Powerfold Mirrors

Hi all I am not that bothered about this really but the powerfold mirrors on my disco seem to have a mind of their own!

On pushing the button down, they will move until I take my finger off it and then move back to their original position. If I press it once again, they will move out. After fiddling around with this they will fold back.

There seems to be no definite method of operation with these! Is there something wrong with them or me?!

The electric adjustment works fine.

It's all in the timing! I have had mine for about a month and I was a bit ham fisted with the button to start with. I either didn't dab it enough or too much. All fine now though.

tom1979 said:

Hi all I am not that bothered about this really but the powerfold mirrors on my disco seem to have a mind of their own!

On pushing the button down, they will move until I take my finger off it and then move back to their original position. If I press it once again, they will move out. After fiddling around with this they will fold back.

There seems to be no definite method of operation with these! Is there something wrong with them or me?!

The electric adjustment works fine.

Click to expand...

IMO the explanation is here(especially in the bolded part):

The central position on the switch is used for the folding mirrors function. The
switch is moved vertically down to fold the mirrors in or out. A dedicated folding
mirrors ECU is located behind the fascia adjacent to the ’A’ post. All feeds to
and from the folding mirror motors are controlled by the ECU.
Folding mirror operation is controlled by an earth signal received by the ECU
from the mirror switch. The ECU supplies a feed to each motor to drive it in the
required direction. The feed is supplied for a maximum of 30 seconds. The
motors detect a stall condition when they are fully folded in or out which is
sensed by the ECU which then removes the power feed.

Click to expand...

so there might be some mechanical wear or restriction from time to time and if the motor can't actually move the mirror or it starts working harder and the current drain grows the ECU will "consider" it's completely folded and cut the feed... try to remove the mirror, open the mechanism and give it a clean/lubrication to feel it moving as free as possible eventually give a contact spray to the ECU plug too

Similar thing is happening to mine - will have a shufty at RAVE to see how to get at the mechanisms.

Cheers guys!

Apparently the BCU (or whatever box controls the mirrors) has to sense the rising current draw of a stalled state before it stops supplying power to move the mirror. Normally this would happen when it reaches it's normal fully in or fully out position. Like the man said, I would clean/lubricate to make sure it isn't stalling halfway.

Other than that, there is a knack to using the switch....

I wish they folded in/out with the ignition switch!

tom1979 said:

Hi all I am not that bothered about this really but the powerfold mirrors on my disco seem to have a mind of their own!

On pushing the button down, they will move until I take my finger off it and then move back to their original position. If I press it once again, they will move out. After fiddling around with this they will fold back.

There seems to be no definite method of operation with these! Is there something wrong with them or me?!

The electric adjustment works fine.

Click to expand...

have the same problem with mine but after a few attempts can now work it first time.

300AJC said:

It's all in the timing! I have had mine for about a month and I was a bit ham fisted with the button to start with. I either didn't dab it enough or too much. All fine now though.

Click to expand...

yep - I got it going this afternoon but one of the mirrors does sound a bit unhealthy so will have a proper look at some point.

tom1979 said:

yep - I got it going this afternoon but one of the mirrors does sound a bit unhealthy so will have a proper look at some point.

Click to expand...

Give it a good old squirt of WD40. It might just be a bit gunked up due to all the winter weather. That's the extent of my technical know how. Sometimes it's something simple. Similar to when the rear door handle doesn't work. WD40 often loosens that up too.

300AJC said:

Give it a good old squirt of WD40. It might just be a bit gunked up due to all the winter weather. That's the extent of my technical know how. Sometimes it's something simple. Similar to when the rear door handle doesn't work. WD40 often loosens that up too.

Click to expand...

I had forgotten about the rear door handle problems! Had a 300tdi a few years ago had the same problem. Maybe I assumed that they might have sorted things like that out with the TD5's!!

tom1979 said:

I had forgotten about the rear door handle problems! Had a 300tdi a few years ago had the same problem. Maybe I assumed that they might have sorted things like that out with the TD5's!!

Click to expand...

Land Rover...... Sorting things out....... They probably thought we would just forget!

300AJC said:

Land Rover...... Sorting things out....... They probably thought we would just forget!

Click to expand...

Most people do...

Bloody switch, never seem to get it right! Either to short or to hard, one day I will be able to get the things to fold in with just the one press of the button, but not just yet I feel!!!

My 2004 D2 does this to, I will give them all a good clean with WD40 as suggested, I always hear the click from the ECU i'm guessing from the passenger side.

Today even the driver side folded in but the passenger didn't, would I be right in saying if one mirror had a problem or was seized it would stop both mirrors from folding in or out, at the moment it looks like they are waving at people the amount of times it can take.

My 2003 Freelander has them to and 98% are fine, though if the button is pressed more than three times you have to wait before it can be pressed again for anything to happen, apparently Land Rover built this in to prevent burn out, no mention of this in the handbook for the D2.

Thanks

The folding mirror ECU is a small unit behind the passenger's glove box. C0907 is the connector to it.
I would say that if you can hear a click from the ECU consistantly when you operate the switch the it could possibly be the contacts on the relays in the ECU have started degrading.
I've not opened up the ECU, but I would imagine that they are soldered onto a printed circuit board.

Thanks, it only clicks once though each time I push the button down to fold the mirrors

> Bloody switch, never seem to get it right!
My half-baked theory from pondering the same annoyance lately: seems like a classic switch contact "bounce" problem.

Maybe Land Rover just never bothered de-bouncing the switch? It's one of very few push-once-to-trigger switches on the vehicle, so maybe they just couldn't be a***ed?

I can feel a new circuit coming on ...

If it's just the switch it's probably same as the one in the Freelander, may swap them over and see if it sorts the issue, if so I buy another one and fit it. If its the same.