Door Mirror

Need technical Q/A then you're in the right place

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JungleGus
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Post Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:50 pm

I can't find a topic that's quite like this one, but it may be searcher error...

My LHS mirror will only adjust left and right not up and down. I can click it by hand, but the exact location where it is means that it's either too high or low, and needs the electric motor to fine tune. The left to right adjustment works fine, and when I try use the up and down, it activates the left and right adjustment too...odd issue.

The motor is relatively new.....any ideas how to troubleshoot?

Cheers,
Gus
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Lemon98
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Post Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:27 pm

JungleGus wrote:
Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:50 pm
I can't find a topic that's quite like this one, but it may be searcher error...

My LHS mirror will only adjust left and right not up and down. I can click it by hand, but the exact location where it is means that it's either too high or low, and needs the electric motor to fine tune. The left to right adjustment works fine, and when I try use the up and down, it activates the left and right adjustment too...odd issue.

The motor is relatively new.....any ideas how to troubleshoot?

Cheers,
Gus
My electric mirrors don't work at all and I was advised to check the actual switch itself in the door. Once you pop it out and open it up there are these little balls that rest on springs which would tell the motor which was adjust the mirror essentially (so like up, down, left right, as you move the knob).

Mine were pretty much fully corroded so no contact was being made.

I didn't seek a replacement because both doors aren't original so not 100% if the mirrors are even wired in but as yours seem to be half working it might be worth checking out!! I posted about it in the e30zone facebook group and got some good replies and even got sent pictures of how to disassemble the switch so I can try and dig those out if you want :)
1990 4-door 320i SE
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Banban3
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Post Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:42 pm

Had the same issue: one cable was cut internally. I replaced the loom with that of another mirror and it went fine.
Check continuity of each cable that goes to the mirror motor. Let me know if you need pictures of how to get to the motor.
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Brianmoooore
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Post Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:45 pm

JungleGus wrote:
Mon Jun 01, 2020 2:50 pm
The left to right adjustment works fine, and when I try use the up and down, it activates the left and right adjustment too...odd issue.
Not odd when you realise how they work. There's only one motor in each mirror, which moves it both sideways and up and down. The other thing that looks like a second motor is a solenoid/clutch that diverts the drive from across to up and down when activated.
Your problem is simply that power is not reaching this solenoid in the LH mirror when it should.
The clutches in both motors both operate together, every time either mirror is moved up or down, but this has no noticeable effect on the mirror that you are not moving, although you can hear the solenoid click if you listen carefully.
Since your RH mirror is working, you can discount the switch being at fault, so the problem is likely to be the wiring to the solenoid. It's a white/black wire that goes through both door A pillar plugs and sockets, which is where the fault is likely to be.
http://www.autolib.diakom.ru/CAR/BMW/19 ... /fig09.pdf (second time I've posted this diagram in half an hour.)
JungleGus
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Post Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:39 am

Thanks Brian - once I have the car back I'll pull finger and get to work, it's been a looong while since I played around there