Power folding mirrors

[scorpio]

Hey fellas need some help.. I have a 03 tahoe LT which has the power folding mirrors. A couple days ago they started to give me some trouble, the driver side mirror would not respond to the closing command whereas the pass side was folding on time. I tried to adjust the driver side lens up or down and it wouldn't respond so i moved it by hand and it started to work after that but still it wouldn't fold in. I folded it by hand and tried to open it by power and it worked but still it would not fold on its own, now either side wont power fold in but they would open out if i fold them by hand. They get the command but wont fold, like the lens starts to move but they go rite back and wont fold. Sorry for the lengthy post but wanted to provide as much info as i could. Any help is greatly aprecciated :confused2:

 

[miketedeschi]

judging by your post, if both mirrors started acting up in the same manner at the same time, it's probably not a coincedence. you know its not the motors because both are acting the same. this might seem weird, but try this...

use the motors to fold the mirrors out (90 degrees). then carefully push them out farther so they are aiming forward towards the front of the truck (180 degrees). then mess with the buttons. carefully though...

my guess is the mirrors think they are already folded in (0 degrees) when they are in fact in the out normal viewing position (90 degrees). there is probably some type of sensor that tells the mirrors where they are, that is 0, 90, or 180 degrees in relation to the doors.

sometimes when i go through a car wash, it folds the mirrors forward the wrong way(180 degrees) , and i have to do two fold in cycles to get them to fold in. its hard to explain. its almost like a safety clutch where the mirror can leave the gear for the motor, as not to damage it, but slips back into place in the drive gear when its lined up.

if you feel comfortable take them apart and see if there are any small plastic peices floating around inside. or you could start looking on ebay, especially for the totalled wrecks that will be parted out. escalade and denali mirrors might work too.

repair manual? try plugging in a friend's power mirror? switch the driver and passanger mirrors for troubleshooting?

I hope at least some of what i just said makes sense to you and helps.
Mike

 

[scorpio]

power foldin mirrors

judging by your post, if both mirrors started acting up in the same manner at the same time, it's probably not a coincedence. you know its not the motors because both are acting the same. this might seem weird, but try this...

use the motors to fold the mirrors out (90 degrees). then carefully push them out farther so they are aiming forward towards the front of the truck (180 degrees). then mess with the buttons. carefully though...

my guess is the mirrors think they are already folded in (0 degrees) when they are in fact in the out normal viewing position (90 degrees). there is probably some type of sensor that tells the mirrors where they are, that is 0, 90, or 180 degrees in relation to the doors.

sometimes when i go through a car wash, it folds the mirrors forward the wrong way(180 degrees) , and i have to do two fold in cycles to get them to fold in. its hard to explain. its almost like a safety clutch where the mirror can leave the gear for the motor, as not to damage it, but slips back into place in the drive gear when its lined up.

if you feel comfortable take them apart and see if there are any small plastic peices floating around inside. or you could start looking on ebay, especially for the totalled wrecks that will be parted out. escalade and denali mirrors might work too.

repair manual? try plugging in a friend's power mirror? switch the driver and passanger mirrors for troubleshooting?

I hope at least some of what i just said makes sense to you and helps.
Mike

Thank you for taking the time to write. I tried all your suggestions but no luck, problem still remains the same

 

[greengumby]

# The DDM 10A fuse - Located in the I/P fuse block and is hot at all times
# The PDM 10A fuse - Located in the I/P fuse block and is hot at all times

check these fuses the DDM fuse is the one that makes the mirror open
then the ddm sends the signal through the ddm to the PDM fuse to make the mirror close

if the PDM fails it will try to close but will return back to the open postion

 

[scorpio]

# The DDM 10A fuse - Located in the I/P fuse block and is hot at all times
# The PDM 10A fuse - Located in the I/P fuse block and is hot at all times

check these fuses the DDM fuse is the one that makes the mirror open
then the ddm sends the signal through the ddm to the PDM fuse to make the mirror close

if the PDM fails it will try to close but will return back to the open postion

Thank you greengumby for the reply but as i look in the I/P fuse block i found the ddm fuse wich is good but i can't seem to find the pdm fuse, i also looked in the undehood fuse block and dindn't find the pdm fuse any more input would be greatly aprecciated. Thank you all :confused2:

 

[greengumby]

This should look like the left panel ..i'l jump outside to verify when this terrible rain stops ....hope this helps ..it's the one under driver unlock

 

[scorpio]

Thanks for that pic. I found the fuse but it's good so still no luck for me. Any other suggstions please let me know. Thank you

 

[zeokter]

You all seem to know more then me.. but if you fiddled with it.. and checked the fuse..id have to say next look at the actual wiring.. something like that happened to my old 3 series (bmw) and it was melted wires???????

 

[scorpio]

Well i guess i try checkin the wires nextbut it amazes me coz every single operation works 4 the both of them exept the folding in part, im stumped

 

[macbell7]

I have a similar problem with my mirrors. When I press the button to fold my mirrors in, nothing happens, but if I fold them in manually, I can press the button to unfold them and it works. I took apart the power fold mirror switch and took out the circuit board for all the buttons and cleaned it with alcohol. It looked as if there was some melting or dirt or something that was messing up one of the lines. When I put it back in and I just pressed the button a lil harder and the mirrors worked fine. It doesnt work 100% I just need to replace the switch and mine will be fine. That may be your problem too. Give it a try

 

[scorpio]

Thanks for the info Mac i will try that as well but in my case they do react to the closing comand i mean the lenses move in but when the mirrors are supposed to fold in they dont and the lenses go back out, but i will try cleaning the switch aswell. Again thank you fellas for all the help

 

[greengumby]

This would be really funny if this was all cause of a bad contact in the switch ..it sounds like macbell7, and zeokter hit it on the nail if you have power to the unit itself then its a controller issue (switch) or a melted /torn wire thats not fully making contact. I would look at the switch first since it's the most used and abused area first

 

[scorpio]

Well no luck again i took the switch apart and the wires looked fine. ??????

 

[greengumby]

we have covered everything from the fuse to the actual unit itself ..looks like its a trip to the shop

 

[FergHoe]

Hit the fold in button and listen to your driver mirror for grinding and other wrong noises. your gears are probally stripped, mabye just old and cracked. Also do a search for Power folding mirrors on fullsizechevy.com foums. alot more traffic there.

 

[Jake]

man i wish i had folding mirrors... dont knw why i dont they are power but i dont think they fold i guess since mine is a 05 LT ...maybe someone correct me if wrong

 

[jey_]

On our 03 LT you fold the mirrors by pushing and holding down the Right/In Direction button on the power mirror control. I wouldn't have known we had it either but my wife pointed it out since she usually drives the vehicle.

 

[gmoney_2010]

On our 03 LT you fold the mirrors by pushing and holding down the Right/In Direction button on the power mirror control. I wouldn't have known we had it either but my wife pointed it out since she usually drives the vehicle.

I will soon be getting an 03 Tahoe LT Loaded.. anyways I dont understand how the power fold works? I mean what buttons you press?

 

[jey_]

I will soon be getting an 03 Tahoe LT Loaded.. anyways I dont understand how the power fold works? I mean what buttons you press?

There is a 4-way square button that you use to adjust the power mirrors (up-down-left-right). To fold the mirrors, press down on the "right" direction on that button as if you were adjusting the mirror to the right, but hold it down. After a couple seconds the mirrors will fold in.

 

[05Yukon]

The left and right mirror button has to be in the middle and the big arrow will light up yellow and then you push down on the right side and they should fold in.