Mirror Motor Fix - gears and switch
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 1:48 AM
Well I researched the threads on this about an hour ago
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=45 ... ror+motors
and decided I'd futz with my driver mirror to see if I could get it going again while relaxing this evening with a cold.
I went ahead and rebuilt the switch, and that got both mirrors working in either axis. No mystery there...when you take the back plate off the switch, be sure that the back plate is facing up, and those spring loaded contacts won't fly out. Release the 4 corners, then use a screwdriver to pry one of the little openings on one of the sides. I used a small wire brush conservatively to the clean up the board, and wiped down the ball contacts with solvent, then the wire brush. Assemble in the same position as above.
I still had a problem with the driver's mirror vertical axis being loose, like the gears were busted. It was just flopping around. So, I know this is a bit excessive, but I decided to figure out the problem and fix it. The alternative was going to be some clear silicon holding the mirror in place....
Removing the mirror to expose the motor/gearbox assy. was also straightforward. I used a thin flathead screwdriver through the hole on the bottom of the mirror to manipulate the locking ring. The ring has a little pointer that was pointing straight down in the locked position, that was visible just behind the bottom of the mirror glass. The screwdriver is used to spin the locking ring, and I was able to spin it counter-clockwise, and the mirror came off.
The problem with the gear drive on these units is that the gear arm is held to the gear by metal tangs that provide some pressure to hold it in engagement. The metal tang on the vertical axis gear arm had snapped, allowing the gear arm to float past the gear, not engaging, and allowing the mirror to go up and down just by pushing. Code 7334.2 - driver mirror vertical axis gear arm floating error.
So I fashioned a replacement for the metal tang; I used a piece of a chopstick pinned in place with a small nail clipped down to about 4mm, give or take .007
Here is the motor assy. with the ring removed from the 2 horizontal pins, and the one vertical pin. You can see the offending vertical axis gear arm at the top of the white ring.
This picture shows the horizontal gear arm, at the back of the assembly, which is held to engagement by the metal tang in the black housing.
Here is the fix. Instead of a metal clip, I used a "solid gear arm slide" pinned in place.
Now both mirrors are working again! Though they are slow and sometimes can't get through the whole range of motion. Sluggish, loud, catchy, suffering, but solid. For an hour and $0, I'm satisfied for now...
Now to do this:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/27497[/url]
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=45 ... ror+motors
and decided I'd futz with my driver mirror to see if I could get it going again while relaxing this evening with a cold.
I went ahead and rebuilt the switch, and that got both mirrors working in either axis. No mystery there...when you take the back plate off the switch, be sure that the back plate is facing up, and those spring loaded contacts won't fly out. Release the 4 corners, then use a screwdriver to pry one of the little openings on one of the sides. I used a small wire brush conservatively to the clean up the board, and wiped down the ball contacts with solvent, then the wire brush. Assemble in the same position as above.
I still had a problem with the driver's mirror vertical axis being loose, like the gears were busted. It was just flopping around. So, I know this is a bit excessive, but I decided to figure out the problem and fix it. The alternative was going to be some clear silicon holding the mirror in place....
Removing the mirror to expose the motor/gearbox assy. was also straightforward. I used a thin flathead screwdriver through the hole on the bottom of the mirror to manipulate the locking ring. The ring has a little pointer that was pointing straight down in the locked position, that was visible just behind the bottom of the mirror glass. The screwdriver is used to spin the locking ring, and I was able to spin it counter-clockwise, and the mirror came off.
The problem with the gear drive on these units is that the gear arm is held to the gear by metal tangs that provide some pressure to hold it in engagement. The metal tang on the vertical axis gear arm had snapped, allowing the gear arm to float past the gear, not engaging, and allowing the mirror to go up and down just by pushing. Code 7334.2 - driver mirror vertical axis gear arm floating error.
So I fashioned a replacement for the metal tang; I used a piece of a chopstick pinned in place with a small nail clipped down to about 4mm, give or take .007
Here is the motor assy. with the ring removed from the 2 horizontal pins, and the one vertical pin. You can see the offending vertical axis gear arm at the top of the white ring.
This picture shows the horizontal gear arm, at the back of the assembly, which is held to engagement by the metal tang in the black housing.
Here is the fix. Instead of a metal clip, I used a "solid gear arm slide" pinned in place.
Now both mirrors are working again! Though they are slow and sometimes can't get through the whole range of motion. Sluggish, loud, catchy, suffering, but solid. For an hour and $0, I'm satisfied for now...
Now to do this:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/27497[/url]
