94 740iL Minor Electrical Questions vanity mirror light

[prosin]

I recently purchased this car and am in love! The vanity mirror light doesn't light on passenger side. Driver side does but you need to open the mirror a couple times for it to work - I am assuming the switch inside the visor has dirty contacts. Is there a way to clean them? Also while using the driver side auto down window- it works fine but if you try to open the sunroof it will stop going down, if you hit any other window switches it will stop the auto down - is this normal?

[IcemanBHE]

Yup on the window/sunroof thing.

[shogun]

The vanity mirror:
In >80% of all cases the connector slipped off or is dirty.
Remove the two torx screws holding the bracket, pull it out and check the electrical connector:
http://bmwe32.masscom.net/johan/head...un_visor_1.JPG
Same thing goes for the other side but you have to turn the visor to reach the torx screws:
http://bmwe32.masscom.net/johan/head...un_visor_2.JPG

Also while using the driver side auto down window- it works fine but if you try to open the sunroof it will stop going down, if you hit any other window switches it will stop the auto down - is this normal?


that is normal. I belive that is even mentioned in the owners manual.

2 reasons, one is a kind of panic safety as the windows developed in those days do not have a real safety system if someone has his fingers in the window when it closes.
2nd: overload protection, the general module = GM can only manage 30 or
35A for a certain time.
This is at the same time again a safety protection and also is required for the function of the window motor system to work at all temperatures, no matter if minus or plus to the extreme. The overload relay has a certain delay time of about 6 seconds, so even in winter with minus temps the windows will properly close.

[prosin]

Well I guess I am in the 20% - connector was good and connected. I did take the connector off and make contact with the metal that the torx screws go into thinking that it would complete the circuit. No success. Lamps are good and cleaned and reconnected it all. No dice. The g-friend wants it WORKING.

[shogun]

did you switch the lights on?
I never use that mirror nor my wife, but I could imagine that they only work with lights on.
Wait, I just checked my owners manual, lights must be on , that means at least parking lights.
Read the owners manual first and then start wrenching ;-)

[prosin]

Yep - I made sure the driver side was on and working when testing the passenger side. Imagine working with your wife and arriving at work just before sun up......

[shogun]

well, then there is more to search with wiring diagrams and multimeter
http://shark.armchair.mb.ca/~dave/BMW/e32/

[LysanderSpooner]

Just adding some info to this old thread... I was just working on this today and came to a few realizations without a diagram to look at:

1. The light units receive constant 12v+ through (if I remember correctly) a brown/white striped wire.
2. The other wire coming into them is black with yellow bands and delivers 12v- when there is a completed circuit (visor down, mirror open, parking or headlights on).
3. The wire in #2 goes to the visor clip which is held to the roof with two torx screws.
4. The electrical contact embedded in the clasp of the visor (part that goes into the clip) is connected to the visor arm (pivoting arm mounted near door pillar) via an on/off switch attached to the sliding mirror.
5. There is a ground wire attached to the inner end of the visor arm (hidden inside the roof confines when mounted).

So the way it works (assuming the mirror is open, good bulbs, continuity throughout the whole system, and a working mirror switch) is that the light unit has constant 12v+ coming to it, but it is not grounded until the contact in #4 shorts to ground through the visor arm, which happens when you fold the visor down through its working range.

In my case the mirror switch is bad in my visor, which sucks because the visor is very nice otherwise. I have another one that's a little rattier but not too bad. Maybe it will work now that I have these other things figured out.

Also pay close attention to the contacts on the back side of the plug on the light unit. You will see two solder points, and leaning against one of them will be a small wire tang that is just supposed to make enough contact via spring tension. I soldered that sucker down solid and it worked much better. Prior to that the light would only stay on after fidgeting with it once mounted.