fbfisher

The drivers side mirror motor won't adjust in or out but will adjust up and down. I am forced to make adjustments manually. Passenger side works fine. My P car dealer says its the motor not the switch since all functions work properly on the passenger side.

Is this an accurate assessment? Is this a DIY project for someone with no DIY experience? Are these motors expensive to replace?

tom_993

Hi,
What a coincidence, the same thing happened to me a couple of months ago. Like you, I thought for sure it wasn’t the switch, because the passenger mirror worked fine. I took apart the drivers mirror to investigate the side-to-side motor, but it was fine! I applied 12 volts and it moved normally. My next step was going to be tracing the wires from the switch to the mirror and try to find the broken one, but when I opened up the door panel and removed the switch, I found a loose wire on the switch. The wires simply push into the switch. They have a male type connector on them, which is supposed to lodge in the switch. For some reason, one fell out. It’s pretty simple to remove the top of the door panel. Look around for all the screws. Some are under various covers. Pull the top panel off and you’ll see the switch. Look for wires that aren’t pushed in all the way. Hopefully this is your problem. Good luck!

Tom
’95 993

fbfisher

Interesting, so there is a different set of wires for the right and left side and the rocker switch simply activiates the specific set of wires?

Thanks for your post, I will try it and post the results.

tom_993

[quote]Originally posted by fbfisher:
<strong>Interesting, so there is a different set of wires for the right and left side and the rocker switch simply activiates the specific set of wires?
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Something like that… There were fewer wires than I had expected. Once I spotted the loose one, I knew I had found my problem.

This is not to say that this is your problem. You might have a broken motor. I don’t know how much a replacement motor costs, but I can give you the secret for removing the mirror glass to give access to the motors!

Tom
’95 993

fbfisher

Had to ask, what's the secret?

Kabel

Yes, I need to remove the window also, how and what is done to do that?

tom_993

Well, OK, I’ll give the secret to removing the mirror glass, but you have to promise not to tell, otherwise it won’t be a secret! <img src="graemlins/icon501.gif" border="0" alt="[icon501]" />

Take a look at this picture. It’s pretty rough, but it will help the explanation. The two big ovals represent the outer housing and the mirror glass. Behind the mirror glass is a toothed wheel, shown in this picture as a seven sided star (the toothed wheel has way more than seven teeth, but a seven sided star was the best shape I could find in Visio!). This toothed wheel is flat, and sits parallel to the mirror glass.

There are two holes in the bottom of the mirror housing. One is for drainage, and the other provides access to the wheel. Put a small screwdriver through this hole to contact the toothed wheel. You’ll have to move the mirror glass until the wheel is directly above the hole. Use a small flashlight until you can see it. The screwdriver is shown hanging below the mirror. Move it from side to side (shown by the double sided arrow) to turn the wheel. Do not twist it like you would a screw. The wheel only moves 20 or so degrees (say 5 to 8 minutes on a clock dial). This disengages the wheel from the attachment points behind it. I forget which direction, but you’ll figure that out. Once the wheel stops turning, do not force it. Put the screwdriver between the glass and the housing and gently pry the glass out.

Installation is the reverse. Good Luck!

Tom
'95 993

Phil

Tom,
so removing the mirror is kind of like cracking a safe?

tom_993

[quote]Originally posted by Phil McGrath:
<strong>Tom,
so removing the mirror is kind of like cracking a safe?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Well, I've never cracked a safe, so I wouldn't know.

Is there something about you we should know about?

Randy M '96 Silver 993

Thank you tom_993 for sharing the secret of the mirror. Without your help I would have never removed that mirror and replaced it.

It was a fluke of So Cal freeway system that a piece of something flew up and hit my mirror and all it did was crack the glass! Now I can see.

Bouzoukikid

I know this is an old thread but thanks for helping me work out the "secret". If only I had found this thread 15 minutes earlier.
Now looking for the secret on;
a) "how to repair broken glass".
b) "how to avoid seven years bad luck"