Deezer-D Posted October 18, 2008 Report Share Posted October 18, 2008 Right, I had to swap my drivers motor out as the heated element wasn't working so took a few pics of changing the motor. I have a Facelift 2004 Coupe so the M3 mirrors are not a straight plug and play due to BMW changing the motors to ribbon type around 2004. M3's come with the standard motor and either 6 or 12 pin plug connection. So the existing M3 motor needs stripping out and replaced with the ribbon motor which is a pain in the hole as the motor mounting bracket on the M3 mirror is different. I'll try my best to describe what I've done - First the mirror needs removing. Ideally you need to remove the door card but I've had the mirrors on and off my car so many times now I can do it by popping just the top left of the card out. To do this, remove the screw behind the black cap (push one side in and flick out with your finger nail) at the door trigger. Remove the screw behind the Airbag emblem - carefully prise off with a screwdriver being careful not to mark the leather on the door card. Loosen off the 3 torx (T20 I think) in the door handle Remove the plastic cover behind the mirror Pop the door card out pulling from the top left at the mirror Disconnect the red and black connector blocks from the connectors on the door. Remove the 2 10mm nuts holding the mirror on - Don't drop mirror! First part done - have a smoke or cuppa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 Part 2 Remove mirror glass - get a v small screwdriver and slide the plastic retainer on the centre bottom to the right and lift the glass off You can see I've fixed the mirror motor in place wit 2 screws which were screwed into pilot holes I drilled into the black plastic bracket. Getting the motor positioned on the bracket is the hardest part as it requires a lot of trial and error to get the glass located centrally in the mirror housing. Remove the foam backing then 2 gold torx screws to release the baseplate Motor removed from base. I'd put a plastic spacer on the bracket to lift the motor forward as the existing M3 motor sat on a raised mounting plate. This is to keep the glass in the sme plane. Remove the 4 torx screws and the mirror is now totally stripped. Thread the new motor cable through the hole in the bracket and baseplate. Fit the baseplate back onto bracket with the 2 gold torx screws Remove the metal liners from the screw holes to allow the longer screws to fit - unless you can get longer thinner self-tappers that fit through the sleeves. I just screwed the self-tappers in a bit by hand and pulled them out. Carefully screw the motor back onto the plastic bracket Fit the glass Fit the mirror and door card using the reverse of the removal process. Job done! 45 mins to do the motor swap for me this time but if you are attempting this for the first time, it will take ages to get the motor position correct and you will also need to strip the original internals out of the M3 mirror. Any questions? Cheers D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
///Marty Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 Good write up and pics mate. Was planning on doing a DIY on this myself but didn't have to do the swap in the end. Gen mirrors look lovely inside and out don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 Cheers Marty. Glad I went through all the hassle now, genuine mirrors are so worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveDunlop Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 great write up there mate, and good mod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Thanks for the write up mate, i want to get genuine m3 mirrors on my coupe, i also have a 2004 facelift, but just wanted to know is the facelift a 6 or 12pin? cheers mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 ZubS Unless you are very lucky (like Marty) your car will have ribbon motors and not the 12 or 6 pin connectors. Easiest way to tell is to remove the plastic cover behind the mirror and see if the cable coming through from the outside is a ribbon type - looks like the 4th and 5th photos. If it's ribbon type then you need to do the motor swap. If it looks like the normal wire wrapped in black cloth tape then you need to take the door card off and check if the connection is 6 or 12 pin. Good luck D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 ZubS Unless you are very lucky (like Marty) your car will have ribbon motors and not the 12 or 6 pin connectors. Easiest way to tell is to remove the plastic cover behind the mirror and see if the cable coming through from the outside is a ribbon type - looks like the 4th and 5th photos. If it's ribbon type then you need to do the motor swap. If it looks like the normal wire wrapped in black cloth tape then you need to take the door card off and check if the connection is 6 or 12 pin. Good luck D Hi Deezer, as my car has electric folding mirrors, i was hoping to just get genuine m3 elec folding mirrors and banging them straight onto the car, however if the case is that the connection is a ribbon, do i need to do any mods to the mirrors? cheers mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 If they are ribbon motors then you need to take the motors out of your mirrors and transplant them into the M3 mirror housing. This is a bit of a pain as the motors are not a direct swap. The M3 motors are mounted on a plastic bracket which positions them exactly within the mirror housing - the ribbon motor doesn't fit on this bracket! You need to remove the bracket and mount the motor directly on the main plastic arm of the mirror. It takes some trial and error to get this position correct so that the glass sits in the correct position within the mirror housing and the mirror is still able to move in all directions without catching. The glass will also sit further back in the housing so I used a plastic packer to bring the glass back out to it's original position. My mirrors came off a CSL so don't have the fold function but I think having the folding function on a facelift is a bit tricky! I used this guide when originally did mine and it's very helpful http://www.rlcc.co.uk/stakesuk/carr/mirr/m3mir.htm If you do decide to tackle the motor swap I'll give you as much help as I can. Go for it, transforms the look of the car and is one of the best external mods (IMHO) you can do on an E46. Chers D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 If they are ribbon motors then you need to take the motors out of your mirrors