The mirror on the drivers side of my 89 won't adjust side to side, but moves up and down. Is this a switch problem or a motor problem in the nirror?

Thanks
Joe

 

One way I would test is (if you have seat memory) - move the mirror and then push (hold) the memory button. If the mirror moves back to the correct position then it isn't the motor.

Myles

 

The joystick gets bad contacts; I sprayed QD contact cleaner in mine and all good! It barely worked before.

-Sean

 

If the joystick works fine on the passenger mirror (both directions) then it can be removed as the problem source. I had the exact same issue with my car when I got it- turns out one of the control arms in the mirror housing was broken and the mirror would move only one direction like yours. I ended up replacing the mirror housing. It's easy enough to remove the mirror and have a look inside. Checking to see if the seat memory switch gets it to work is a great idea.

 

Last of all, if other items are OK, check for bad wires that have fatigued from years of opening and closing the door. Often the insulating sheath looks fine, but the conductor has given up.

This problem can be intermittent, particularly while you are checking the continuity of individual wires, as flexing or stretching them can make and break the connection.

 

You mean something like this

 

story of my drivers door :S.

 

Yes. There might be a wiring problem or two there...... just some minor discontinuity, maybe....