Repairing Folding Mirror - Motor Constantly Running
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44
From: Cyprus
Repairing Folding Mirror - Motor Constantly Running
While I was driving I could hear a strange noise. It turned out to be the right mirror motor was constantly working and the mirror was stuck in the extended position. Pressing the button changed the direction of the motor but the mirror was still stuck and the motor would not stop. So I phoned my local Honda dealer and it turns out that there are no spare parts for a broken folding mirror and a replacement complete mirror assembly costs about €400 ($434). I was told that the only alternative was to cut one of the wires to stop the motor from running. I searched on E bay and the cheapest used complete mirror assembly I could find was about €100. I was seriously considering that option.
However before ordering it I decided to take up the challenge to see if the "unrepairable" motor could be repaired. It turned out that there was a broken plastic gear which I repaired with epoxy glue and the mirror is now working fine. This part probably costs about 10 cents to make so its a great shame that no parts are available.
For anyone who is interested here is the procedure for the repair:
1- Remove the mirror from the door. You can Google the procedure. This involves removing the inside door panel.
and removing the three nuts that hold the mirror to the door and carefully removing the wiring harness.
2- At the base of the mirror remove the screw that secures the black plastic gasket. Then there are three screws with a star shaped head (special screwdriver needed) that need to be removed. Once the cone shaped mirror base is removed you will see how to remove another screw that holds the motor mechanism to the mirror housing.
3- Remove the mirror from the complete assembly. You can Google the procedure. Basically use a screwdriver wrapped in cloth to very carefully unclip the two clips at the bottom of the mirror and then there are two flaps at the top of the mirror that can be pulled down and out. Once the mirror is off you will see two more screws that need to be removed to completely remove the motor assembly from the housing. Unclip the indicator wiring clip.
4. You will notice the wiring goes to the mirror adjustment actuator assembly and also the motor that turns or folds the mirror. Its the folding mirror assembly we are interested in.
5- First remove the small plug that gives power to the folding mirror motor. Unless you remove this you cannot dismantle anything further. On my Fit the plug had a black wire and a white wire connected to it. There is one side of the plug you need to press to make it come out. There is also a rubber seal that can easily be removed.
6- The plastic cover that encases the folding mirror motor is secured by silicone sealant. Carefully prize off the cover from the bottom with a screwdriver. You will then see a circuit board is secured to the motor. There are two metal pins from the circuit board that plug in to the motor that can easily be pulled out to remove the board.
The function of the circuit board is like a switch to cut the power to the motor when it senses the motor has stopped moving at the end of its cycle. Simple but effective.
7- The motor is supported on top of the mirror gearbox cover. Remove the three screws to gain access to the mirror gearbox. In this case the motor would not stop moving indicating a broken gearbox. There are two plastic gears and two metal gears. They build up a mechanical advantage so the motor can turn the mirror. It is unlikely that the metal gears will break. There is one plastic gear directly attached to the motor. That one is delicate and would be hard to repair. There is a second larger plastic gear that connects with it. In this case the second plastic gear had a split that was causing the problem.
This second plastic gear fits onto a metal spindle that drives a metal gear. The split was causing slippage. Its possible to repair this second plastic gear with epoxy resin.
8- Remove the second plastic gear and the metal gear spindle that threads into it. Remove all traces of grease.
If possible use a sonication cleaner if you have one filled with warm water and some washing up liquid. Use superglue to temporarily secure the crack. Then fill both the hollow sides of the plastic gear with a good quality epoxy resin to reinforce it. Apply some epoxy resin to glue the metal spindle to the gear. The metal spindle just threads all the way into the center of the plastic gear.
Be careful not to get any glue on the teeth of the gear.
Once dried file off any excess glue so as to keep the original dimensions. If there is too much epoxy resin this may prevent the gear from moving freely. If necessary top up the folding mirror gearbox with lithium grease
9- Reassemble and test the mechanism with power to the mirror assembly. You may have to do some tweaking. My folding mirror is now working fine. Of course there are no guarantees. However if you would like to try you may be able to save buying a replacement mirror.
I hope this information may be able to help someone in the future.
Kind Regards
Chris
However before ordering it I decided to take up the challenge to see if the "unrepairable" motor could be repaired. It turned out that there was a broken plastic gear which I repaired with epoxy glue and the mirror is now working fine. This part probably costs about 10 cents to make so its a great shame that no parts are available.
