Why Don't The Remote Mirrors Work? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Why Don't The Remote Mirrors Work?

readgoat70

Member
Joined
December 6, 2007
Messages
10
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City, State
Wake Forest NC
Year, Model & Trim Level
1992 Explorer XLT
The control switch in the driver door will move the driver side mirror left and up, but not down and right.

Similarly, the switch will move the passenger side mirror left and up, but not down and right.

Is this a coincidence?

Is this a switch issue or a mirror issue?

Thanks for any help diagnosing the problem . . . . .

Harry
 



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Hi there!

Have you checked or replaced the fuse for the mirrors? Any abnormal sounds when you adjust the mirrors? (And nice to meet you :thumbsup:
 






Thanks, Donner, for the timely reply . . . .

I didn't bother replacing the fuse yet . . . . . the switch does move the mirrors in two directions. I figured if the fuse blew, the mirrors wouldn't move at all.
 






Some times dirt or sand can wedge itself under the switch preventing it from making contact.. Try using compressed air to blow it out, or a vacuum cleaner to draw it out. When cleaning make sure you are moving the switch in all positions as the dirt could be trapped under the contact and only freed when you move the switch to another position.
 






And yes, there is a slight grinding noise when the mirrors move up and left.
 






That part is good...

There should be that sound, so that's good. Both sides not moving in same direction might be an issue with the switch itself as you suspect... Have you gone through the Forums under electrical issues yet? If not, peek through there, I'm going to look also...


I just kinda went through there, and it appears you might need to look at the wiring - I don't know if this is something you'd try, but the postings recommend opening the door panel and looking at the wiring. Lose, unattached, broken... also replace the fuse and see what happens.
 






Thanks, Donner, I couldn't find a forum that was specific to electrical issues . . . Did I miss it?

what is the link . . . . . . ?
 






Not at all, go to Forums, go over to Search, and put in something like Mirrors or Mirror switch... and then you'll get like a thousand posts on the subject - it's pretty neat!
 


















Had the same issue & I replaced the switch in the armrest. All problems went away. Ripping the old switch apart (morbid curiousity to see how the darn thing worked) & I found some contacts so corroded that I wondered when they EVER worked.

Then came the day the dog went through the side window deflector & I had to rip them off. Watched during the next rainstorm as the water from the open crack in the window dripped right onto the mirror & door pad. Go figure, that is where the corrosion starts at.

Taking the pad off is easy, just a straight head screwdriver in the lower & upper ends will (GENTLY) pry it up, then the mirror, window, door electrical pad is in hand. 2 Phillip screws after that & all is apart. Reverse order to put it back together, unless you have a cold one. Then every action requires another brew :)

Walter
 






My 91 did the same thing. All it took to fix was the switch. Ford # is
F3ly 17b676 a.
 






Chances are its the switch. My old 93 was broken when I got it. Turns out that there is no fuse or too big of one and there is a recall to install a jumper and fuse. Check with you dealer. He will run the vin number and check for recalls and see which one were not done. There is also a recall on the rear hatch support rods where the attaching pawl attaches to the hatch.
 












For the record mine does the same thing. Must be pretty common. It's a helluva annoyance.
 






This is probably a problem in the mirrors, its not uncommon, what is inside them is this- Imagine at 12 o clock a powered screw adjuster and again at 3 o clock another, when you press the switch to move the mirror up, the screw adjuster gets wound in or out thats all that happens, they are fixed to the mirror backing plate by a push fitting, apply even pressure on your mirror using something flat- NOT YOUR HANDS in case the glass breaks, keep the pressure even or you may crack the glass- it should pop back onto the fitting. How do I know this...........my car was vandalised, the idiot kicked my mirror and it fell apart! I had to do just that to fix it- IT worked for me!!

PLEASE BE CAREFUL, TAKE CARE AND THE TIME TO DO IT- DO NOT PUCH TOO HARD!!!!
 






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