Confirming if Heated Mirror is Out

jsoto · #1 11-07-2013, 07:24 PM

Anyone know a easy way to confirm if the heated portion of my DS mirror is out. And OR a combo of that and the self dimming option.

My Passenger side has a slight yellow HUE to it and I know it works.

Last year, if memory recalls, as the end of winter, I noticed my DS was not defogging like my passenger side. As well, and I've paid more keen attention, but it's situation dependant, but I think the self dimming on the DS is out too.

The only telltale clue I can tell you is the PS has a slight yellow hue to the mirror and my DS does not.

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Ricky Bobby · #2 11-07-2013, 08:38 PM

post up a pic, if the whole mirror has a yellow hue it might be that the heating element changed the color of the fluid, whether that means it works or not i dont know.

the heated mirror function comes on as needed (or Quicksilver might have the reference page to how it works) as far as i can tell, when i bought my X both mirrors had some delamination of the glass, i posted up recently that i purchased heated, blue tinted aspherical blind spot mirrors from our friends in Latvia and am thoroughly pleased.

Not sure though on your situation as i do not have auto dim function

Qsilver7 · #3 11-07-2013, 10:34 PM

When you touch the mirror glass...at some point (depending on the ambient temp) the glass should be warm. Get a base reading by touching the glass before you start the vehicle...then touch both sides later...again, if the heating elements are working, the glass will be warm to the touch.

As far as the EC (auto-dim) feature...I can look at mine and tell they have dimmed. The dimming operates from the interior rear view mirror...if you can look at that one and tell that it's dimmed...just glance over to the pass & driver's side mirrors and you should see the same degree of dimming.

On my e34/e38/e39 which all had a EC interior rear view mirror...but not the side mirrors...it's obvious when the interior has dimmed when I glance into the pass/driver's side mirror.

As far as being "yellow"...my EC mirrors are basically clear looking with no tint or hue..below are the original ones that came on the vehicle:

And you can see the EC/Heated/Aspherical mirrors that replaced them don't have any "tint" either:

(driver's side mirror)

(passenger's side mirror)

TerminatorX5 · #4 11-08-2013, 01:52 AM

take a flashlight and shine into the "eye" of the central mirror - if all three mirrors dim, they are ok, if one is not dimming, then you found the problem... on the older bimmers the heating came on when the rear defrost was activated and the ambient temperature warranted it... on the newer ones (E53 including) i think, they have changed the algorithm...

just found:

Mirror heating

Mirror heating is controlled by the door modules. The heating function is active as of terminal 15 (ignition lock position 2). The activation time is dependent on the outside temperature.
The general module receives the outside temperature from the IKE via the K-bus and determines a cycle time for heating operation. This time is transferred to the peripheral modules where it is carried out. Heating is no longer active at an outside temperature greater than 25 o C and it is switched on permanently at a temperature lower than -10 o C.

jsoto · #5 11-08-2013, 07:43 AM

Thx for some good info. Silly me, I thought the dimming was independent of each other, so I did the flashlight trick on the DS mirror with no change.
But yes, the yellow hue on the PS as if it's got a light yellow tight over it versus the DS which is your normal chromish-slight blueish hue into it.

Next steps.
If the mirror is not warm on the one I believe is bad, next troubleshooting/isolating steps. Where do I plug in my MM on which connectors to confirm it's getting *juice*

Qsilver7 · #6 11-08-2013, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

just found:

Mirror heating

Mirror heating is controlled by the door modules. The heating function is active as of terminal 15 (ignition lock position 2). The activation time is dependent on the outside temperature.
The general module receives the outside temperature from the IKE via the K-bus and determines a cycle time for heating operation. This time is transferred to the peripheral modules where it is carried out. Heating is no longer active at an outside temperature greater than 25 o C and it is switched on permanently at a temperature lower than -10 o C.

Great minds think alike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

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