polecat702

Do I need to pull the door panel to remove the mirror switch, for cleaning?

thanks
joe

joejoe

On my '86.5 I do as the switch is tucked up in there and not much wire.

Leon Speed

No, just pry it up with a small screwdriver.

Bertrand Daoust

Like Leon Speed said.

I removed mine last year that way.

polecat702

Great, thanks guys!

Wisconsin Joe

If you're uncomfortable just prying blindly with a screwdriver, you can just pull the armrest. You don't have to pull the whole door panel off.

Hilton

Pry using someting plastic (I have some trim removal tools) - otherwise you'll make a small but visible nick with the end of the screwdriver.

Also beware when you open the switch, there are four ball bearings in there sitting on springs

dr bob

I do the first pry-apart on these and seat switches with everything and my hands safely inside a clear plastic bag. Then when things go 'boooing' and shoot out from the springs, it's all contained in the bag. Ziplok for small stuff, dry-cleaners bag for bigger. Saves on vocabulary words.

polecat702

Update: I got the switch out of the arm rest unplugged it and sprayed it with DeoxIT. The passenger mirror has full function, the driver side mirror only goes from side to side, no up and down. Now I have a new never opened bottle of the red DeoxIT with the needle. Should I try that, or do ya think the motor is fried for the up and down portion of the mirror?

Mrmerlin

Dr Bob thats a great idea to use a clear plastic bag for any of the switches as many times a small part goes flying.

FWIW before you dismantle the seat switches or the window or sunroof switches,
spray the inside with a burst of deoxit,'
then try the switch in 24 hours, you can fix a lot of these parts with a quick spray.
I know this advice defies logic sometimes, but I have proved this more than a few times

NOTE the window hat switch can be taken apart and the grease and crud cleaned out,
then refitted,
it will usually work fine use deoxit on the contacts.
The mirror direction switch just spray and work the rocker a few times, then let it sit.

In all cases I would let the deoxit have time to work 24 hours or so before you turn to other measures

polecat702

Thanks Stan!

Hilton

Ok, passenger mirror working fine = all four directions on the hat switch are good.
Driver's missir working in left/right = rocker switch is ok.

So your problem isn't the switch unit.

My experience of 928 non-working mirrors is that the wiring is often not put back correctly following a repair. So first step is to take off the glass on the offending mirror and get at the molex connectors on the back, and start tracing wiring between there and the control unit (under the dash).

It might be helpful to also check the pins of the main harness connector for the door (again, just under the edge of the dash).

In one S4 I had, the driver's side had the pins in the wrong places in the connector in the mirror on the driver's side, and the passenger mirror wasn't even connected at all inside the door! Another S4 had incorrect splices on the door side of the harness.

You can also test the motor by just applying voltage directly to the two pins for it in either direction (make sure you look up the correct wire colours in the wiring diagram before applying coltage).

Mrmerlin

Joe before lots of people chime in here,
could you provide more info.
Were the mirrors ever working properly?
Did you ever work on the doors or mirrors?
What is the issue that you trying to fix?

polecat702

Stan, My car sits for months at a time. When I bought the car, there were problems with electrical accessories not working properly. Battery was old, I replaced it, and that cured most of my problems.

Just had a problem with the drivers side seat not moving up and down, all other 10 functions worked. Sprayed it with DeoxIT, and it cured that problem.

The drivers side mirror, has always been problematic, some times it works, some times it doesn't. It started working when I replaced the battery, a couple of years ago.

I've never had a reason to take my doors apart, or fiddle with the mirrors. This car is in much better condition than the 87 was. This is the car I drove to the Owner's Convention, a couple of years ago.

I think because I'm gone so much of the time, not being driven is it's biggest problem. It sat for almost a year, while I located new ABS looms, the others were rotted out. Plus this car came from Arizona, hot & dry, the 87 was from Oregon. I disconnect the battery, when I'm away for work. It's in the garage covered up.

I sprayed the 4 way, yesterday evening, letting it sit as you suggested. Waite and see if this cures the problem.