side folding mirror fixed with pics

[Russianblue]

update. I went in for surgery on the mirror yesterday with the goal of trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with mine.

getting the mirror cover off was a bitch. I broke the (bmw classic plastic) tabs on the bottom edge but it turns out they aren't super essential. the cover fits snugly without them.

anyway, I dislodged the microswitch when I took off the switch cover so I don't know if it was loose or not.

but I was able to see how this thing works because I noticed that when the switch is in position, when the mirror passes a certain point, a detent in the motor housing (I think) presses the switch on and off quickly. so I took the switch out and held with my hand. I pressed the button to activate the mirrors. I found that if I pressed the switch ONE time at any point in their open/close travel, they would stop at the appropriate point. if I did not press the switch lever, the mirrors would either continue on (click, click click) or close/open again to their original position.

ultimately I am not sure if I figured out anything. but, the mirrors SORTA work now. definitely better than before. the left mirror has gone from not working at all to working pretty well with the exception of the fact that I get a click click click when on the left when they open back up. It's almost as though the switch is getting pressed too close to the end of the travel. alternatively, the switch could just be bad and need to be replaced. I may try that route but this I low priority. I was willing to give it an hour or so and basically just pulled it apart and put it back together and now it works a little better than before. I am sure I will have to repair it again at some point.

there was also this rubber cord/gasket piece about 2 inches long that had been hanging from the housing which I have NO idea where it came from. but not gonna worry about it. I might take the other side apart to see if I can tell a diff between the two but will wait til the weather is a little better.