Retrofiting electric folding mirrors to an E46 M3?

[Toilet Duck]

Hello,

Is it possible to retrofit electric folding mirrors to an 05 E46 M3 convertible? Will the neccessary wiring loom be present, is it just a case of simply fitting new mirrors and the switch with a "folding" button? Or is it more complicated then that?

Cheers

[Vee]

Toilet Duck said:

Hello,

Is it possible to retrofit electric folding mirrors to an 05 E46 M3 convertible? Will the neccessary wiring loom be present, is it just a case of simply fitting new mirrors and the switch with a "folding" button? Or is it more complicated then that?

Cheers

It was new switch and plug and play on my 52 plate coupe.
However, the wiring was changed to a new type around 2004 so you need to confirm what your car has and get the mirors with the matching type (of wiring).

Do a search on www.evotechnik.net/forum or E46fanatics for confirmation.

[Pork]

Plug and play!? WOW!

This is the only option my car doesnt have that I would really like to have fitted. When I asked two different dealers, they both said retro-fit wasnt an option.

OP, if you find a solution during your searches, please post back here. I'l dig around and will do the same.

Cheers

AFKA LittleBro

[Pork]

Vee, did you have to buy new mirrors or are you saying it was just a switch and the rest was there?

There's loads of posts on each of those forums, but they say varying things. I think the work needed is very dependant on the specific model you have. It seems that if you have electric seats, your half way there!

[Vee]

Pork said:

Vee, did you have to buy new mirrors or are you saying it was just a switch and the rest was there?

There's loads of posts on each of those forums, but they say varying things. I think the work needed is very dependant on the specific model you have. It seems that if you have electric seats, your half way there!

I understood that if a car had electric seats (ALL 330 coupes and M3s ?) then the wiring was already in place for the mirrors. It was just a case of fitting the mirrors and changing the switch.
However, there were 3 types of wiring.

Old (pre 2002) 6 pin connectors
Mid (2002-2004ish) 12 pin connectors
Late (2004ish -) ribbon connectors

You need to take off your door panel and see what connectors you have (12 or ribbon).

[Pork]

Thanks Vie.

Mine is an 06 M3 so would be ribbon I think.

Do you know if I would be able to buy the switch and some folding irrors and swap the guys of the folding mirrors in to my current casing? Basically, I'd like to avoid getting the mirrors painted a)for colour matching and b) for the costs.

Thanks for the info.

[Toilet Duck]

Thanks for all the replies and info, most appreciated.

Pork said:

Do you know if I would be able to buy the switch and some folding mirrors and swap the guts of the folding mirrors in to my current casing?

I would be very interested in this as well, as not having to paint a second set of mirrors would save quite a bit of cash. Mines an 05 reg so I'm assuming mine will be ribbon cable as well. Does anyone know if the actual mirrors stayed the same, ie is it just the wiring/connectors that changed over the life of the E46 M3 and not the mirror units?

Cheers

[Vee]

Toilet Duck said:

Thanks for all the replies and info, most appreciated.

Pork said:

Do you know if I would be able to buy the switch and some folding mirrors and swap the guts of the folding mirrors in to my current casing?

I would be very interested in this as well, as not having to paint a second set of mirrors would save quite a bit of cash. Mines an 05 reg so I'm assuming mine will be ribbon cable as well. Does anyone know if the actual mirrors stayed the same, ie is it just the wiring/connectors that changed over the life of the E46 M3 and not the mirror units?

Cheers

Sorry, no time to go searching but look at part numbers in www.realoem.com for your car and earlier M3s.

Bear in mind mine is a 330 so has standard rectagular mirrors.
I took the cases off my old ones and fit them on the the folding ones. The clips which hold them on break so I stuck the cases on using hot glue.
Not sure if the M3 is the same - I'd assume it is.

[oli_quick]

Just wonder whether any body on this thread managed to do this...if so, do they have the part no. (have tried searching realoem...but no luck).

Thanks...

[Pork]

I'm in the process of doing it and have bought the mirrors (one of which is missing a part).

From what I gather, all M3's have the 12 pin connectors, regardless of year (I may stand corrected). After getting the mirrors, you'll need the switch - I think its switch 2 off this page - 61316901383. I think I was quoted c£30 for this part.

From there on, I belive its just a set of torq screwdrivers and a large dollop of patience. Hope this helps.

[oli_quick]

ooh...I had the impression the motors were already built into the standard wing mirrors and all that was required was the switching unit...

...but I see I would need the alternative motorised wing mirror units also...?

[Pork]

oli_quick said:

ooh...I had the impression the motors were already built into the standard wing mirrors and all that was required was the switching unit...

...but I see I would need the alternative motorised wing mirror units also...?

Absoloutly. The non fold mirrors have different internals to folders. I've not stripped my non folds yet, but you cant manually fold the electronically folding mirrors manually, where as you can the non fold mirrors.

Google it, there's loads of info on mtorque.co.uk and e46fanatics.com

[Rags]

What is the point of folding mirrors, for people with no judgement or are you worried about your mirrors being knocked off?