M3 mirrors sort of work... but mostly don't

[az3579]

So the PO of my car (or the owner before him) retrofitted M3 mirrors onto my car. I always thought them to be non-functional as most of the directions I originally tried to move them didn't work. The motors are moving, but the mirror glass stays put.

So, today, I decided to try it again, to move my mirrors using my switch. I wondered if the PO correctly swapped the cabling and motors necessary to make these mirrors work. Every other mod on the car was done properly, so I don't see why he would have skimped on it.

At this point, the mirrors do move, but they only move diagonally and upwards, toward the farthest edge of the mirror. If I push the mirror stalk up, it moves up and diagonal. If I move it left, right, or down, it doesn't move at all. This applies to both mirrors; the right and left behave the same way.

The motors seem to be working; they both make noise when you're trying to move the mirror, but don't really move unless you push the stalk up. At one point, I got the mirrors to move when it wasn't pushed up but instead another direction, but the mirror moved up and diagonally regardless. I could not reset the mirrors without using my fingers to push the glass back to where I want it.

I reeeeeeeeeeeeally want the tilting mirror when in reverse, and I could hear the motor moving whenever I engage reverse but the glass stays put.

Would anyone know what the heck is up with my mirrors?

[ryankokesh]

Have you been properly feeding the Mirror Men in them? They start acting up and move your mirrors all sorts of weird ways when they're hungry. And I hear the m3 ones don't like it when they aren't on a "special" car...

Sorry...but I don't have any helpful ideas :(

[danewilson77]

Side mirror fluid may be low. Top up and retest.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[az3579]

Come on guys, I was excited to see responses and that's the best you can come up with??? lol

:rofl

[danewilson77]

Honestly...I would just have to do a disassemble, clean and inspect on it....to see what's going on in there....

[az3579]

Honestly...I would just have to do a disassemble, clean and inspect on it....to see what's going on in there....

I guess the question was posted more of a hope that there is a common problem that is easily fixed. I really don't want to have to disassemble the entire door panel just to look at it mostly because I don't know what to look for. I have absolutely no idea what would cause this issue. If I took it apart, what in particular should I be looking at?

[danewilson77]

Any eveidence of binding/sticking......loose connections......rub marks.....

Just common sense stuff.

[az3579]

Any eveidence of binding/sticking......loose connections......rub marks.....

Just common sense stuff.

Let's say I take it apart and don't find anything out of the ordinary. Then what?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Let's say I take it apart and don't find anything out of the ordinary. Then what?

If you can't fix it yourself, you can take it to someone who can make it work. Or, you just leave it the way it is (not fully functional).

[danewilson77]

If you can't fix it yourself, you can take it to someone who can make it work. Or, you just leave it the way it is (not fully functional).

+1

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[az3579]

If you can't fix it yourself, you can take it to someone who can make it work. Or, you just leave it the way it is (not fully functional).

Neither are options. Not paying someone to fix something so stupid...
I'm gonna have to take it apart. Perhaps when there isn't a STORM poundin the Beast Coast... lol

[ryankokesh]

Realoem isn't a whole lot of help...

http://tapatalk.com/mu/4b5f7999-db9b-5aa0.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[az3579]

Plan on taking it apart this weekend, probably tomorrow.

Ryan,
Wrong mirror, buddy. :biggrin
Thanks though...

[ryankokesh]

That's what it showed for the m3...think they're the same on the inside.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Marcus-SanDiego]

BP, how did this turn out?

[az3579]

BP, how did this turn out?

I still haven't had time to do it... I barely have time to breathe. Every time I look at my calendar, I think "look, free space", then immediately after thinking that, it fills up with other crap that has to get done. It's kind of like money; you get paid, thinking you're loaded, and then all the bills come in and out the window it goes. :(

These mirrors are reeeeeally bugging me. I was going to take it apart today, but just found out that I have to travel an hour away from home for something work related tonight, and the timing of it is so bad that I won't be able to do it before or after. Smack-dab in the middle of my free time. :crying


Do your mirrors work, Marcus?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Do your mirrors work, Marcus?

BP, my mirrors are fully functional in every way. The guys who did it (Euro Auto Spot), took the time to make sure it was perfect. They did some custom work inside of the mirror. I could not be happier.

[az3579]

BP, my mirrors are fully functional in every way. The guys who did it (Euro Auto Spot), took the time to make sure it was perfect. They did some custom work inside of the mirror. I could not be happier.

Was hoping you did it so you could tell me what's what... :dunno

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Was hoping you did it so you could tell me what's what... :dunno

I did not do it. It was a one-time deal for my shop. They did it for me because of who I am (a friend). Otherwise, they would not have done it at all.

Jeremiah has a nice write up, though, on the site.

[az3579]

Alright, this mirrors business is really making me frustrated and really bummed. All I want are working mirrors, and am even willing to downgrade to the relatively ugly stock mirrors just to have functioning mirrors.

