Dominic1c Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Hi everyone! I have a Forester 2007 Xen and I need your collective/individual wisdom to help me to solve a problem please. Driver's side mirror (power folding) when unfolding, sometimes doesn't just stop (quite moody) but, it goes all the way forward while the passenger's side mirror stops where it should. It happens on occasions but it's still very annoying. Can anyone suggest a way to diagnose the problem and ...possible solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzer Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Hi, I doubt if this is going to be much help, the offside mirror on my XTen also does this, but anyway........ I've stripped the mirror down, and the cause seems to be the mirror mount itself has been damaged at some point, probably by being hit. As far as I can work out, the motorised folding mechanism works by sensing when the mirror has reached the stop point, but where the stop has been over-stressed it just carries on until the mirror is flat against the door frame. I didn't get any further with this, as it would have required stripping the door down to remove the whole mirror mount. My bodge-it-and-run fix was to cut one of the wires feeding the motor Ok, the mirror doesn't fold anymore, but at least it stays in a useable position! BTW, a new mirror is nearly £400 so I have been looking for a second hand one for over a year now, no luck so far. If you happen to find a drivers side one for your Forester let me know if the offside one is available too! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic1c Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Hi Thank you for your reply, I haven't forgotten about it just have been very busy. I don't want to ruin it by cutting the wires instead, If I find enough time, I'll strip the mirror and I'll try to machine the missing (damaged part). My mirror has been hit by the previous owner which, as you've said earlier, may explain its behaviour. Can you think of a website/or do you have access to the driver's side door with mirror assembly diagram/schematics/pdf or something similar ? I've never done that so I'd like to work methodically by knowing what I'm doing. As for the second part of your message, I'll let you know if I find anything. £400 for a mirror is a ridiculous amount of money! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic1c Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 On a different note I had some sort of electrical issue with my engine, it wouldn't start. It wasn't the Battery and the AA guy said it could have been my immobilizer but couldn't figure exactly what it was. So he left me and I was later picked up by a tow truck from the middle of the New Forest. When I finally reached home at 2 am last night I checked the other key but still nothing. I tried to start it up an hour ago and it works just fine????!!!!! What on earth is going on? Since you have the same model, have you ever encountered similar issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzer Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 I've had more than a few electrical gremlins on mine. First was the Battery not charging, then the "drive by wire" accelerator pedal not working. Luckily the car was under warranty from the place I had bought it from, both problems were fixed (eventually) by them. Wiring problems was the cause in both aparently, no more info than that. Yours sounds like an immobiliser fault - you probably have a Sigma M30 alarm fitted like mine. If you have just one button on the key and a flashing LED below the speedometer it's most likely the same. You may also have a keypad in a pull-down tray below the fog light switches. You probably know already, but just in case you don't - the immobiliser arms automatically 30 seconds after you turn the ignition on if you don't start the car. The LED turns on steady to show it's immobilsed, if this happens press the button on the key to start. I've got the alarm manuals if you are missing them. HTH Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic1c Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 Hello again! You're probably right with your diagnosis, I have what's called Category 1 Alarm system. Could it be the same thing you have? Also, I have the instruction but, thank you kindly for your offer. I should have studied the manual when I got the car in more details. I'm going to rectify this now. Cheers Dominic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic1c Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 I was thinking about buying one of those obd2 fault scanners . Have you ever used one personally and if yes, is there anything you could recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzer Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 You could try OBD2 as you might get lucky, but these types of faults don't usually show up there. There's a huge link on here As to which one to try - I have used the cheap Bluetooth dongles you see on fleabay with the Torque app on my phone, but this is a bit hit and miss. The best way I've found is with one of these usb adapters http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Cable-KKL-VAG-COM-409-1-OBD2-II-OBD-VW-Audi-Seat-Skoda-Auto-Diagnostic-Tool-/322068310723?hash=item4afcc46ac3:g:46gAAOSwEK9UJTD7 and running FreeSSM https://sourceforge.net/projects/freessm.berlios/ You need to use the right drivers for the dongle, but you get much more consistent results and more information. Google is your friend :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzer Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 There's another good article here http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/65-parts-accessories-performance/39426-freessm-complete-access-your-ecm-tcu.html Mods please excuse the link to a foreign forum, please delete if against the rules ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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