E46 Electric door mirrors

[3359]

My electric door mirrors work intermittently. I can get them to work perfectly by disconnecting the battery for 24 hours, then on reconnecting the battery they work for about five minutes, then stop working again. Has anyone experienced this ? Is there some control unit that needs resetting or replacing ?

[Greydog]

Morning Brian

I assume you mean your folding mirrors? 

If so the battery disconnect is a reset so I would look else where. The drivers door window control switch is the master but seems to be working as you have operation after reset, it may be as simple as the motors in the mirrors need lubrication or the limit switches are playing up (be careful they are fragile) if one is acting up it will affect both sides. Normally if its the limit switches the mirrors will close then open again. 

Hope this is some use

Dave

[3359]

Hi Dave 

Thanks for the reply. Perhaps I should have made it clear that they are not electric folding mirrors. It is the adjustment of the mirrors that I'm having trouble with. I've found that unless the mirrors are working correctly I cannot lock out the nearside mirror, and prevent it from tilting down when reversing.

I've already paid nearly £ 200 to a so called BMW specialist who told me the problem was the adjusting switch on the armrest which was replaced. It worked when I picked the car up but by the time I got home it no longer worked. I immediately phoned them to say it no longer worked, but he then suggested maybe the problem was with the motor in the mirrors and they should be replaced, I've made enquires at a BMW dealers and been told the cost of a motor is over £ 400 which I'm not prepared to shell out for when that might not be the problem.

Brian

[Greydog]

Hi Brian

You may hate this or find it amusing here goes 

Your drivers door switch looks like the one below I hope? If it does the top section adjusts the mirror angle, the small single button folds the mirrors (we will ignore that). The left right selection button you set for the mirror you want to adjust ?

As it is set in the picture the nearside mirror will be adjusted if you leave it in that position the mirror will not tilt down when reverse is selected, if you move it to the drivers side the near side will tilt when reverse is selected. So if you adjust the mirrors to your preferred setting Driver and passenger and leave it as the picture they should not move. If you want the tilt operation then move the switch to the drivers side. That is normal operation 

Was that the understanding you have? If you have electric seat adjustment and steering wheel adjustment check they are operating correctly.

Hope this helps

Dave

 

[3359]

Hi Dave

Thanks once again for your help trying to solve my problem with the mirrors.

As you can see in the attached photo my adjusting control on the armrest is completely different to the example you sent me. I've tried sliding the selector switch over to the passenger side to lock out the dipping mirror in reverse, but it only works in the brief periods when the mirrors are working correctly. When the mirrors are not responding to the adjusting joystick, that's the big pyramid shaped control, sliding the selector switch over to the passenger side has no effect and the passenger mirror tilts downwards when selecting reverse.

Yes I have got electric seats with memory and they are working normally.

Brian

[Greydog]

Morning Brian

Okay the switch is the same function just not in the Window control unit, the fact that the mirrors work albeit for a short period after a reset would make me think that there is a faulty connection somewhere that opens with heat or vibration or both  Has the car been on a diagnostic for a code read? have any fault codes been reset?

A BMW specific code reader should pin point the issue, (as an example mine showed "broken Wire Drivers Door Mirror)  if not then I would start at the mirror checking all connections and cleaning them with contact cleaner (not WD40) don't forget the plugs in the doors and at the LCM. When I had some weird electrical behaviour with the X5 I traced it to one of the common earth points (like a comb) in the boot, once removed and cleaned I refitted it with some contact paste (used to seat CPU's in computers) probably overkill but no issues since.

Dave

[3359]

Hi Dave

At the last reset I did and the mirrors were working correctly I just sat in the car turned the ignition on altered the mirrors to make sure they were working turned the ignition off and without opening the door waited a few moments, turned the ignition back on and repeated the test. I did that for about five minutes before suddenly they no longer worked. At no time did I open a door, start the engine or use any other electrical item in the car, I just sat there turning the ignition off and on again until they stopped working, so I don't think a broken wire could be the problem.

I'm assuming that when I took the car to the " BMW Specialist " he would have put it on a diagnostic scanner and cleared any fault codes.

I have taken the door cards off both sides and checked all electrical connections to the mirror motors and the adjusting switch even though it is a new one, and everything is o.k.

I'm at present investigating buying some kind of diagnostic scanner myself, but can't seem to make up mind whether to buy a Carly scanner which is pretty expensive because it is subscription based and cost £5 per month plus the cost of the OBD bluetooth scanner at about £70 or a K scan OBD cable, but that involves lots of complicated computer installing which fills me with dread. Maybe you have some knowledge of BMW specific scanners, if so I'd appreciate a heads up, I've looked at some of the hand held scanners such as Foxwell but can't seem to make my mind up whether they are genuine or some cheap knock-off from China or not.

I will do as you suggest and look for any earthing points and clean them and let you know if it has any effect.

Once again thanks for your help in trying to solve this very annoying and mystifying problem.

Brian 

[Greydog]

Morning Brian

Last question first I use BMW 1.4.0 it's cheap and reliable and does everything I need. I have had mine on an old lap top that I keep in the garage for 15+ years. Once a month when I am giving the old girl her check up I run a scan and tidy any issues. When using these programs remember that many things trigger DTC/Error codes from voltage spikes (low/high) to poor connections through damp etc (especially older models) So I scan identify any codes clear them and then re-scan only the ones which come back if any eed my attention.

Google BMW 1.4.0 diagnostic for more information should cost you about £15 I would guess look for a UK supplier to avoid hassle would be my advice.

Now your mirrors. I am confused here why do you need to keep adjusting them ? do they move when you turn off and lock the car ? I honestly can't remember when I last touched mine and we have 3 active keys 1. Mine 2. My wife 3. Spare. The door mirrors and seat settings are stored in the seat memory, when my key is used to open the car all settings steering wheel, seat position and door mirrors adjust to my setting. If my Wifes key is used her settings are applied. The X5 has been like this for the last 5 years at least. the only mirror I touch is the interior if shorty has driven it.

When you turn off your BMW it will take at least 15min for your car to shut down and go to sleep, so sitting in the car turning the ignition on and off the car never rests/goes to sleep. If your car is an Auto beside the gear selector is a small indicator light lock your car and after about 15 mins it should go out your car is asleep.

Dave

[3359]

Hi Dave

I did try the BMW 1.4 several months ago but I just could not get my laptop to install the driver for the USB cable, I've since read that Windows 10 is not compatible with the cable, anyway I sent it back. I've now got hold of an old Windows 7 laptop and will try a cable with that when I get the time.

Regarding the mirrors, it's not that I need to keep adjusting them, it's only when they are working correctly can I lock out the dipping of the passenger mirror, when they are not working the passenger mirror dips when reversing, which is something I don't want to happen when for example I'm in a car park and reversing into a spot in between two cars I need to be able to see out of the nearside mirror which I can't if it's tilted down to the ground, I can't see how close I am to the car on the nearside.

I'm the only driver of my car so the seat and mirror settings are unchanged. I did go out the other day and found the mirrors were working , and when I reversed on to my daughters drive the passenger mirror didn't dip, but when I got back home and reversed onto my drive the mirror dipped.

Brian

[Greydog]

Hi Brian

I can only think there is a frayed wire in the door loom that moves now and again or possibly in the mirror housing. A diagnostic check may be a bit of a lottery unless a fault is present when its run.

Are you OK with a tester and a wiring diagram? That may be the only way I am afraid. You can find the wiring diagrams on www.newtis.info

Dave