Auto dimming rear view mirror?

[interceptor06]

For those of you with the auto dimming rear view mirror, does the green light on the front always illuminate to show the mirror is working?

I drove the Explorer last night and didn't see the green light on the mirror. The auto dim didn't appear to be working either, but the back window is a mess from the snow driving. I asked my wife if she messed with it to turn it off, but she didn't know. I didn't see a way to turn it off and on.

Thanks for the help.

 

[AndyInFlorida]

For those of you with the auto dimming rear view mirror, does the green light on the front always illuminate to show the mirror is working?

I drove the Explorer last night and didn't see the green light on the mirror. The auto dim didn't appear to be working either, but the back window is a mess from the snow driving. I asked my wife if she messed with it to turn it off, but she didn't know. I didn't see a way to turn it off and on.

Thanks for the help.

You can't turn it off. It's tied into the headlights, though, so if they're not on, neither will it be on.

 

[A Wise Guy]

Thanks Andy because I was about to be really confused. Mine works and I have never seen a green light.

 

[CDW6212R]

The 93/94 Limited has a mirror with a green light and two switches, an ON/OFF switch and a dimming switch to force the action. I have that on my 99, the plug in is the same. I selected a 91-94 windshield on purpose so that I could use the early mirror. The 91-94's have mirrors with set screws to tighten them securely. The later mirrors are pressed on, and vibrate and/or become loose.

The 95-01 models have no switches, they are on all of the time, or when the lights are on(not sure about that).

 

[MrBill]

Sort of on the topic . . . I have a new (for me) 2006 Explorer. The back window is clean but so darkly tinted that the center mirror is almost useless! Does anyone know if there is a way to brighten the view through the center mirror?

 

[Jamestex]

Sort of on the topic . . . I have a new (for me) 2006 Explorer. The back window is clean but so darkly tinted that the center mirror is almost useless! Does anyone know if there is a way to brighten the view through the center mirror?

Hi i have a 2006 and the mirror stays dim now . I will see if i can fix it but what i have researched about them is the chemical that causes the dimming may start leaking on older cars and is an acid that may drip on the interior and eat through the plastic. Geez. They are also very expensive. I think i will just go old school and get an aftermarket mirror for $18 and replace it.

 

[Ruddy]

Mine is too. Going to have that tint removed. 1st quote; $50-75

Sort of on the topic . . . I have a new (for me) 2006 Explorer. The back window is clean but so darkly tinted that the center mirror is almost useless! Does anyone know if there is a way to brighten the view through the center mirror?

 

[CDW6212R]

Be very careful about removing any tint from defrost grid glass. It is very easy to ruin the defrost during the tint removal. I did my own in a 1985 Mark VII, and only nicked two lines slightly, easily fixed. My 91 Mark VII I paid to have it removed(all glass), and they destroyed the rear grid. They used a plastic squeegee and no razor blade. The hard rubbing did eventually remove the tint, but it rubbed off most of the defrost lines too, no possible repair of that.

 

[Ruddy]

That is why I'm having it done from a shop with good reviews. I can see where the film is raised going over those defroster lines.
Any other window I would have attempted it myself with one of "youtube methods"!

 

[CDW6212R]

The most problems will come from very old film, the kind that has hardened and changed colors etc. That will be stuck to the defrost lines more than a newer tint will. My old 85 was purple tint when I bought it, bubbles on all of the windows etc. It let go of the side glass fairly well, but the back one took a couple of hours are least. I got the main parts off first and didn't worry so much about what was stuck to the defrost lines. That made progress so it seemed like things were going well, that was maybe 30 minutes of easy work. The rest was very slow and tedious, to run the razor blade along each defrost line to get the tint off of the glass. What was stuck to the defrost itself I rubbed loose gently by fingernails. I used a squeegee some of the time, but gently. I had better luck with a fingernail, I could feel how much force was going into the tint and defrost. The 2-3 places I nicked the lines were slips with the razor blade, just minor touches.