Scirocco Power Mirrors: Removing Glass to Access Motors and

Disassembly/Cleaning/Assembly of Switch BY VW Vortex’s ginster86roc

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2521663

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2523191

*NOTE* This information is provided for informational purposes only, any use of this information is at your OWN risk.

One of the things I want to do is get my rear-views working correctly. Anyone know how to open them up so I can lubricate the motor and gears?

I always want to help others, and b/c it's slow as molasses here @ work today, I found an old power mirror switch and went about tearing it down. So come take a look, if you care that is...and see how it's done.

Begin w/ your troublesome, works when it wants to power mirror switch. This was a spare that I had laying around, hence the dusty appearance:

The knob pries directly off, by pulling straight up. Then if you look closely at the switch you can see that it is held together @ 4 little tab/groove type joints. Carefully pry them apart w/ a small s/driver or your handy dandy Swiss army knife. Do this over a clean, well-lit surface and proceed s-l-o-w-l-y, as there are little parts to get lost if you're not careful.

Here’s the exploded view of the innards of the switch and those "little parts" I was talking about. When you first pop the cover off you'll be looking at the backside of the PC board that IS the heart of the switch. There are 2 little locking tabs that need to be gingerly bent in order to free the PC board. Bend the tabs (but do not release them) and get the board loose. Now, turn the switch so the PC board faces down and remove the board from the switch. The white piece in the lower right corner is the tricky little bugger. It contains springs and little barbell shaped contacts. Do not lose any of them. In most cases the switch is so gooped up inside nothing will fly away on you. Just use caution. See how sticky/messy everything is?

Close up of the springs and barbells. Paperclip for scale reference. Again these parts need to be cleaning (non-sticky) for the switch to properly function. Clean them however you may...just don't lose any. I used some paper towels, WD40 (as a solvent...dissolves the old grease) a fine tipped screwdriver and more paper towels. Just get it all clean.

Here are all the springs and barbells cleaned up. I also would recommend cleaning the PC board. I brightened up both sides by sanding with 4oo grit sandpaper.

This is the back half of the switch housing. The + shaped grooves are where the little raised tits of the white piece (above) travel. Here you can also see the bores of the little springs and the slots where the barbells live. Get as much of the old grease and goop out as you can.

Close-up of the back of the "joystick" of the switch...again showing the spring bores and the barbell slot. This contact is what selects "left" or "right" mirror operation. Be sure this is clean as well.

Showing the back of the white piece and how they relate to the + shaped grooves...

White piece flipped over and in place in the grooves...

Little springs in place...

Here you can see the barbells back in place, laid g-e-n-t-l-y on top of the springs. The PC board is all polished up and ready to snap back onto the 2 tabs @ center. You’ll notice the 2 locating lugs that only allow you to put the PC board in one way....once you carefully snap the PC board in place all the springs and barbells are held captive in no danger of falling out.

The last step is to place the last barbell in its' place on the joystick. Then holding the top half of the switch housing so the joystick faces down (so the barbell stays in place) you snap the 2 halves of the housing back together. It simplifies things (the snapping together) if you center the white piece that rides in the + grooves.

Now... feel free to work your "new" mirror switch. You’ll be surprised at how much nicer it moves and how groovy it feels now. Lastly, go plug it in and see if it works. It should. If not, you'll haft split the switch again and look for displaced barbells.

And that concludes this session of "everything you ever wanted to know about power mirror switches".

Now get to it!