and transplant them into the M3 mirror housing. This is a bit of a pain as the motors are not a direct swap. The M3 motors are mounted on a plastic bracket which positions them exactly within the mirror housing - the ribbon motor doesn't fit on this bracket! You need to remove the bracket and mount the motor directly on the main plastic arm of the mirror. It takes some trial and error to get this position correct so that the glass sits in the correct position within the mirror housing and the mirror is still able to move in all directions without catching. The glass will also sit further back in the housing so I used a plastic packer to bring the glass back out to it's original position. My mirrors came off a CSL so don't have the fold function but I think having the folding function on a facelift is a bit tricky! I used this guide when originally did mine and it's very helpful http://www.rlcc.co.uk/stakesuk/carr/mirr/m3mir.htm If you do decide to tackle the motor swap I'll give you as much help as I can. Go for it, transforms the look of the car and is one of the best external mods (IMHO) you can do on an E46. Chers D Thanks for the link Deezer!, i will try my best once i got the mirrors delieverd! i really hope my elec folding still works! Arrrrgh why do bmw have to be so complicated with their electrical stuff! I really love the m3 mirrors it just changes the car, actually i saw Marty's mirrors and his pic changed my mind dramatically so hopefully it should be ok. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Just replied to your PM. Have you bought the mirrors already? If they are the folding type you need to unwrap the wiring loom on the M3 mirrors to expose the blue and white wires and connect them to a double pole double throw switch as they won't work off the original mirror switch. Unles you know what you're doing here I'd suggest forgetting about the folding part! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Just replied to your PM. Have you bought the mirrors already? If they are the folding type you need to unwrap the wiring loom on the M3 mirrors to expose the blue and white wires and connect them to a double pole double throw switch as they won't work off the original mirror switch. Unles you know what you're doing here I'd suggest forgetting about the folding part! The pair i am getting are genuine m3 electric folding mirrors 12pin. so i thought if i had the ribbon connection i could change the motor over and just connect the elec folding cables with my factory elec folding cables, as my car already has factory elec folding mirrors. is there anyway i could connect them or is it impossible to fit in m3 elec folding mirrors on to a facelift coupe that has elec folding mirrors? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 You can't use the original mirror switch to control the folding action on M3 mirrors on a facelift that has ribbon motors. You need to connect the blue and white wire to a double pole, double throw switch and use it to control the folding action. Read through this DIY, he explains how to get the folding action to work. http://www.rlcc.co.uk/stakesuk/carr/mirr/m3mir.htm Have a look at the 5th pic on the first post in this thread - that's what a ribbon connector looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Deezer just pm'd you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 okay after having long convos with deezer, i dont think i have the ribbon cables, which means to convert a 12pin to a 6pin, anyone have any ideas on how to do this. Thanks again Deezer for your help! the wires in the door card (not very clear) the wire connection from the mirror They dont look like ribbons, if they aren't ribbons i am in LUCK! johnny2bad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Sorry Deezer i am not hijacking the thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Sorry Deezer i am not hijacking the thread No worries mate. If you don't have electric memory seats then I think your mirrors may be 6 pin but as they have the folding function I'm not sure! You can convert 12 pin to 6 pin if you need to though - found a guide for you, enjoy! http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.ph...rror+6pin+12pin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted October 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Forgot to say ZubS if you already have the folding function the only part you need worry about in that guide in my previous post is the part referring to switching the wires in the plugs. Another less scary post http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=mirror Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZubS Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Forgot to say ZubS if you already have the folding function the only part you need worry about in that guide in my previous post is the part referring to switching the wires in the plugs. Another less scary post http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=mirror Thanks very much for the link and your help deezer! i just pm'd you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Mate Only just spotted this DIY, excellent write up and great modding good man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deezer-D Posted December 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Cheers dicky. Not as detailed as I would have like but hopefully gets the basic idea across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdodds2004 Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 deezer do you fancy earning some monies and converting a set for me im just in the process of collecting the required bits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B0B Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 deezer do you fancy earning some monies and converting a set for me :)/> im just in the process of collecting the required bits! :)/> You do realise this thread is over four years old? Deezer hasn't logged in since last March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdodds2004 Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 i did realise was a old thread, didnt realise he hadnt logged in for so long though! oh well looks like a bit of trial and error to try and get it right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdodds2004 Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 thinking along the lines of just fitting them and setting by hand one of my motors have gone anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
