Folding Mirrors Problem

[kitefighter]

Hello All,

I have a 7th Generation Galant VR-4 that I don't use much these days except for test runs. After test running, I garage the car, disconnect the battery and put the battery on charge. When I reconnect the battery, both the mirrors automatically unfold and then fold in without my touching the mirror switch. But when I try and operate the fold/unfold switch with the car running, it doesn't respond and both the mirrors remain folded. The fine adjustment of the mirror angle still works. I have changed the switch but the problem persists.

Any advice or help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance and in anticipation.

.

 

[G]

Could be the switch, they are kind of sensitive. I know on my folding mirrors sometimes the back light works and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[kitefighter]

Thanks for your reply. That's the first thing I thought, so I already changed the switch (with another used item). It could be this switch is also faulty but I'm inclined to think that it could be corrosion of the wiring, or loose wiring somewhere between the switch itself and the mirrors.

I probably need to get some sort of ammeter to test the current, but I'm not a mechanic so this would be quite a difficult task at my skill level.

 

[iceman69510]

Sounds like a possible wiring issue to me. Has it worked properly in the past, and did anything change other than the vehicle sitting?

 

[fuel]

Do you have an aftermarket alarm by chance? Some alarms will fold in the mirrors when the alarm gets activated/doors are locked and thinking maybe the alarm is triggering the fold function for whatever reason.

 

[kitefighter]

Thank you for your replies. Other than not having any battery connected for long periods, nothing else has changed. There is a CAT 1 aftermarket alarm fitted, which is no longer working properly, but it never folded the mirrors before.

But guess what - I gave the car another periodic test run, and again the mirrors folded in - and then unfolded and stayed that way. I'm seriously tempted to disconnect the switch to keep the mirrors open but I'll see what happens.