Has anyone had the issue where the lights on the rear view are failing to come on and the auto dimming no longer works.

It's to dark outside at the min to go trying to track down problems, but does anyone have any experience with this or can advise a place to check please.

Daft question, but are you saying that when you press the switch under the mirror the led doesn't come on?

If so, it could be a fuse but get a vcds scan done to see if you have any error codes.

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Did'nt notice I had this on my car and just took a small ride to try it out, little green light came on and everything in the rear view darkened, cool I like, seem to remember having this on my old Beemer but had'nt noticed it on my Octy...

Yeah the light will not come on even with the button push, it was working fine last week before i went away with work.

Wait for it ,,,, yes the wife had it for a week and had a blow out and by the looks of it somehow knackered the damn mirror, any idea what fuse it is?

Nope, sorry.

Does anything else appear not to be working like tunnel lights or alarm?

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Sorry to hijack, but could someone explain this function to me as my octy has it but I didn't realise I had to switch it on!!

I just assumed the "Auto" bit mean't it would sense the brightness through back window and dim accordingly, or maybe i'm just a bit thick

Sorry to hijack, but could someone explain this function to me as my octy has it but I didn't realise I had to switch it on!!

I just assumed the "Auto" bit mean't it would sense the brightness through back window and dim accordingly, or maybe i'm just a bit thick

There is a push-button under the mirror to switch on and off. When switched on the LED lights and the mirror auto dims when headlights appear behind you.

Sorry to hijack, but could someone explain this function to me as my octy has it but I didn't realise I had to switch it on!!

I just assumed the "Auto" bit mean't it would sense the brightness through back window and dim accordingly, or maybe i'm just a bit thick

Just like auto lights and auto wipers you have to switch the auto dipping rear view mirror on, there's a button on the underside of it.

Cheers for the reply guys now I do feel a bit stupid, its the most specced car i've owned!

Is this power supplied from the car then or batteries internal to the mirror??

Hi all,

Let me know if this needs to be in a new thread...?

I have a 2006 Octavia with auto rear view dim and auto windscreen wipers (although these have never worked as the rain sensor is missing). My son recently managed to pull off the rear view mirror... I have put it back and reconnected the electrical plug in the mirror and the mirror seems to work fine but now notice that my dipped beam headlights and dashboard lights come on as soon as I turn the ignition on - irrespective of whether the lights are switched on!! In fact the exterior light switch no longer seems to do anything - I can't turn my lights off and also can't turn my fog lights on. Has anyone seen this before? I have checked all the fuses I can see that may relate to lights and they all look fine. I have also tried removing the rear view mirror and then turning on the ignition but same issue. It may be nothing to do with the rear view mirror but seems quite a coincidence if so! It's an odd one...

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Dan

Another hijack (sorry!)

My auto-dimming rear view mirror (unlike my erratic and unreliable auto windscreen wipers) works perfectly - so well that I am quite unaware of it.  But how does it work, please?  I understand how it senses light from behind - a normal photo-cell - but how does it dim?  Is it a mechanical tilting process like a manually-operated dipping mirror?  If so, I've never hear it "click" or seen it move.  If it is some kind of photochromic process, it is very rapid in operation.

  

Another hijack (sorry!)

My auto-dimming rear view mirror (unlike my erratic and unreliable auto windscreen wipers) works perfectly - so well that I am quite unaware of it.  But how does it work, please?  I understand how it senses light from behind - a normal photo-cell - but how does it dim?  Is it a mechanical tilting process like a manually-operated dipping mirror?  If so, I've never hear it "click" or seen it move.  If it is some kind of photochromic process, it is very rapid in operation.

  

 

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5003057_auto-dimming-mirrors-work.html

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5003057_auto-dimming-mirrors-work.html

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Great link - thanks!  So it is photochromic, as I suspected from the silence and lack of any apparent physical movement.  As I said, on my car it just works - perfectly and unobtrusively.  I just hadn't realised that photochromic technology was able to work so rapidly nowadays!

My only issue with that link was the initial sentence

"In auto dipping technology, a forward-looking sensor detects low ambient light from headlights behind the car and directs the rear-view sensor to look for glare"

which does not seem to me seem to make a lot of sense.  How does "a forward-looking sensor" detect "low ambient light from headlights behind the car ..."?

 

Edited 22 April, 201412 yr by Stuarted

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Great link - thanks!  So it is photochromic, as I suspected from the silence and lack of any apparent physical movement.  As I said, on my car it just works - perfectly and unobtrusively.  I just hadn't realised that photochromic technology was able to work so rapidly nowadays!