I took apart my door panel not long ago to try to figure out what the heck is wrong with them. Apparently, once taking the driver's side door panel apart, finding nothing out of the ordinary, and the putting it back together again has caused my driver's side mirror to start moving. It moves when I press the mirror adjustment switch, but it never moves just straight; it always only moves diagonally. If I press up, it goes up and to the left. Press right, up and to the right. Press down, down and to the left. What the heck?

The passenger side, I determined has a bad motor. You can hear it move and see it sort of try to move, but doesn't budge beyond 1mm of movement. So, I ordered one last week. It arrived, and turns out that it isn't the M3 mirror motor in there, it's the E46 stock mirror motor transplanted into the M3 housing, so now I'm out ~$40 (which was a LOT of money to me last week) and have a motor I can't do anything with.


On Saturday, when at my mechanic's place, there's a junk yard across the street that I went to to see if they had a set of mirrors (and a hazard light/door lock switch that I ended up getting for free!). My luck; there was a facelift Japanrot E46 sedan there, so they allowed me to lift the driver's side to test with before I made the purchase.

Took apart my door panels again only to find that the cable is a ribbon type cable. The mirror had a 12-pin connector. F^&@.
I did a bit of research and am finding so many different kinds of connectors that are possible. What the heck is what?

The types I know about: 3-pin, 6-pin, 12-pin, ribbon. What's the difference? I couldn't find any info online outlining which E46's had which cables. Since my mirrors were "retrofitted" by the PO (not very well, mind you), I have no idea what I'm supposed to have.

Can anyone tell me what type of cable I'm supposed to have in my facelift E46? It seems like non-ZHPs have a different connector, which makes absolutely no sense to me. I need functioning mirrors, pronto, else I can't go to the HPDE on the 24th of June.
In the process of trying to figure things out, I broke one of the plastic tabs on the passenger side mirror and now the only way I can attach the glass without it falling off is in a weird angle that I can't see anything out of, which is why I'm kind of screwed here...


The way I see it is either I...
1) Pay well over $200 for a set of ugly stock, used mirrors that I will have to have repainted (lots of $$), assuming I can find a pair that's correct for my car (heated, power, memory), or
2) Pay well over $300 a piece from the dealer for the stock mirrors assuring I get the correct kind, BUT have to pay $$ to get it painted as well
3) Pay well over $400 for an aftermarket set of M3 mirrors, assuming I can find a set that is compatible with my current wiring situation, with no guarantees that it'll work, AND have to pay to get painted
4) Find a used mirror motor for the passenger side and try to retrofit into the current housing *hoping* it would work and have to "live with" the weird adjusting angles using the switch

So far 4) sounds like the cheapest, but nobody is selling just the motor on eBay, and I sure as hell am not going to pay triple-digit prices for a frickin' motor from the dealer.




Somebody, please HELP!!! :(

[Marcus-SanDiego]

When I was on the prowl for M3 mirrors, I figured out something right away. The 2005+ ZHP has the ribbon style connectors. Therefore, we had to transplant my stock mirror motor into the M3 mirror housing. In other words, it was not plug and play.

I found a girl who was selling her M3 mirrors (she had them on a 2004 ZHP). When I asked her about them, she told me that her mirrors were not compatible with my car (something about 2004 ZHPs having 12 pin connectors!). My guess is that BMW changed our connectors between the 2004 and 2005 model years.

Anyhow, I eventually got it sorted out.

I had Shane, owner of Euro Auto Spot, make them work. He had the mirrors all day. He is not a hack, so he wanted to do these perfectly. After procuring the parts, he customized the interior of the mirrors. The result is that my mirrors work perfectly. Just like factory. They move up, down, side to side, and the reverse tilt works on them. Couldn't be more pleased with the work (shout out to Steve Yurkovic, a tech at Euro Auto Spot, who played point on the mirrors).

[az3579]

I found a girl who was selling her M3 mirrors (she had them on a 2004 ZHP). When I asked her about them, she told me that her mirrors were not compatible with my car (something about 2004 ZHPs having 12 pin connectors!). My guess is that BMW changed our connectors between the 2004 and 2005 model years.


That's the sort of info I needed to find out. So apparently the only motors I can use are stock sedan motors with the ribbon cable for 2005? That's an awfully limited selection...


It's not looking too good at this point. We'll have to see if I can find a motor that will work with what I have...

[Marcus-SanDiego]

BP, that's what I am thinking. I had my stock mirrors, so I could just move the motors to the M3 mirror housing. You have the previous owner's M3 mirrors with whatever he did to them. You don't have the luxury of moving the motors from your stock mirrors because you don't have them any longer. That's what sucks about the situation. Now you have to go out and find the style that is compatible with our wiring.

[az3579]

BP, that's what I am thinking. I had my stock mirrors, so I could just move the motors to the M3 mirror housing. You have the previous owner's M3 mirrors with whatever he did to them. You don't have the luxury of moving the motors from your stock mirrors because you don't have them any longer. That's what sucks about the situation. Now you have to go out and find the style that is compatible with our wiring.

