W124 Auto Dimming mirror....the Mac Daddy

[2phast]

I don't come across these too often, they are very expensive just for the core parts! I call this the "Mac Daddy" as it has just about everything that can be stuffed into a mirror (auto dim, Compass, Homelink and a alarm LED). This is the mirror I use in my car.

This one has two sets of wires, one for the power/ground of the mirror and another set (+/-) for the alarm LED.

In my car, I tapped into the factory dash mounted LED wires. So both blink in unison.

Of course, if you don't want the LED, I have plenty of mirrors without it. All kinds of flavors actually. Auto dimming only, auto dimming plus LED, auto dimming plus compass, auto dimming plus compass/Homelink and even some auto dimming only mirrors with on/off buttons.

Can custom build for the W123, W126 and R107 models also.

More info at http://www.2phast.com/mirror.

Cost for this mirror (for forum members) is $150.00 shipped (international shipping is an additional $35)

Although all donor parts are used, everything is inspected, tested, cleaned and refurbished as best as possible. Glass is free of damage but there is a very small chip in the underside of the plastic casing. If you look at picture five, to the far left, its right where the bezel meets the mirror body. Not noticable once the mirror is installed. (the small round hole is for the compass calibration, the chip is to the left of it)

I should note though that this particular mirror, being that it is already built, is not suitable for RHD cars. Normally I build to order and can adjust the compass for RHD.

 

[Jim]

Re: W124 Auto Dimming mirror

This looks like an Internal Mirror Thread...

With some help I finally got the Internal Mirror correctly fitted instead of wobbling about on the end of a self tapping screw.

As far as I can tell the mirror does nothing with the switch in either of the 3 positions.

What do we think about repairs of the existing unit or upgrading to the Mac Daddy... or similar?

I have to own up I was scared to be brutal with the mirror hence the long period of self tapping screw dangling. So it would really help me to know how to remove and refit the mirror with out doing damage. That way I can at least check if there are any volts up there.

 

[2phast]

Hello Jim. The factory W124 auto dimming mirror should allow you to turn off the auto dimming function and adjust the level of dimming via the switch. So first things first, does the mirror work at all? In the MIN and MAX settting, the latter should darken the mirror more. If you have no auto dimming at all, it would be best to check your fuse box and see if there are any blown fuses. Since your car did not ship from Mercedes with this mirror (it was a dealer installed item) there may not be a dedicated fuse for it. So the power might of been pulled from the sunroof, so check functionality of the sunroof as well (and the fuse).

You don't need to pull the mirror yet, but to check your wiring connections, you should drop your map light assembly and see if you can locate the wire harness from the mirror so you can trace the power wire and determine where it is getting power from. Check the connection and verify power via a VOM.

As for the "self tapping screw", you might want to clarify a bit more about this. Is this something you added? I hope not. The ball of the mirror stalk is normally pressure fitted to a ball socket and some type of clamping system will keep the ball in the socket. Maybe you should post some more pictures of back side of your mirror. Mercedes had several different versions of this mirror and it is unique to the W124 made by Gentex.

I build several different types of auto dimming mirrors. Current technology allows the mirror to automatically adjust the level of dimming based on the light intensity detected by the front sensor, thus there is no need for a switch to adjust min/max dimming. You can also get integrated Homelink (probably won't work in your country) and a compass.

In the event your mirror has been damaged or just died, the internals could easily be replaced with components from another similar Gentex mirror (with the off/min/max settings), but it would require the mirror to be sent to me. You would need to pay shipping both ways, cost of replacement parts and labor to dissamble/reassemble. I might also be able to replace the glass with one that has a integrated compass.

See www.2phast.com/mirror for more information.