Author Topic: no power mirrors (Read 11569 times)

Isamemon · « **on:** December 22, 2008, 11:53:47 PM »

power mirrors not working, no blown fuse
91 318 cabrolet
ideas ?

ak96ss · « **Reply #1 on:** December 23, 2008, 05:15:21 AM »

Both mirrors? If neither move, I'd check the switch first. Pop it out and make sure it is getting power and functioning properly.

roundel318 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 24, 2008, 10:41:34 AM »

Also the door gromit behind the kick panel / speaker area there........

fayjai · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2009, 12:30:14 AM »

have the same issue, just popped the switch out and replaced it with another one and problem still exist. What exactly would you look for aroudn the speaker kicker area? Passenger or driver side?

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2009, 05:15:44 PM »

check the boot inbetween the door jam that has all the wires going through probably some broke or cracked also check the connecter for crosion or missing pins

roundel318 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 03, 2009, 07:39:35 PM »

Drivers side kick

Boosted E30 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 04, 2009, 01:29:56 PM »

in the door hinge/jam it self where the wires are bent everytime you open and close the door

Cobra Jet · « **Reply #7 on:** January 08, 2009, 10:35:24 AM »

yep - check the harness that goes from the A-pillar to the door.

I currently have an intermittent pwr window issue on the driver's door... If I touch, or push on that harness, my window works fine for quite a while, eventually it starts to go into a non-function mode over time - touch/push the harness, it works again... LOL. I'll be fixing it in the future, right now, it's just a small inconvenience and I just have not had the time to disect the harness to fix.

Your mirror wires also run through the same harness - try doing what I do, push or tug on that harness while pressing the mirror button - if either mirror moves, then you have found your issue. Check for blown fuses too.

Scowlin' Wade Smythe · « **Reply #8 on:** April 26, 2009, 10:39:12 PM »

i had the same problem all i did is {check the harness that goes from the A-pillar to the door} it fell back behind the speaker so simple LOL.....love M42club....91 318 cabrolet

keflaman · « **Reply #9 on:** May 01, 2012, 12:30:37 PM »

I just ran into this problem with my car over the winter and thought I'd share some pictures in this thread vice starting a new one.

Regardless of whether you have a spare switch or not, the first thing to check for is power going to the mirror switch on the driver's door. My reasoning is simply to rule out two bad switches.

Carefully remove the switch from its position using a flat blade of some sort...

Carefully pull the switch taking care not to pinch or bend the wiring to extreme angles...

The ETK tells us the green/white wire in position #4 is our 12V source...

I'm using a homemade tester with a light bulb to verify power and a good ground is the door hinge pivot bolt...

...And I see the light, however, my problem was intermittent so further troubleshooting was required...

Next in line to our power source is connector C405 located in the door jamb at the driver's side...

Squeeze the sides of the rubber boot where there are some ridges located at the 11 and 5 o'clock positions and pull the boot off the connector...

Now we need to separate the female side of the connector by squeezing the two tabs and gently pulling back on the connector. If the pins are corroded together it will not give up the fight easily, so it may take more force than you would think. Using a hook of some sort and slowly working around the edges of the connector while pulling will eventually free it. The square pad in the center will probably fall out; don't lose it.

The pin I'm pointing to brings power to the male side of the connector (this is how it looked after I cleaned it; it was very green upon initial inspection)...

...and this female socket takes the power up to the switch. (In my case the female socket was severely corroded and I was required to remove it from the connector in order to clean it properly and get power up to the switch. It will work for now, but I need to replace the socket for a proper repair.)

Re-install everything in the reverse order and pay particular attention to ensuring you replaced the the square pad I mentioned earlier back in place and position the boot evenly around the connector...

Pull the door seal out of the way and push firmly in the center of the boot until the connector clicks into place...

Install your switch and enjoy having power back to your mirrors.