For anyone who is interested here is the procedure for the repair:
1- Remove the mirror from the door. You can Google the procedure. This involves removing the inside door panel.
and removing the three nuts that hold the mirror to the door and carefully removing the wiring harness.
2- At the base of the mirror remove the screw that secures the black plastic gasket. Then there are three screws with a star shaped head (special screwdriver needed) that need to be removed. Once the cone shaped mirror base is removed you will see how to remove another screw that holds the motor mechanism to the mirror housing.
3- Remove the mirror from the complete assembly. You can Google the procedure. Basically use a screwdriver wrapped in cloth to very carefully unclip the two clips at the bottom of the mirror and then there are two flaps at the top of the mirror that can be pulled down and out. Once the mirror is off you will see two more screws that need to be removed to completely remove the motor assembly from the housing. Unclip the indicator wiring clip.
4. You will notice the wiring goes to the mirror adjustment actuator assembly and also the motor that turns or folds the mirror. Its the folding mirror assembly we are interested in.
5- First remove the small plug that gives power to the folding mirror motor. Unless you remove this you cannot dismantle anything further. On my Fit the plug had a black wire and a white wire connected to it. There is one side of the plug you need to press to make it come out. There is also a rubber seal that can easily be removed.
6- The plastic cover that encases the folding mirror motor is secured by silicone sealant. Carefully prize off the cover from the bottom with a screwdriver. You will then see a circuit board is secured to the motor. There are two metal pins from the circuit board that plug in to the motor that can easily be pulled out to remove the board.
The function of the circuit board is like a switch to cut the power to the motor when it senses the motor has stopped moving at the end of its cycle. Simple but effective.
7- The motor is supported on top of the mirror gearbox cover. Remove the three screws to gain access to the mirror gearbox. In this case the motor would not stop moving indicating a broken gearbox. There are two plastic gears and two metal gears. They build up a mechanical advantage so the motor can turn the mirror. It is unlikely that the metal gears will break. There is one plastic gear directly attached to the motor. That one is delicate and would be hard to repair. There is a second larger plastic gear that connects with it. In this case the second plastic gear had a split that was causing the problem.
This second plastic gear fits onto a metal spindle that drives a metal gear. The split was causing slippage. Its possible to repair this second plastic gear with epoxy resin.
8- Remove the second plastic gear and the metal gear spindle that threads into it. Remove all traces of grease.
If possible use a sonication cleaner if you have one filled with warm water and some washing up liquid. Use superglue to temporarily secure the crack. Then fill both the hollow sides of the plastic gear with a good quality epoxy resin to reinforce it. Apply some epoxy resin to glue the metal spindle to the gear. The metal spindle just threads all the way into the center of the plastic gear.
Be careful not to get any glue on the teeth of the gear.
Once dried file off any excess glue so as to keep the original dimensions. If there is too much epoxy resin this may prevent the gear from moving freely. If necessary top up the folding mirror gearbox with lithium grease
9- Reassemble and test the mechanism with power to the mirror assembly. You may have to do some tweaking. My folding mirror is now working fine. Of course there are no guarantees. However if you would like to try you may be able to save buying a replacement mirror.
I hope this information may be able to help someone in the future.
Kind Regards
Chris
Last edited by Chris Nicola; Jul 20, 2015 at 04:43 PM.
New Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 2
From: India
While I was driving I could hear a strange noise. It turned out to be the right mirror motor was constantly working and the mirror was stuck in the extended position. Pressing the button changed the direction of the motor but the mirror was still stuck and the motor would not stop. So I phoned my local Honda dealer and it turns out that there are no spare parts for a broken folding mirror and a replacement complete mirror assembly costs about €400 ($434). I was told that the only alternative was to cut one of the wires to stop the motor from running. I searched on E bay and the cheapest used complete mirror assembly I could find was about €100. I was seriously considering that option.
However before ordering it I decided to take up the challenge to see if the "unrepairable" motor could be repaired. It turned out that there was a broken plastic gear which I repaired with epoxy glue and the mirror is now working fine. This part probably costs about 10 cents to make so its a great shame that no parts are available.
