mercclk6

quick question. several times ive noticed that my side mirrors will fade blue and other times they arent. i read though the manual and we have the button on the rear mirror as auto on/off my mirrors dont fade anymore why? the manual says the when a cars head light shine on it they fade it that true. it was a bright sunny day and no cars were shining the lights on me. help

daddykay24

I have notice that if the rear sun shade is up the mirrors will not fade. Try droping the sun shade at night and see if that helps. There should also be a green light on the rearview mirror to let you know its working................

mercclk6

ive tried with no luck .

bigcory

You can read up a little more on electrochromatic mirrors here. Not much but...
http://ask.cars.com/2008/08/what-is-an-elec.html

First, check to make sure the sensor on the rear view mirror is not blocked or does not have any smudges/oils, etc.

The mirrors dim according to how much light is actually being seen by the sensor. So if a car is farther away or has less dim head lights, your mirror will darken less. Or if your rear shade is up, you have tinted windows, or an object is blocking light from reaching the sensor, that will also come into play.

It mentions in that article above that they generally only work at night. This makes sense as i've never noticed it myself during the day. Try using a flashlight directly on the sensor at night and see what happens?

All three mirrors should dim equally.

1. rear view dims but outsides don't = problem with "connection" to outside mirrors

2. only one of the mirrors is not dimming = the mirrors have been know to fail and leak out a black and corrosive goo if the seal is broken. Or it could be the "connection" to that paticular mirror.

3. None of the mirrors are dimming = problem with the sensor or lack of light reaching it.

Which of these best describes your issues?

mercclk6

well i do have tints 35% all around but heres somethings else as well when reversing i know that there suppose to tilt down only the passanger side does it. and when i try to adjust the driver side electronically it doesnt move up or down i think its defective.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

Try toggling the mirror switch to the left to get both sides to lower upon engaging the reverse gear.

Also, if your windows are tinted, chances are your mirror is not being glared at, hence not reacting since it did not reach the threshold limit it was programmed for.

SerasLibre

Cory,
I have problem #1. Any ideas on where the connection point is?

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

One of the connection points is at the harness that plugs into the mirror (accessed by taking out sunroof controls.)

Although highly unlikely, if your mirrors are not heating, it could be the plugs behind the mirrors themselves.

bigcory

It is possible that something is broken. I know a lot of people have mentioned that there is a threaded bolt that turns and is in control of the up/down movement. That on this paticular bolt, there is some grease and that grease sometimes hardens up on you. This causes the threaded bolt to stop turning. Try doing some searches and i'm sure you'll come up with some info on how to "loosen" up the grease.

The tinted windows explains the lack of mirror darkening. Try the flashlight trick I suggested and you should notice the mirror darkening. But with tinted windows cutting down on light entering the cabin, it's unlikely it will ever work as intended. The tint is doing it's job instead.

bigcory

No, i'm sorry I can't be of much help. I was just breaking it down from a logical standpoint.

So your interior mirror is still darkening like it is suppose to, but your left and right mirrors are not? Both of them or just one? Give us some more details.

Logically....

1. Rearview is dimming. Both outside mirrors are not= unlikely both mirrors are broken. They are probably not receiving a signal to dim for some reason. "connection" issue of some sort.

2. Rearview is dimming. Only of of the outside mirrors is not = connection issue to that paticular mirror as it doesn't know to change, or not functioning properly/broken/leaked fluid

3. you might try what GrandLS mentioned and check to make sure the adjustment **** for the exterior mirros is not in the center, but rather purshed right or left. I know this will button being centered will stop the mirrors from tilting down in reverse, but i'm not sure how it will affect the darkening. Something to at least look at first.

JBLover

If you have tint, then that will deffinantely make it stop working. Mine use to change, then I got 20% all the way around and it does not change anymore. I have an 03 and my mirrors never tilted down when I reversed. Is that something that was added after 03?