star-art
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There is no dimming circuit on the passenger mirror. It's driver-side only! 
Side Mirror Glass Removal
- Thread starter dcsang
- Start date
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dcsang
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There is no dimming circuit on the passenger mirror. It's driver-side only!
Thanks for setting that straight! I would have felt a bit silly after pulling that mirror. Hopefully I can get some testing in this weekend.
dcsang
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I've isolated the problem to the wiring harness inside the mirror. There appears to be a common ground for the puddle light, heated mirror, and indicator light that joins somewhere in the harness and connects to chassis ground pin 2 on C516. I am getting intermittent continuity between those three grounds and the female connector to C516.
There is an inch or so of the harness visible before it disappears downward into the mirror housing and I can't pull it back to perform a proper inspection. An alternative is to jump a wire between the three grounds and splice into the ground wire on the female connector but it is darn near impossible to snake anything through the path of the wiring harness due to the narrow opening and winding bend.
Is there a way to disassemble the side mirror housing? I took a few pics but none really add value to this post.
There is an inch or so of the harness visible before it disappears downward into the mirror housing and I can't pull it back to perform a proper inspection. An alternative is to jump a wire between the three grounds and splice into the ground wire on the female connector but it is darn near impossible to snake anything through the path of the wiring harness due to the narrow opening and winding bend.
Is there a way to disassemble the side mirror housing? I took a few pics but none really add value to this post.
star-art
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You're correct about the common connection inside the mirror (what the factory manual refers to as a "jumper harness") between the puddle lamp, turn signal indicator lamp, and heated glass.
Funny that I was just looking at this thread today:
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/how-replace-spur-gear-inside-power-fold-mirrors-picture-heavy-399603/
It shows how to disassemble the mirror of an F-150. While they're not identical to ours, it's a good bet they are very similar. Hope that helps!
Funny that I was just looking at this thread today:
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/how-replace-spur-gear-inside-power-fold-mirrors-picture-heavy-399603/
It shows how to disassemble the mirror of an F-150. While they're not identical to ours, it's a good bet they are very similar. Hope that helps!
dcsang
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I appreciate the continued support! That's a helpful link and the mirror motor removal should be quite similar. Unfortunately, my wiring harness snakes down into the joint where the mirror folds inward. I'll take some pics next time it's removed but hopefully the problem will be resolved by then.
One observation omitted from my previous post was that the ground wire for the heated mirror appears to be 18awg while the indicator bulb and puddle lights both appear to be 16awg. This was unexpected since they all tie into a single 18awg ground at the end of the harness. That seems undersized to me, but I suppose the engineers know best.
Happy Holidays to the forum!
One observation omitted from my previous post was that the ground wire for the heated mirror appears to be 18awg while the indicator bulb and puddle lights both appear to be 16awg. This was unexpected since they all tie into a single 18awg ground at the end of the harness. That seems undersized to me, but I suppose the engineers know best.
Happy Holidays to the forum!
dcsang
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SUCCESS!!! 
The issue was a broken ground wire at the splice. Here are a few pics to hopefully aide others with related issues. Thank you star-art for the feedback and link to the F-150 mirror disassembly, which helped more than I initially anticipated.
Detach mirror from the assembly and removed screws 1-3 to dismount the mirror motor and screw 4 to remove the turn signal.
Disconnect the 2-pin electrical connection from the indicator light and disengage the plastic housing from the main body at the hinge. Very little pressure will be required.
Maneuver the wiring and mirror motor through the opening to separate.
This hinge nut can also be removed to separate the arm from the assembly, providing better access, but after reading that F-150 post I decided not to venture that route.
The issue was a broken ground wire at the splice. Here are a few pics to hopefully aide others with related issues. Thank you star-art for the feedback and link to the F-150 mirror disassembly, which helped more than I initially anticipated.
Detach mirror from the assembly and removed screws 1-3 to dismount the mirror motor and screw 4 to remove the turn signal.
Disconnect the 2-pin electrical connection from the indicator light and disengage the plastic housing from the main body at the hinge. Very little pressure will be required.
Maneuver the wiring and mirror motor through the opening to separate.
This hinge nut can also be removed to separate the arm from the assembly, providing better access, but after reading that F-150 post I decided not to venture that route.
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dcsang
Full Access Members
We're still in better shape to access the wiring harness.
After removing the foam insulation from the mounting side of the mirror assembly you will see a plastic push-clip securing the wiring harness to the frame. Detach that clip by prying it to produce slack on the wiring. This will allow pulling about 1.5" of the wiring harness to the opposite side for proper inspection.
Peeling back the harness wrap exposed the culprit.
After removing the foam insulation from the mounting side of the mirror assembly you will see a plastic push-clip securing the wiring harness to the frame. Detach that clip by prying it to produce slack on the wiring. This will allow pulling about 1.5" of the wiring harness to the opposite side for proper inspection.
Peeling back the harness wrap exposed the culprit.
star-art
Full Access Members
Glad I could help!! If you'd gone to Ford with this problem they would've had you replace the entire mirror at significant cost. Glad you were able to fix it yourself!
Thanks for posting those pics and the detailed disassembly info. This will help me when I eventually upgrade to power folding/auto-dim/BLIS mirrors in the not-too-distant future. I *might* just be tempted to take them apart and add forward-facing turn signals like I did for my car a couple years ago.
If you'd gone to Ford with this problem they would've had you replace the entire mirror at significant cost. Glad you were able to fix it yourself! Thanks for posting those pics and the detailed disassembly info. This will help me when I eventually upgrade to power folding/auto-dim/BLIS mirrors in the not-too-distant future. I *might* just be tempted to take them apart and add forward-facing turn signals like I did for my car a couple years ago.
dcsang
Full Access Members
The factory used a copper clamp to join the ground wires for the puddle light, indicator light, and heated mirror to a single 18awg wire connecting to pin 2 of C516.
I avoided shortening the ground connection by stripping a bit of insulation and soldering the wire directly to the clamp. The original insulation was pushed back towards to wiring harness for reuse and heat shrink was added to the other side of the connection.
Insulate the connection.
Wrap the harness and pull back towards the mounting side of the mirror assembly, just enough to reattach the plastic clip removed in previous steps.
Reassemble in reverse order. The mirror is working like a champ!
Lessons were learned that were not fully discussed here, such as voltage drop. That might be a topic of it's own.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this successful outcome!
I avoided shortening the ground connection by stripping a bit of insulation and soldering the wire directly to the clamp. The original insulation was pushed back towards to wiring harness for reuse and heat shrink was added to the other side of the connection.
Insulate the connection.
Wrap the harness and pull back towards the mounting side of the mirror assembly, just enough to reattach the plastic clip removed in previous steps.
Reassemble in reverse order. The mirror is working like a champ!
Lessons were learned that were not fully discussed here, such as voltage drop. That might be a topic of it's own.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this successful outcome!
Last edited:
dcsang
Full Access Members
Glad I could help!!
Thanks for posting those pics and the detailed disassembly info. This will help me when I eventually upgrade to power folding/auto-dim/BLIS mirrors in the not-too-distant future. I *might* just be tempted to take them apart and add forward-facing turn signals like I did for my car a couple years ago.
I hope I can be of assistance if necessary my friend!