For anyone who is interested here is the procedure for the repair:
1- Remove the mirror from the door. You can Google the procedure. This involves removing the inside door panel.
and removing the three nuts that hold the mirror to the door and carefully removing the wiring harness.
2- At the base of the mirror remove the screw that secures the black plastic gasket. Then there are three screws with a star shaped head (special screwdriver needed) that need to be removed. Once the cone shaped mirror base is removed you will see how to remove another screw that holds the motor mechanism to the mirror housing.
3- Remove the mirror from the complete assembly. You can Google the procedure. Basically use a screwdriver wrapped in cloth to very carefully unclip the two clips at the bottom of the mirror and then there are two flaps at the top of the mirror that can be pulled down and out. Once the mirror is off you will see two more screws that need to be removed to completely remove the motor assembly from the housing. Unclip the indicator wiring clip.
4. You will notice the wiring goes to the mirror adjustment actuator assembly and also the motor that turns or folds the mirror. Its the folding mirror assembly we are interested in.
5- First remove the small plug that gives power to the folding mirror motor. Unless you remove this you cannot dismantle anything further. On my Fit the plug had a black wire and a white wire connected to it. There is one side of the plug you need to press to make it come out. There is also a rubber seal that can easily be removed.
6- The plastic cover that encases the folding mirror motor is secured by silicone sealant. Carefully prize off the cover from the bottom with a screwdriver. You will then see a circuit board is secured to the motor. There are two metal pins from the circuit board that plug in to the motor that can easily be pulled out to remove the board.
The function of the circuit board is like a switch to cut the power to the motor when it senses the motor has stopped moving at the end of its cycle. Simple but effective.
7- The motor is supported on top of the mirror gearbox cover. Remove the three screws to gain access to the mirror gearbox. In this case the motor would not stop moving indicating a broken gearbox. There are two plastic gears and two metal gears. They build up a mechanical advantage so the motor can turn the mirror. It is unlikely that the metal gears will break. There is one plastic gear directly attached to the motor. That one is delicate and would be hard to repair. There is a second larger plastic gear that connects with it. In this case the second plastic gear had a split that was causing the problem.
This second plastic gear fits onto a metal spindle that drives a metal gear. The split was causing slippage. Its possible to repair this second plastic gear with epoxy resin.
8- Remove the second plastic gear and the metal gear spindle that threads into it. Remove all traces of grease.
If possible use a sonication cleaner if you have one filled with warm water and some washing up liquid. Use superglue to temporarily secure the crack. Then fill both the hollow sides of the plastic gear with a good quality epoxy resin to reinforce it. Apply some epoxy resin to glue the metal spindle to the gear. The metal spindle just threads all the way into the center of the plastic gear.
Be careful not to get any glue on the teeth of the gear.
Once dried file off any excess glue so as to keep the original dimensions. If there is too much epoxy resin this may prevent the gear from moving freely. If necessary top up the folding mirror gearbox with lithium grease
9- Reassemble and test the mechanism with power to the mirror assembly. You may have to do some tweaking. My folding mirror is now working fine. Of course there are no guarantees. However if you would like to try you may be able to save buying a replacement mirror.
I hope this information may be able to help someone in the future.
Kind Regards
Chris
However before ordering it I decided to take up the challenge to see if the "unrepairable" motor could be repaired. It turned out that there was a broken plastic gear which I repaired with epoxy glue and the mirror is now working fine. This part probably costs about 10 cents to make so its a great shame that no parts are available.
For anyone who is interested here is the procedure for the repair:
1- Remove the mirror from the door. You can Google the procedure. This involves removing the inside door panel.
and removing the three nuts that hold the mirror to the door and carefully removing the wiring harness.
2- At the base of the mirror remove the screw that secures the black plastic gasket. Then there are three screws with a star shaped head (special screwdriver needed) that need to be removed. Once the cone shaped mirror base is removed you will see how to remove another screw that holds the motor mechanism to the mirror housing.
3- Remove the mirror from the complete assembly. You can Google the procedure. Basically use a screwdriver wrapped in cloth to very carefully unclip the two clips at the bottom of the mirror and then there are two flaps at the top of the mirror that can be pulled down and out. Once the mirror is off you will see two more screws that need to be removed to completely remove the motor assembly from the housing. Unclip the indicator wiring clip.
