Heated mirrors problem

[antoniosk]

My mirrors are heated and by chance I touch them and noted that they are hot. The external temperature was above 20C. Finally I removed the fuse no. 9 in order to stop heating.

Does any one knows how the heating on the mirrors is controlled?? Something must be wrong in the car, but I can not figure out what it is and where it is.

[zrowcool]

i think they are on all the time as long as the ignition is on. not 100% but i think i remember reading it somewhere

[hoganalley]

I always thought they were only on when the adjustment knob is in the middle. If you turn the knob to either L or R, then they don't come on. I could be wrong....

[shawn120]

for the B6 , the mirror heating is controlled by the rear defrost button. They are heated whenever it is on

[zrowcool]

the middle is only so you dont move the mirrors accidentally with you arm or whatever. kind of like a lock.

[hoganalley]

the middle is only so you dont move the mirrors accidentally with you arm or whatever. kind of like a lock.

yeah, I knew that, but I read that somewhere.......I forget where. Might have been on here......

[offroader1006]

thye only come on when the rear defrost is selected

[antoniosk]

Nope, the heating of the mirrors is ON, even the heating of the back window is OFF. I had to remove the fuse to turn it OFF, while the heating of the back window is still working, so they are indepented.

Any one really knows????

[offroader1006]

they have 2 different fuses. 26 for the def switch, and 9 for the heated mirrors.

haynes manual has them powered at all times, maybe someone with a bentley manual can tell you different.

[antoniosk]

In case they are powered all the time, they might be fitted with a thermal switch or any such kind of device that are self activated at certain temperature. I can't belive that they are ALWAYS ON.

Does some one has any drawing which can share with us????

[Silverstreak98]

This has been a mystery for a while I am interested to know.....although I think one or both of mine are not working.

[antoniosk]

I found this intresting modification to make the heating of the mirrors work with the heating of the rear window.

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec18.shtml

However, this still does not answer the basic question from where the heating of the mirrors is controlled.

I have a feeling that it is an indepented thermal sensor or it is part of the external temperature monitoring system i.e. similar to the one that does not allow the air condition to start when the external temperature is below +3C.

The next days I will make the above modification but if I could connect it to a temperature control sensor it will be even better.

[antoniosk]

FInally I did the above modification and now the heating of the mirrors is working with the read window heating switch. The switch is staying ON only 15 minutes, however, I hope this is enough.

I wanted to find a temperature activated switch that will get ON for temperatures below +5C, but I could not find.

So far the modification is working ok, the only ashame is that finally we could not find how the heating of the mirrors is working. I dont believe that it is always ON, just could not find how it is activated.....

[rockpundit]

From what Ive read in these posts and the posts in the other audi forums, it seems the heaters are always on. It also seems that this isnt harmful since it has a bimetallic strip which is instrumental in the heating. Dont ask me why that makes it better, I dont know.

[antoniosk]

The metalic stipe is on the left (bigger mirror), the right mirror is without this stripe. I dont know also waht this stripe is doing but is not related to the heating beacuse both mirrors are heated.

I asked even in the service of Audi, they did not had an idea about the operation of the heated mirrors, but I think that should not be always ON. Of couse last winter I was asking them why my A/C was not working and they did not had any idea to tell me that below 3C the A/C is designed not to start.

Most probably the heating of the mirrors is conrolled by some temperature activated device which now in my car is not working. Everything else is working ok, at least I believe so.....

[burner799]

did your car have to have the cold weather package to have heated mirrors? I have the bluish hue, but no little box with squigly lines that usually mean it's heated

[antoniosk]

I dont know if it is the cold weather package, I dont have heated seates, or steering wheel, only heated mirrors, heated water spays and heated back window.

I understood that the mirrors were heated on time during summer when I tough them and were hot.