Folding Mirror Issue - Specific Question(s)

[Radar1968]

Hello All,

I'm very new to owning a T6 Campervan (T28 Highline SWB) and am learning everyday thanks to help from this forum and its members.

I need your help and advice now before I go and spend unnecessarily. I have read several articles regarding my issue already and tried several things. I have specific questions that I can't find answers to as yet. I'll try to keep things short and sweet. So here goes.

I bought the 2018 T6 converted to a camper van by Revolution conversions from my local motorhome dealer. The hand over was basic to say the least and I am discovering new things the van can do all the time(!). This includes the fact it has electric folding mirrors. Something I was not told of and had not accounted for when manually folding them a few times in the month I've had the van.

Having discovered the feature is part of my van I have tried to use them. There is no internal switch so I am activating folding using the key fob 'long hold'. The passenger mirror is folds fine, the drivers does not. Both window 'one touch' function works. I have 'reset' both windows (separately and together) using methods given on this forum but I cannot get the drivers mirror to electrically fold. Both mirrors angles can be adjusted electrically so there is power to both sides.

So the questions are:
i) What's the likelihood I've damaged the driver mirror by manually folding a few times? No idea if it was OK when I collected the van so can't claim on warranty with a clear conscience.
ii) Is there anything else I can try the get the drivers mirror to play ball? Disconnect battery for a while?
iii) If I disconnect the battery, are there any implications when reconnected? There is a leisure battery onboard.
iv) Can I test the existing mechanism in some way on the drivers side?
v) If I have damaged the folding mechanism can just this be replaced? I'm happy to get my hands dirty. I'd rather not replace the whole mirror as its been painted top shell and bottom (pic below).

I hope the makes sense and can start my journey towards fixing things.

Thanks in advance for any help offered. Much appreciated.

Radar

 

[dhardyuk]

Hi @Radar1968 and welcome aboard

I have recently been fighting some aftermarket power folding mirrors and have learned lots about the weird things they can do.

First off, carefully remove the mirror cap as this will give access to the wires feeding the motor. The circuit is pretty simples, two wires are connected to the motor and they just switch polarity to move it up or down accordingly.

Assuming you have found the wires you can operate the mechanism whilst probing the polarity and voltage at the mirror itself. You should see +12v on one pin going up and +12v on the other pin coming down.

The aftermarket kits use relays in a control box to provide a few seconds of up or down voltage which should be enough to fully move the mirror. If no voltage can be found its potentially a wiring /fuse problem. You can also measure the resistance of the mirror motor coil - if there's no resistance you have a shorted coil, if there is low resistance your coil may be fine and if there is high resistance your coil may be buggered.

Here are pictures of my readings on the mirrors I've had on / off / on and believe it or not, off and then on again, my Caravelle. All readings taken at the dining table were on buggered mirrors, so 38 ohms was not correct. The open circuit on the 2nd mirror is also not correct; the 7.6 ohm reading on the seat in the van was the NS mirror resistance measured via the wiring loom from the drivers footwell into the dash and then the NS door (the next one to be replaced because it goes up at about half the speed it comes down !!!????!!!) and the 19.4 ohms is the 3rd OS drivers side mirror which is currently OK



The purple wire was squished, but that wasn't the problem as nothing improved when I cut out the squish and spliced it back together.




I totally understand if you don't feel confident popping off mirror caps and jabbing at wires, but if you do fancy a go you can get a cheapie multimeter from Amazon for £4 (it will also need a battery)



I've had such fun with mine that I've been out today and bought the repair wires needed to convert my original mirror cables (and a door loom from ebay) into a test rig so I can validate the new mirror that's coming before I rip the door apart and fit it.

Assuming anyone is still with me here, in my defense I already had the door loom as I'm retrofitting a drivers side door switch panel so SWMBO can lock the doors and jiggle the windows to her hearts content. I haven't decided what to put in the square hole left by the mirror switch but I'll have to come up with something before I tackle the NS mirror swap

 

[dhardyuk]

Sorry, I just reread you post so, your other questions .....

• disconnect battery if you like, no worries there
• just make sure you don't disconnect the airbags and then turn the ignition on, you'll need VCDS (or similar) or a trip to the dealer to reset the airbag warnings
• you can get just the motors from Aliexpress.com I have a pair that I ordered whilst in the doldrums with my mirrors and they look simple enough to fit once you overcome the springs that act as the parking brake when the mechanism is raised/lowered

• Mine came without wires so I'm possibly in a position to move them along as NOS motors that I might not be brave enough to open up and attempt to wire

Any way - they are a nice bunch here.

D

 

[Radar1968]

Thanks so much for taking the time to wrote such a detailed reply.
I may well look at checking the voltage/resistance with a multimeter to start with assuming I can get the cover off. At least that’s a starting point.
It’s starting to look very complicated though and certainly heading towards the limit of my abilities.
I’m more than prepared to order a brand new unit as long as I can easily change the two painted shells, as per my photos.
Can anyone comment on the ability to take off BOTH the shells that have been painted on my van (top is body colour, bottom is orange) as this will affect my decision.
I’d also be interested to know the quality of replacement units. For instance if I was able to remove and replace both shells would a part from say, Justkampers be OEM quality and match the other existing mirror? Similarly does anyone have a recommendation for parts sourcing?
I suppose I could get a second hand OEM part off eBay or a scrapper if the shells can be swapped.
Thanks once again for replying.
Radar

 

[TrevorK]

What does the Motorhome dealer say, surely there must be some guarantee, and it should have been fit for purpose when you bought it?

 

[Radar1968]

What does the Motorhome dealer say, surely there must be some guarantee, and it should have been fit for purpose when you bought it?

I haven’t raised it with them as yet.

As I said in my original post I can’t honestly confirm it was working before the handover as I wasn’t aware the van was fitted with them.

I wouldn’t feel particularly comfortable contacting them about it unless I was sure it wasn’t working before or that I hadn’t caused the issue by manually operating it myself. You could argue they should have told me but at the moment I’m trying to fix myself.

 

[Robert]

... There is no internal switch so I am activating folding using the key fob 'long hold'...

Are you saying that this switch is not present in the top of your driver's door card?

 

[Radar1968]

Are you saying that this switch is not present in the top of your driver's door card?
View attachment 195647

Correct. Sort of.
A switch is there but my switch is the other way around and I have the heated mirror symbol in the middle at the top. No folding symbol or switch position for that.