wing mirror failure

[anditover]

The electric wing mirrors on my 1996 C220 have stopped working. I checked the fuses and found it had blown. When I replaced it it blew again as soon as I turned on the ignition. Please can anyonne give me some basic tips on what I should try next?
cheers in advance

 

[wireman]

Sounds like a short circuit to body at some point in the mirror wiring, wait for some body else to reply they may have knowledge of a common place that this occurs on your vehicle type.
It is obvious that the fault is on the battery/live/+12v feed to the mirrors or some device on the same fuse, a wiring diagram will help you find out which bits have a 12v feed.
My guess would be through the door pillar/door wiring, around the switch or any where that the wiring loom associated with the mirrors passes through a body panel, it could be crush damaged under a carpet or mat.
This may take a while to find, take a look at the easy to access parts first and then if you need digging into the route taken by the wiring is probably the only way to find it.

 

[jibcl500]

the fault might be in the rubber tube between the door and A post,

jib

 

[anditover]

dealership prices??

what I need is a huge discount day at my loal merc dealership i think! my knowledge is limited and this problem seems to be complex for a beginer like me! what do you guys think? is it to hard a task for a numb nuts such as me?

andy

 

[wireman]

If you dont feel adequately conversant with diagnosis and making reliable repairs to electrical systems get a decent auto electrician to look at it, you may well save in the long run.
It is not a hard task you just need to understand how the circuit works, to do that you need to know how to find out the electrical bits work.

 

[greenfingers]

I suspect you will find the short circuit is where the wires are repeatedly flexed - so like jibcl500 and wireman suggested, where they pass into the door is the first place to check.

Even without any electrical knowledge you should be able to recognise broken insulation. If you still can't find anything wrong, check you don't have water in the mirror connectors (which might cause a short).

This problem should only cost pence and minutes to fix, unless you want to pay someone.
Your learning curve starts now!
Oh, and please report back when you've looked at those wires.

 

[television]

Often with plastic cables the wire will break inside the plastic, and you nay not see anthing, though with a short the wires will be bare.

I am not sure if the 202 mirrors unplug behind the triangle cover on the inside.
This cover levers off from the top, and there may be a plug for them under it.
By unplugging there you will know if the fault is in the mirror or the wiring