Well, the thing is, I have a feeling that the motors that are in the housings are the stock motors swapped because the motor I received on eBay is an M3 motor and looks nothing like it. These look similar to a stock mirror motor, so I can only assume that they are swapped motors.

But, despite this, it doesn't answer why the left mirror won't move in a straight line instead of always diagonally. I figure if it was a stock motor, it would move normally....


Perhaps my switch is bad?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Hmmm. I don't know, BP. I don't know enough about the intricacies of our mirrors to tell you.

[kayger12]

Glad I like the stock mirrors...

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[danewilson77]

Glad I like the stock mirrors...

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

Pretty happy with the functionality and looks of mine....

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Believe me, there are people out there who can make M3 mirrors look and perform perfectly. Unfortunately, BP's previous owner wasn't the best at making sure that things were working flawlessly.

I think the M3 mirrors match the car great. I think it's about time some of you guys started liking the M3 look. :mwah:mwah

[Mtnman]

I like the m3 mirror look. If someone would give them to me for free, Id find a way to make them work. Until then, I just blew my grocery money on a set of springs, shocks, and struts....so no m3 mirror for me. keep at it Botond, you'll get it.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

I was patient with my M3 mirrors. Guy wrecked his M3. He was parting out the car. Got them for $250. Score.

[az3579]

I was patient with my M3 mirrors. Guy wrecked his M3. He was parting out the car. Got them for $250. Score.

Wow, that's cheap.


DW,
Normally I don't care that much which mirrors are on the car as long as they work. I wouldn't really truly call the stock mirrors ugly, just as a comparison to the M3 mirrors. The M mirrors work much better with the car's lines; the stock rectangular mirrors look a little out of place. Personally I don't mind the look that much, and if it meant getting functioning mirrors, I would install them in a heartbeat.

I just wish BMW didn't make so many different friggin' mirrors with different compatibilities. :shifty

[cakM3]

I have the M3 mirrors but have to wait to get them painted gloss black. Looks like I will be coming down for the reunion with my original mirrors but when I get these M3 mirrors mounted, I will be posting pics. I plan to swap out the internals from my original mirrors into the M3 mirrors (assuming everything is a direct swap). :thumbsup

BP, not meaning to threadjack your thread...:biggrin Hopefully you can get your issues resolved before the reunion...

[danewilson77]

I do not think they are a direct swap.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

[az3579]

I do not think they are a direct swap.

Droid + Tapatalk = FTW!

They aren't. The interior of the housing has to be modified a teeny bit to accept the stock non-M3 motor. On mine, someone just screwed a metal screw to hold the motor to the back of the housing. :shifty

[Marcus-SanDiego]

On mine, someone just screwed a metal screw to hold the motor to the back of the housing. :shifty

:shifty indeed. Whatever happened to pride of workmanship?

[az3579]

:shifty indeed. Whatever happened to pride of workmanship?

Exactly.
The shavings of the mounting posts weren't that clean, either. Overall, it seemed like a 6.5/10 quality job.

[danewilson77]

Exactly.
The shavings of the mounting posts weren't that clean, either. Overall, it seemed like a 6.5/10 quality job.

I think 6.5 is generous...considering they don't work...well kinda....but mostly not.

[az3579]

I think 6.5 is generous...considering they don't work...well kinda....but mostly not.

May or may not be the installer's fault though; the motor in the passenger side was dead (may have died AFTER the install) and the switch may be bad causing my weird movement; benefit of the doubt.

[Hornung418]

Ditch the motors and manually adjust them? Sounds like a simple solution for the current situation until they can be installed correctly :dunno

[az3579]

Ditch the motors and manually adjust them? Sounds like a simple solution for the current situation until they can be installed correctly :dunno

Can't be done. Passenger mirror doesn't move whatsoever now in its current state; if I move it manually it will break even more. Trust me, it's not possible until I install another motor and get another mirror glass. I'm lucky it's even holding clipped on the way it is. It's currently pointing up into the sky and I can't see shizznizatch out of it.

[Johnmadd]

Just a thought, are your speakers still acting funny?

[az3579]

Just a thought, are your speakers still acting funny?

No.

[az3579]

Update:


My passenger mirror has been fixed.
There were two issues that existed with it. It only moved about 1cm in any direction as long as it was up. This was due to a faulty motor. After paying the sticker-shock price of ~$180 shipped (at a minimum $20-30 less than at the dealer if you take into consideration taxes), I ordered a motor and installed. It was now moving fully, but was still crooked.

The crookedness was caused by the motor being mounted with the incorrect orientation. It was mounted ~45 degrees to the right. I fought to get the thing mounted in the right orientation after drilling numerous incorrect holes and trying to find a screw that would fit at Home Depot, I finally got the thing mounted with Charlie's help (thank you so much!) and it now works perfectly. We got it sitting nicely in the housing and it does not appear to be scraping the insides of the housing. I FINALLY HAVE REVERSE TILT, which is what I always wanted in my mirror!

Now, the driver's side motor is working fine, but I have to fix the orientation on that one as well because that one too is mounted incorrectly. That's an adventure for another day, however...