4. You will notice the wiring goes to the mirror adjustment actuator assembly and also the motor that turns or folds the mirror. Its the folding mirror assembly we are interested in.
5- First remove the small plug that gives power to the folding mirror motor. Unless you remove this you cannot dismantle anything further. On my Fit the plug had a black wire and a white wire connected to it. There is one side of the plug you need to press to make it come out. There is also a rubber seal that can easily be removed.
6- The plastic cover that encases the folding mirror motor is secured by silicone sealant. Carefully prize off the cover from the bottom with a screwdriver. You will then see a circuit board is secured to the motor. There are two metal pins from the circuit board that plug in to the motor that can easily be pulled out to remove the board.
The function of the circuit board is like a switch to cut the power to the motor when it senses the motor has stopped moving at the end of its cycle. Simple but effective.
7- The motor is supported on top of the mirror gearbox cover. Remove the three screws to gain access to the mirror gearbox. In this case the motor would not stop moving indicating a broken gearbox. There are two plastic gears and two metal gears. They build up a mechanical advantage so the motor can turn the mirror. It is unlikely that the metal gears will break. There is one plastic gear directly attached to the motor. That one is delicate and would be hard to repair. There is a second larger plastic gear that connects with it. In this case the second plastic gear had a split that was causing the problem.
This second plastic gear fits onto a metal spindle that drives a metal gear. The split was causing slippage. Its possible to repair this second plastic gear with epoxy resin.
8- Remove the second plastic gear and the metal gear spindle that threads into it. Remove all traces of grease.
If possible use a sonication cleaner if you have one filled with warm water and some washing up liquid. Use superglue to temporarily secure the crack. Then fill both the hollow sides of the plastic gear with a good quality epoxy resin to reinforce it. Apply some epoxy resin to glue the metal spindle to the gear. The metal spindle just threads all the way into the center of the plastic gear.
Be careful not to get any glue on the teeth of the gear.
Once dried file off any excess glue so as to keep the original dimensions. If there is too much epoxy resin this may prevent the gear from moving freely. If necessary top up the folding mirror gearbox with lithium grease
9- Reassemble and test the mechanism with power to the mirror assembly. You may have to do some tweaking. My folding mirror is now working fine. Of course there are no guarantees. However if you would like to try you may be able to save buying a replacement mirror.
I hope this information may be able to help someone in the future.
Kind Regards
Chris
Thanks for this very important info. This is the only one i could find. My driver side mirror isnt folding and motor is running all the time.
I think someone tried to open it forcefully.
I also opened it and had a look. All looks fine but the only thing is, the small metal horizontal bar connected to plastic gear just broke the housing and came out.
I dont know if its possible to glue it together, will give it a try.
Regards
Dev
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44
From: Cyprus
Dev, I hope you can get it fixed. My mirror is still working fine after the repair. Once you dismantle the mirror you will be able to see more clearly if its possible to repair the broken parts. The reason the motor runs constantly is due to a mechanical problem. If the broken parts can be repaired then the circuit board will automatically cut the power after the mirror is opened or closed. Please let us know how you get on.
Kind regards
Chris
Kind regards
Chris
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44
From: Cyprus
Here is a pdf document with pictures outlining the repair procedure.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ygdv8r2kj...Motor.pdf?dl=0
Kind regards
Chris
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ygdv8r2kj...Motor.pdf?dl=0
Kind regards
Chris
New Member
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1
From: Turks and Caicos
Hello Chris
Thanks for your informative data. I am now having the same problem and it's really good to find out what is causing this noise from my side mirror before going to pay high amounts at a technician or replacing the whole thing.
I also found the following utube video that helps.
Cheers,
Roan - fit owner
Thanks for your informative data. I am now having the same problem and it's really good to find out what is causing this noise from my side mirror before going to pay high amounts at a technician or replacing the whole thing.
I also found the following utube video that helps.
Cheers,
Roan - fit owner
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44
From: Cyprus
Roan, thanks for your reply. I'm glad you found the pdf repair instructions useful. I hope you get it fixed. Thanks also for sharing the video link as it may be useful to someone else with the same problem. I could not find the replacement plastic gear anywhere so had to repair the broken one with epoxy glue. Its still working fine after many years.
