So I just purchased my first ever mini, a 2005 Cooper S in great condition other than a few little issues. The first thing that I noticed is that the auto dimming mirror seems to be stuck in a permanently dim position. I even took out a powerful flashlight and shined it into the front and rear photocells, and there was no change in the mirror. I was asking to find out if anyone had any insight into the situation.

Secondly, One of the rear reversing light housing/bulbs looks smoked out, yet works fine. I am not sure exactly what is going on there either. It may be an aftermarket headlight, but the PN on the lens appears to be the same. Here are some pictures:







Thanks for any help in advance!

 

That's strange. Kinda looks like it's missing the back reflector.

10mm socket and 2 mins to pull the entire lens out to answer the question.

There's some decent aftermarket lenses out there for less than the OEM ones, and they pop up here for sale in the marketplace often.


Sorry, I can't help with the mirror. Is there the chance you don't have auto dimming? My 05 doesn't have it (turn the **** at the bottom) but my 06 does.

 

I will definitely take off the rear light tomorrow to check it out, missing reflector is what I was thinking as well.

As for the mirror, I am 100% sure it's the auto dimming mirror. When I decoded the VIN it was listed as an option and it has no **** on the bottom plus two holes for the sensors.

 

I've taken apart an auto dim mirror before. In fact, integrated a compass into my 2005. The only thing I can think of, is that there is a wire that may be grounded, sending a signal that you are in reverse or something.
Is there any change when you remove the key?

 

So when I took out the rear light it looks as if someone cracked the lens of, and spraypainted the reverse reflector black. Then they proceeded to superglue the lens back on, irrevecably sealing the assembly. So I will just look around for an OEM replacement.

As for the mirror, theres no change regardless of key position or whether the battery is connected. I took the mirror off and used my multimeter to test the plug coming out of the ceiling and it had power. The main pin read 11.8v and the other pins had much smaller readings. I can attach pictures of how the mirror looks if that would help.

 

Is the mirror still dark when it is unplugged? I don't think it should be. If it is, the mirror may be damaged.

Here's the wiring diagram. The blue/yellow wire (BL/GE in German) is the backup signal, and when the car is in reverse dimming should be turned off. The signals from the control unit may be for headlights on. I might be wrong, but I believe dimming is active only when headlights are turned on.

 

This is what the mirror looks like all the time:



I tried it in reverse, with the lights on, and nothing changes.

 

Without context, we don't know what we should be seeing in your photo, in comparison to a good mirror.

If the mirror doesn't reflect like a plain, undimmed mirror under any circumstance, I'd conclude that it is faulty and needs to be replaced.

 

Here is the mirror compared to a standard glass one I had laying around the shop:

 

The auto-dim mirror in my 2006 R52 wasn't completely clear in its undimmed state, but I've sold the car and can't give a direct comparison to your photo. My initial reaction is that it doesn't look unusual (maybe others can chime in). When it was dimming, my mirror became much darker than your photo and the effect was very obvious.

 

If its on its way out they sometimes get brown on the lens around the outside on the review mirror of the photo cell part of the mirror is bad and the mirror will not change ( dim.

Mirror here :

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Interior/Mirror/

For those taillights looks like the reflector or bulb has a black burn on it, sometimes when the bulbs are burned then reattached the filament you get a burn on the inside of the glass on the bulb which then reflects black into the housing.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/63217160935/



Taillights here if you want to change the style, get new one because your lens are faded a bit or other options. If you just want a new bulb you could always go led .


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...il-lights.html



Back up leds :

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/003905ZIZ01KT/




Thanks

 

Thanks for the info ECSTuning, I had already looked at a replacement lens/housing on your website. If you look closely, the left lens is completely clear while the one that was cracked open has fogged. I will definitely be looking at an OEM replacement in the future. Probably will do new bulbs at the same time as well.

And after some fiddling with the connector on the mirror, I was able to make it dim again. Before I took it out and was working on it it would not dim at all. Maybe I am just not used to the standard tint of the mirror, cause compared to the auto dimming mirror on my other car it is still a lot darker.

 

You are welcome.


When you get the new rear taillights they come with the bulb holder and bulbs, so gets both things fixed.


On the rear-veiw mirror, make sure the top plug goes into the harness all the way and the pins in the plug are pushed all the way in , sounds like an electrical connection issue.

The older mirror are also a little slower to dim. One way to test it is cover up the front optical eye, then flash a light into the rear optical eye at the bottom of the mirror. Then take you hands off it.

Good luck.