dpowell

Neil,

I forgot the gear is mounted on the back of the mirror. Note the pic and the notches at the bottom.

Drew

IXLR8

In that case, it is electrical.

If you are not moving the mirror adjust switch, then no power should be getting to any of the mirror adjust motors.

Have you tried moving the mirror select switch to the passenger mirror? Does your driver's side mirror stop oscillating? It should I would think. Maybe a faulty or dirty mirror adjust switch?


The pic below shows a mirror with the lock ring in the unlocked position. If it were in the locked position, the "plastic pin" would be in the "groove".

To get the rotatable ring to rotate into the unlocked position..."To remove the mirror glass, the black plastic ring must be pushed in towards the rear of the mirror by about 4 mm to have the plastic pin clear the groove it sits in while in the locked position and then rotated".

Use a small flat bladed screwdriver or wooden coffee stirring stick. Those 4 notches at the bottom of the rotatable ring enable you to get a grip of the ring with the tip of a screwdriver to rotate the ring.

nile13

See the notches on the bottom now, thanks!

Alex, switching the mirror switch rocker to the passenger side is the very first thing I tried (well, EE degree and 12 years of electrical engineering made me do so ). No help, it still oscillated the same way. Next I'm thinking of taking the switch out completely and see what happens.

Between you two guys I think I understand now how exactly the mirror locks. I'll try to see if mine is locked before any further investigations. Will update shortly.

ble2011

My drivers mirror "vibrates" when the bass pounds on the door speakers and it makes it very hard to use. The passenger's side doesn't do it. I read through the posts here and I fail to see the screw that tightens the mirror to the gear. I've stuck a flat bladed screwdriver through the correct hole under the mirror, but it doesn't seem to fit into anything. Is the screw the "groove" that's posted in IXLR8's post above? (My mirror does move in all positions).

IXLR8

Oh no, everybody run for cover...engineer with tools in hand.

Just kidding.

Good plan. Strange, that adjust switch is either on or off. I should have a look at the schematics, but I'm busy putting an hours meter on my compressor.

Is there a UFO hovering above your car?

Think of it as a BNC connector minus the spring loading action...sort of like that.

nile13

Yep, engineer with tools is like a monkey with handgranade. Only a matter of time till major disctruction

No, there is not UFO. I can say that definitively as I drove yesterday with roof down and looked up while swearing at the mirror. Nope,. no UFO. However my car, like yours, is SY and we all know that's the most attractive color to aliens.

BNC-like connector. That makes sense. Leave it to germans to make things complicated but fragile

nile13

OK, little update here. On the way home from autocross today the mirror continued to jump. As I played with it it appears to be detaching from it's backing plate. Indeed, the flat mirror glass itself came off in my hands and what's left in the housing is flat black surface.

So... how do I re-attach the glass now? Adhesive of some sort? The back of the mirror glass is also finished in mirror surface. I'm afraid that crazy glue type stuff might eat through and destroy the mirror.

Any thoughts?

IXLR8

I'd remove the plastic retainer so that you can lay it flat and place a weight on the assembly while the adhesive is curing. Now that the mirror glass is out, you should be able to see how the plastic retainer is held in.

Use silicone seal. Builders use it to hold mirrors on the wall. Check if there is a certain type to use. Make sure both surfaces are clean. I believe that Porsche used a double sided sticky foam. Maybe 3M has some that can handle high temperatures.

Slow Guy

Actually there is a silicone glue sold at Home Depot, Lowes and I suspect Ace hardware stores. I suspect auto parts houses have a glue for that too.

http://www.doitbest.com/Epoxies+and+...sku-351372.dib

There are other glue/adhesives that I suspect would do the job but don't think I would rely on one that's just a sealer.

nile13

Silicone, that's a great idea!

What surprises me a bit is that the back side of teh mirror is also a mirror. Why did they do that?

d ward

Silicon is great, but not for mirrors, it will eat in to the silver.
You need mirror adhesive, much like silicon and in same type cartridge/tube, but wont damage your mirror.
Somewhere that cuts glass to size normally sell it, or a large well stocked builders depot should have it, or at least point you in the right direction

Slow Guy

I did not know that.

nile13

I meant the mirror silicone (the type that my installers used on my wall mirrors). Didn't know there's another type of silicone glue. Thanks for mentioning that!

Will try one of the glass/mirror places around.