Kind regards
Chris
Kind regards
Chris
New Member
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 2
From: Hong Kong
Dear Chris,
Thanks for the very informative info, I had followed the guide that you created in the PDF then finally, I found the result is exactly the same as you stated, I have glued the damaged plastic gearwheel and reassemble it by reverse order, will see what happening when it gets stable tomorrow.
Cheers,
Tam from Hong Kong.
Thanks for the very informative info, I had followed the guide that you created in the PDF then finally, I found the result is exactly the same as you stated, I have glued the damaged plastic gearwheel and reassemble it by reverse order, will see what happening when it gets stable tomorrow.
Cheers,
Tam from Hong Kong.
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44
From: Cyprus
KKTAM, I'm glad I could help. Please let us know how you get on. If gluing the part does not work, try googling, "plastic gear Honda folding mirror". You only need the plastic part.
I think this might be the correct part:
https://tinyurl.com/5zdt9h8w
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000062298440.html?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.7eea1ea6K xC9Xs
Kind regards
Chris
I think this might be the correct part:
https://tinyurl.com/5zdt9h8w
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000062298440.html?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.7eea1ea6K xC9Xs
Kind regards
Chris
Last edited by Chris Nicola; Apr 8, 2021 at 01:51 PM.
New Member
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 2
From: Hong Kong
Repairing Folding Mirror - Motor Constantly Running
Dear Chris,
Thank you so much for your advise, the mirror finally had been repaired by replace the plastic part that purchase from China, for who selling second hand parts of Honda and there are quite A lot of others option available. The glue wasn't really work well coz may be I am not using epoxy, it last for few weeks anyway.
Cheers,
K. K. Tam
From Hong Kong.
Thank you so much for your advise, the mirror finally had been repaired by replace the plastic part that purchase from China, for who selling second hand parts of Honda and there are quite A lot of others option available. The glue wasn't really work well coz may be I am not using epoxy, it last for few weeks anyway.
Cheers,
K. K. Tam
From Hong Kong.
KKTAM, I'm glad I could help. Please let us know how you get on. If gluing the part does not work, try googling, "plastic gear Honda folding mirror". You only need the plastic part.
I think this might be the correct part:
https://tinyurl.com/5zdt9h8w
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000062298440.html?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.7eea1ea6K xC9Xs
Kind regards
Chris
I think this might be the correct part:
https://tinyurl.com/5zdt9h8w
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000062298440.html?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.7eea1ea6K xC9Xs
Kind regards
Chris
Member
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 297
From: EU
Sorry for the dumb question about folding mirrors, were they standard on these cars? Are they automatic or are they toggled somehow?
I took my GD through an automatic car wash and manually folded the mirrors following the instructions. I then started the car and drove out of the wash, and then realized the mirrors were folded out. Of course it's possile the brushes pushed them out somehow, but it'd be cool if it had auto folding mirrors.
I took my GD through an automatic car wash and manually folded the mirrors following the instructions. I then started the car and drove out of the wash, and then realized the mirrors were folded out. Of course it's possile the brushes pushed them out somehow, but it'd be cool if it had auto folding mirrors.
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 44
From: Cyprus
Sorry for the dumb question about folding mirrors, were they standard on these cars? Are they automatic or are they toggled somehow?
I took my GD through an automatic car wash and manually folded the mirrors following the instructions. I then started the car and drove out of the wash, and then realized the mirrors were folded out. Of course it's possile the brushes pushed them out somehow, but it'd be cool if it had auto folding mirrors.
I took my GD through an automatic car wash and manually folded the mirrors following the instructions. I then started the car and drove out of the wash, and then realized the mirrors were folded out. Of course it's possile the brushes pushed them out somehow, but it'd be cool if it had auto folding mirrors.
Kind regards
Chris
Member
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 297
From: EU
mobby_6kl I have a 2008 second generation European Jazz and also a 2008 Japanese market Fit. They both have folding mirrors that can be opened and closed by an electric motor controlled by a switch. They cannot be extended and retracted by hand. They are semi-automatic. The driver has to press a button to open them and press the same button to close them. There are other controls to adjust the angle of the mirror and to turn on the de-fogging heating element. They are convenient to use, but can easily be damaged during an accident. And as you can see from this thread, sometimes the plastic gears have to be repaired or replaced. My advice would be to leave the original mirrors that came with your car.
Kind regards
Chris
Kind regards
Chris
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