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VIDEO: How to fix your vanity / sunvisor lights turning on
So the vanity lights not working was driving me crazy. For years. It was rainy outside so I finally decided now is the time to play with them since I was bored.
KEEP IN MIND THIS IS WHAT WORKED FOR ME. You may have different needs/problems.
Check your fuses & bulb FIRST before attempting this mod.
There's actually a thread on CL somewhere I can't find it anymore. It's the connection inside the visor itself not making proper contact and the member posted pics of what he did to fix it
Great work on the videos though. Any chance you know why my puddle light isn't working haha fuses are all good and I've tried all kinds of bulbs.
i wonder if you can do this without taking off the visor? Since it's only removing the mirror, can one just use a prying too to get the mirror out, do the bend and put it back in?
CCJ22, thanks for the videos! This happened on my IS350 and started to bug the crap out of me. I fixed it without bending anything.
The culprit is the gold contact at the end of shaft of the visor. This is physically located on the top left corner if looking at the passenger visor at it hangs normally. The problem is that the plastic slider doesn't make proper contact with it over time. I assume it gets bent in over time.
Gold contact switch.
The fix:
Take apart the visor as instructed above and place something to extend the reach of the plastic visor. Do this on the top left end (in reference to the passenger side visor). I attached a little piece of the velcro to that end of the plastic slider. I also super glued it down for protection so it does not come off from sliding back and forth. Pictured below:
Extending the reach of the visor. This will allow it to push further.
IMPORTANT: Ignore the middle piece of velcro, I later removed it. Only the top left is necessary.
@oldglo your image help me resolve my problem with the passenger light not working.
I had the same problem as all these other folks where the light wouldn't work when sliding my visor all the way. I found out after my girlfriend brought it to my attention. I tried replacing the bulb but that didn't work and was certain there was an issue with the visor itself but I couldn't figure it out and was ready to tear the visor apart.
Simply extending the edge of the inside of the slider resolved the problem which is allowing the gold contact you mentioned to make a continuous circuit. I verified this with a multimeter.
You can either use a continuity setting or ohm out the circuit. It's normally open, meaning normally the connection is broken when the sun visor is closed and mirror is covered. When you completely slide it open and when the light is supposed to turn on, the circuit is complete and the buzz or ohm readings start to appear.
I extended it by using a left over thin candy cardboard box and packaging tape. Hopefully it holds up.
Good luck everyone else. If you can't get it, there seems to be many spare visors parted from old IS's on eBay for cheap around $30-40 versus the price of a new one.
Pic 1: removing the slider. It's easier than you might think.
Pic 2: Extending the inside edge of the slider that goes in the visor. I used cardboard from a box and packaging tape.
Pic 3: I tested the visor with a multimeter to ensure a continuous circuit when fully sliding the mirror cover open.
Pic 4: Zoomed in to where I found the contacts on the connector to measure continuity or ohms.
12-21-13, 11:58 AM
VIDEO: How to fix your vanity / sunvisor lights turning on
