How 2- Repair a Faulty Door Mirror Switch

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Robsey
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How 2- Repair a Faulty Door Mirror Switch

Post by Robsey »

Do you have a problem with the mirror not moving when you press the direction button.?

It is a very common problem on twenty-something year old Cavaliers.
This fix is easy enough once you get the casing open.
You will need a fine blade or a thin screwdriver blade to lever the casing over the four tangs in the switch body.
There are small parts so be carefull not to drop or lose any of them.

This is the switch we are working on, along with the part number on the white tag.

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It is a bugger to separate - you need a very thin flat lever to slip the casing off the little wedge shaped tangs.

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Once opened, there are three little V shaped caps (like the stereotypical hat worn by chinese ladies in the rice fields)

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These caps sit on the tips of three finger-like projections built into the bottom of the round motor direction switch. Be careful that you do not drop and lose the little caps..

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I was able to polish these clean with a cotton bud soaked in brake cleaner.

There is also a strange pair of rounded brass dumbell type things under the mirror selection rocker switch.
A good polish with the soaked cotton bud cleans them up nicely.

The contact plates underneath usually only require a little rub with the cotton bud.
I spent ages looking for springs that I thought I had lost from the mirror selector switch.. but it appears that there were no springs in there to start with. - well I think so anyway, as it worked fine after reassembly without any springs.

The real problem area is the "box-like" contacts in the switch that the V shaped caps sit inside.
These get as manky as hell and fill with copper oxide and crud.
It is therefore a matter of cleaning up all the green sludgy verdigris that builds up on the copper contacts.

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A good spray of contact cleaner, brake cleaner or even carb cleaner will help wash the crud away.
I also use a thin jewellers screwdriver or a taper tipped kitchen knife to scrape away stubborn bits and scrape the metal contacts clean and shiny.
Another quick spray clean and then mop / polish up with a cotton bud.
In my case, I had to clean the box-contacts again, as I still didn't have all four directions after the first clean.

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Finally reassemble.
Fit the little caps - point down into the direction contact "boxes"

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Push the two halves of the switch back together.
Ensure the tangs locate properly into their cut outs in the casing.

That will cure most faulty electric mirror switches.
If it doesn't sort it the first time, try a second clean just incase you missed a bit.
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