Hi All,

I got replacement side mirror part from ebay and it seems connector is different.
I have 18 connector mirror and got 11 connector part but # of wires are sames.
I wonder if I can cut the wire and connect matching colored wire to make mirror control works.

Picture.

 

Well, you could id the same wire colors???

 

Was the replacement supposed to be for your year model car??

 

You probably got the non dimming or non-memory mirror.

Look up the wiring diagram for cross compatibility.

If your going to swap connectors, depin them instead of cutting the wires.

 

I'd just get the correct mirror!

 

I'd think you got the wrong mirror too, however the same number of wires means the same features. I am guessing you have non-dimming mirrors, based on 3 wires for adjust, 6 needed for memory, and 2 needed for heat. A dimming mirror would need 2 more wires (13 total). It could be the wrong year?

If you can handle de-pinning and re-pining the connector go for it, don't cut, the memory is very sensetive it might not work after that. To do this absolutely right you would need the wiring diagrams for both mirror versions, so you could get the right wires in the right slot. You can't be sure an assembly that is serviced as a unit (as the mirror is) uses consistent wire colors because the supplier is free to do whatever they like. The wire colors in the service manual only refer to the serviced unit which is the wiring harness. But if the colors hapen to be the same and you have the tools to swap the terminals, give it a try!

 

I know this is an old thread, but I came across it in my research on this topic, so maybe someone else will too.

I had the same problem as the OP. I accidentally got an 11 pin replacement mirror and the connectors on the old mirror/car are 18 pin

All the colors matched up other than two, which I suspect are the non polar dependent mirror heater wires, which I have not tested yet. They are both black with a green stripe on the 11 pin mirror, which seems to confirm it doesn't matter how you hook up the last two. The replacement mirror does have all direction movement.

I had to destroy the 11 pin connector to remove the pins. Unless you have the right tool it is very difficult to get these pins out without damaging the connector. I would say this would be nearly impossible going 18 pin to 11 pin.

Luckily for me the 18 pin connector is very easy to manipulate with a pick. I took it apart and replaced the pins matching the colors. I only pulled one from the 18 pin connector at a time and put the replacement in before removing the next. This insured that all the pins were in the correct location. There is a small metal tab that must be pushed down on the pins from the 11 pin connector to get them to slide into the 18 pin connector. I damaged two pins in the removal process, but was able to use spares from the blank spots in the 18 pin connector.

The 18 pin connector is two 9 pins stacked. You can stack them wrong, so make note of how they are stacked. I did it wrong the first time and nothing worked. It took me a second to figure out what i had done wrong.

Hopefully this helps someone.

 

Jonny05es post was very helpful. I am putting a 2003 300es LH 11 pin pick-and-pull mirror onto my 2006 330es LH 16 pin (not 18 pin) mirror. Most of the wire colors match except for two, and I am presuming those are the heater wires. As Jonny05es indicated, the two black wires w/green stripes on the 11 pin mirror must (I am presuming) match up to the black wire w/red stripe and the brown wire w/white stripe on my 16 pin mirror because those are the only two wires that do not color match between the two mirrors. Will soon find out.