Folding mirror

[ichiban2]

Going to do mine this weekend. kmagnuss, did you happen to take a picture of the position of the black housing covering over the motor before or after it was assembled by chance?

[kmagnuss]

Originally Posted by ichiban2

Going to do mine this weekend. kmagnuss, did you happen to take a picture of the position of the black housing covering over the motor before or after it was assembled by chance?

No... but underneath it there are three grooves that only can line up one way with the mirror. So all you have to do is figure out the position of the mirror (the wide groove will pretty much point straight out from the car... maybe a little towards the rear)... and put the cap on. The entire motor/clamshell assembly (you'll see when you get it apart) is held on by 4 screws... now that part you could possibly install wrong. Just remember there's a sort of tab on one side of it, and it points pretty much perpendicular to the car also. It's really not very difficult... if you sit and look at it for a bit and think about what it does you'll get it.

Good luck!

[fln8tive]

Any advice on getting the mirror cap off?

Looks as if there are tabs that have to be pressed.

[heuer21]

Since you guys are on the subject of Folding Mirrors...
Can my X be programmed to close the mirrors when I lock the car?

Sorry it is a little off topic.

[wilkoturbo]

U can but I've been told it's a bad idea could burn the motors out

[kmagnuss]

Originally Posted by fln8tive

Any advice on getting the mirror cap off?

Looks as if there are tabs that have to be pressed.

I couldn't find a good description either. I found a factory looking diagram, but it wasn't very descriptive. I ended up just prying it off from the inside corner nearest the front of the car... and breaking every clip in the process. Woops.

[kmagnuss]

Lol... I just went out and checked the function of the folding mirror... Looks like I got a little too froggy with the epoxy. It won't fold in now. D'oh! No worries, all I really wanted was for it to not be loose anymore. Looks like I got that part done anyway.

[ichiban2]

Originally Posted by kmagnuss

Looks like I got a little too froggy with the epoxy. It won't fold in now.

That's a bummer...what went wrong? - gears not engaging properly or motor not turning.

[kmagnuss]

Not sure really. Eh... I'll figure it out someday... maybe.

[thesalboy]

Since I got my used X5 at 65K (65K miles ago), the mirrors have been a little floppy, but until recently they still folded in and out fine. Things started going south on the drivers side when the motor kept running and made clicking noises after opening. It started with just 3 clicks, but then became many more. Then the mirror wouldn’t open or close at all – the motor didn’t run at all, and the mirror was just a floppy mess that had to be kept in place with duct tape.

I got the most complete kit I could find on ebay from VIP KROM. I assumed the worst in terms of parts damage, and didn’t want to take things apart until I had the new parts to compare. When I took the mirror apart, the 2 pins on the motor housing were snapped, and the motor gear was badly worn, but the rest of the parts were in decent shape. The motor came with the gear installed, though I had to press it further onto the motor shaft because it kept the motor housing from fully seating. (The upright, outer gear also would not fit into the motor housing, so I had to drill the housing out a bit). But it all went back together fine. Before installing the outer housing, I could rotate the black plastic housing just a bit, just enough to make the end of the gear that lays flat slide in and out, which I think is to facilitate disassembly (otherwise that gear binds with the motor gear, and you can’t easily remove motor housing).

The mirror is now firm and not floppy at all. But on hitting the button, the mirror doesn’t move. You can hear the motor trying to spin, it just can’t. I thought maybe giving it a little help would work, but no luck. I can manually move the mirror throughout its correct range (and no further) without it making horrible noises – it’s just firm. Maybe the new motor is crap/insufficient torque? I hooked my old motor up and it spins, but I can’t get the gear off the new motor to install it onto the old motor to see if it still has the oomph or not. I removed the outer housing and hit the button with just my hand pressure holding down the black plastic housing, and as I eased up things started to spin (but sound pretty terrible/gnashing).

I’m 100% sure that everything is oriented correctly – took lots of pics and marked things. It’s not the limit switch – I fixed that a long time ago, and if I move the drivers mirror manually while hitting the button, the passenger mirror will fold (otherwise it folds in, then right back out, like it should if there is a limit switch problem on either side). I have the metal ring that rides on top of the spring that goes inside the outer housing clocked correctly – it is notched and can only go on one way. But it’s like that spring is pushing things down too firmly…? I greased the crap out of everything.

Any input welcome. Thanks.