Extending wiring for wing mirror

[valleyVRS]

Hi all, 

 

I bought a n/s wing mirror for my VRS from a breaker but have just realised the cable on the new mirror is only 20cm long and has a plug on it. Where as the old one has a long lead that runs to behind the centre of the door card. 

 

Is it possible to simply join the 2 together ? The cables are colour coded so I would assume they just match together.

 

I got a good price on this mirror and its in great condition. Its not a heated one as before but it fits the housing perfectly. Would like to avoid selling it on and searching again... besides It'll probably be less than a month before she smashes the next one off. 

cheers

 

D

[Holmesie]

can you just cut ans solder the wire from the old mirror on to the new? ( hope i read it correctly?)

[valleyVRS]

yeah thats what I was thinking of doing. just wondered if anyone had an idea about the wire colours. 

[mattievrs]

Why not swap the innards from the old to the new?

[devonutopia]

Weird - I thought all non vRS had mirror connections way down in the heart of the door, and all the vRS mirrors had the short connections.  Maybe yours is so early they hadn't moved to the later connections which were much closer to the mirror mounting point.  I know I have this with mine as its a 2001 so I have to ensure I get mirrors with the longer leads.

[inventory-photo]

When I replaced my mirror glass (after it got smashed by school run mums) I just bought some male and female spade connectors from maplins to patch in an extra piece of wire. I then covered the join in insulation tape, then waterproof gaffa tape, so that it will be easy enough to undo if needed. I also replaced te old spade connectors on the existing wire, as they were heavily corroded.

 

The advantage of doing it this way is that it can be done quickly with a pair of needlenose pliers. No faffing with solder.

[valleyVRS]

Ok Guys, 

 

this is what i did and it worked fine. 

 

Striped back the cables from the old long lead and from the new short lead (after removing the plug). used a standard small block connector to reconnect the wires. I went by colour to begin with as that seemed the most obvious choice. The brown cable which I assume is live has a bridge connector inside the unit so no need to run 2 cables from it. 

 

The 2 black cables are for the heater so connected those up too (turns out this unit did have a heater after all). I couldnt see any reason why it would make a difference which way these went as most heating filaments will work in either direction. 

 

Hay presto everything works. so for future reference you can buy a wing mirror unit with a short lead and plug and adapt it to fit an older model where the cable starts at the door centre! 

 

Very handy to know as the new units are cheaper and easier to come by it would seem. 

Edited 6 January, 2014 by valleyVRS