If I ever find my camera, I'll take pix of how to disassemble the housing. Really easy once I stared inside long enough. Can't find any DIY here or elsewhere, youtube, etc.
Mine has 2 frayed (insulationless - MB invented the word) wire bundles leading to the tilt-motor assembly (7), and the mirror (4), assuming they do heat and dim. The heat-only mirrors only have a 2-post connector on them.
The tilting works fine, considering the bare wires are touching each other - it's a miracle! Don't know about the dim or heat, because the glass is delaminating, or whatever you call it, and I keep it garaged, so no dew formed on it yet.
Anyway, the insulation is missing mostly where the wires tend to move - about 1.5 inches-worth. From the motor connector, it's bare immediately for 1.5 inches. From the mirror connector, the insulation is intact for the 1st 1/4 in, and then bare for 1.5 inches. Where they run along lengthwise along the back of the assembly the insulation is very intact! I'm not going to pick at it.
Instead of replacing the wires, I'm going to try to wrap them with electrical tape, or shrink tubing, except for that I can't slip the tubing on, so I have to think of something.
Anyone ever try repairing without actually replacing the wires ? The connector that goes to the mirror, the wires go into the plastic/rubber connector, so you have to cut that open. For the motor connector, it at least has wires that terminate into the connector one-by-one. But I'm still afraid I'll just damage both connectors irreparably.
It'll be awhile before I actually buy a replacement mirror, but I think I'll buy the heat-only version. And while it won't actually function due to incompatible connectors, at least I'll have a mirror I can see into. I need to take a closer look at advertisement pictures to see if they'll click into the motor assembly like the dim&heat version.
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Just had an idea - does anyone make spray-on insulation? If not then I'm off to the patent office. Actually, usually if I can think of something, someone else already has.
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I knew it; check out the picture, and do your own searching - here are just 2 sites:
McMaster-Carr
DIY Liquid Electrical Tape & Spray Electrical Insulation – Plasti Dip
Heck, maybe just spraying paint on the wires would work.
NO PROBLEM
