]

I'd also bet on the rocker switch. Maybe ask Bigwinn or Umfaan if they've got a spare ?

I’ve sold my stock one but you are welcome to borrow the one I got on the new car… it deffo works

 

[enuff_zed]

I'd also bet on the rocker switch. Maybe ask Bigwinn or Umfaan if they've got a spare ?

I’ve sold my stock one but you are welcome to borrow the one I got on the new car… it deffo works

Out of interest, has anyone tried fitting a switch without the mirror fold function, to see if the rest still works the same? Not an ideal solution but could be a useful interim measure to at least check it all out and identify the problem. [ref]Zedebee[/ref], don't you have another one you could do a diagnostic swap with?

 

[Umfaan]

Normal switch with out power fold will work to test the tilt function.

 

[enuff_zed]

Normal switch with out power fold will work to test the tilt function.

Brilliant! Cheers Barry. That's handy to remember.

I wonder how many cars out there have folding mirrors but no-one knows as the switch has failed in the past and been changed for the other one?

 

[Zulu4]

I'd also bet on the rocker switch. Maybe ask Bigwinn or Umfaan if they've got a spare ?

I’ve sold my stock one but you are welcome to borrow the one I got on the new car… it deffo works

Out of interest, has anyone tried fitting a switch without the mirror fold function, to see if the rest still works the same? Not an ideal solution but could be a useful interim measure to at least check it all out and identify the problem. [ref]Zedebee[/ref], don't you have another one you could do a diagnostic swap with?

The internals of a powerfold switch and a non-powerfold switch are exactly the same. i.e. the electrical contact is in there for powerfold regardless. The only difference is that the powerfold version has a hole in the top and the plastic button inserted !

 

[enuff_zed]

I’ve sold my stock one but you are welcome to borrow the one I got on the new car… it deffo works

Out of interest, has anyone tried fitting a switch without the mirror fold function, to see if the rest still works the same? Not an ideal solution but could be a useful interim measure to at least check it all out and identify the problem. [ref]Zedebee[/ref], don't you have another one you could do a diagnostic swap with?

The internals of a powerfold switch and a non-powerfold switch are exactly the same. i.e. the electrical contact is in there for powerfold regardless. The only difference is that the powerfold version has a hole in the top and the plastic button inserted !

Interesting. I looked at swapping over the rocker switch but that wasn't going to happen.
So are you saying it is possible to take a power fold one with broken rocker switch and swap over the button and top trim onto a non power fold one?
I always thought the recess for the power fold button looked blanked off on the lesser model?
Now I need to get home and see if I kept my broken one!

 

[Zulu4]

Yes, you can swap them either way. The electronics are exactly the same.
p.s. there are two little plastic rockers which will fall out when you split the casing open. It is a great jigsaw puzzle to work out which way round they go to re-fit them. Took me about 10 mins to figure out.

 

[enuff_zed]

Yes, you can swap them either way. The electronics are exactly the same.
p.s. there are two little plastic rockers which will fall out when you split the casing open. It is a great jigsaw puzzle to work out which way round they go to re-fit them. Took me about 10 mins to figure out.

Been there, done that!
Is the folding mirror button easy to remove and swap over?

 

[Zulu4]

Yes, you can swap them either way. The electronics are exactly the same.
p.s. there are two little plastic rockers which will fall out when you split the casing open. It is a great jigsaw puzzle to work out which way round they go to re-fit them. Took me about 10 mins to figure out.

Been there, done that!
Is the folding mirror button easy to remove and swap over?

From memory, it just drops into place and presses down on a contact that is common to both a powerfold & non-powerfold unit.

 

[enuff_zed]

Yes, you can swap them either way. The electronics are exactly the same.
p.s. there are two little plastic rockers which will fall out when you split the casing open. It is a great jigsaw puzzle to work out which way round they go to re-fit them. Took me about 10 mins to figure out.

Been there, done that!
Is the folding mirror button easy to remove and swap over?

From memory, it just drops into place and presses down on a contact that is common to both a powerfold & non-powerfold unit.

Wish I'd known this a while back. :roll:
Just hope my hoarder/just in case instinct means I kept the old one.

 

[Zulu4]

In fact, all that the button is doing is touching pin 12 of the mirror loom momentarily to earth. You could just as well use another switch to do this (but obviously wouldn't look OEM which would always annoy me).




The button clips down into that "+" area:

 

[Zedebee]

Thanks chaps. I’ll disassemble/reassemble the rocker switch first, if that doesn’t work I will try a different one.