UK Car Repair: Corsa Electric Mirrors, corsa 96, worm gears

Question
Hi there,

Could you please give any information as to why my V'hall Corsa ( '96 model ) electric wing mirrors ( both sides ) take an absolute age to do anything when I am holding down the adjustment button.

Many thanks.  

Answer
Well, it has to do with the car being 10 years old now and the wiring and little electric motors have seen their share of use. I would clean the switch and also, take the mirrors apart and clean the little worm gears and lubricate them.
Cleaning the electric motors can be done with a few items available in spray cans, but must be done carefully to avoid affecting any of the surrounding bits.

If you are unable to do this yourself... you may have to start replacing components until the problem cures itself. I would try spraying a penetrating oil behind the glass of the mirror and see if that helps the situation any. If not, you will have to decide if the speed of adjustment is worth the cost of new mirrors or a switch. I would say that it is a bad ground if I thought it would be manifested in this way. But bad grounds and bad relays don't do that on both sides. Only switches and mirrors themselves do that. My only other Idea is that if you had a radio installed recently.... The tech who installed it MIGHT have cut a ground in the accessory harness. But that is rare in cars now that the adapter harnesses are so readily available.

Try the spray lube and see what happens.

John

P.S. A good lube to use if you start taking stuff apart is petroleum jelly. Use it on the gears and the electrical connections. Avoid it's more expensive twin, dielectric grease, it's the same thing.