My only issue with that link was the initial sentence

"In auto dipping technology, a forward-looking sensor detects low ambient light from headlights behind the car and directs the rear-view sensor to look for glare"

which does not seem to me seem to make a lot of sense.  How does "a forward-looking sensor" detect "low ambient light from headlights behind the car ..."?

 

 

What it means is that there is a sensor on the front of the mirror that detects when it's dark then. Then uses the sensor on the front of the mirror to detect lights behind. The wording is a little off there I think.

 

But basically there is a sensor on the front and back of the mirror that it uses to determine whether it needs to dim. You may notice that as you approach a street lit area the mirror will un-dim slightly even with a car still behind.

 

Phil

Hi all,

Let me know if this needs to be in a new thread...?

I have a 2006 Octavia with auto rear view dim and auto windscreen wipers (although these have never worked as the rain sensor is missing). My son recently managed to pull off the rear view mirror... I have put it back and reconnected the electrical plug in the mirror and the mirror seems to work fine but now notice that my dipped beam headlights and dashboard lights come on as soon as I turn the ignition on - irrespective of whether the lights are switched on!! In fact the exterior light switch no longer seems to do anything - I can't turn my lights off and also can't turn my fog lights on. Has anyone seen this before? I have checked all the fuses I can see that may relate to lights and they all look fine. I have also tried removing the rear view mirror and then turning on the ignition but same issue. It may be nothing to do with the rear view mirror but seems quite a coincidence if so! It's an odd one...

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Dan

 

Do you have an auto light switch installed?

 

Phil

What it means is that there is a sensor on the front of the mirror that detects when it's dark then. Then uses the sensor on the front of the mirror to detect lights behind. The wording is a little off there I think.

 

But basically there is a sensor on the front and back of the mirror that it uses to determine whether it needs to dim. You may notice that as you approach a street lit area the mirror will un-dim slightly even with a car still behind.

 

Phil

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Thank you!  It  does seem rather badly phrased.

So: it measures both overall light levels and the brightness of light from behind, and respondes to the contrast between the two?

 

@Phil-E

I'm not sure... In the past my lights have only ever come on when I manually turned them on so I assume not. How would I tell for certain?

Thanks, Dan

@Phil-E

I'm not sure... In the past my lights have only ever come on when I manually turned them on so I assume not. How would I tell for certain?

Thanks, Dan

 

It sounds like you don't but if you do there would be an extra setting on the light switch so you would have "0" (Off), "Auto" or a little Tunnel symbol (auto), Sidelights and then dipped beam.

 

Has anyone done any coding on the car recently?

 

Also check the wiring to the switch. If it's disconnected I think the lights come on all the time.

 

Phil

Thanks - I don't have that on the switch. Any suggestions on how I get to the back of the switch to check the connection?

Many thanks, Dan

Yes. With the light in the off position push the switch in firmly and turn to the right. It just pops straight out.

 

Phil

Thanks - I took the switch out and checked the connection and it looks fine. Also when I turn the ignition on the lights on the switch come on and I can see the foglight light come on within the switch when I turn them on, but still the switch doesn't seem to be controlling the actual lights... When I turn on the ignition the dipped beam lights still come on automatically and changes to the light switch seem to make no difference to what the actual lights are doing.

Could the wiring have come loose elsewhere? There must be power to the switch as the switch itself lights up. Is there a diagram I can follow to trace this back?

Thanks for all your help

Dan

In terms of coding I had a service last week where they cleared an airbag error light (which has now come back on) but nothing else

Thanks

When I turn on the ignition the dipped beam lights still come on automatically and changes to the light switch seem to make no difference to what the actual lights are doing.

 

As Phil has suggested, Someone in the past may have activated Scandinavian DRL's. Not sure why they were suddenly enabled by connecting the rain/light sensor though.......bit of a mystery. I think a VCDS scan to look for stored faults may be useful.  

I'm more thinking has the RLS sensor been coded for auto lights. This can cause a similar behaviour if there isn't an auto switch installed.

Other than that I'm not sure.

Phil

Hi Danielnash

You need to revisit the rear view mirror connections to the light sensor that's stuck to the windscreen.

From memory there are 3 electrical connectors on there. On mine 2 had long cables and one very short.

So when my mirror fell off one of them snapped clean off the connector and I had the same headlight on symptoms as you. I had a new longer cable soldered on and a fuse replaced possibly on the drivers side fusebox area or wherever it it. All I know is it was one of those new micro blade fuses possibly a red one.

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