9-5 Aero (MY2004) - door mirrors won't tilt when in reverse gear

[bandsawman]

Hi all,

I have a Saab 9-5 Aero (MY2004) with electric pack fitted. My door mirror switch has the tiny button present which is supposed to tilt the mirrors (to view the kerb) if pressed when in reverse gear - this isn't working.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[9-3 Aero]

Reverse gear position is (hard) wired from - switch to DICE, which sends a message on the I-bus to the Power Mirror Module (PMM), which is wired to the mirror module.

Given the manual adjustments of the mirror and reverse lights are working, is the reverse light switch and fuse #2 in the Instrument Panel Electrical Centre (IPEC) OK, and suspects are the tiny button or/ and missing bus message or a (program) fault in the PMM.

Passengers side mirror only is to be tilted.

[bandsawman]

Thanks for that,

the fuse and reverse position switch must be ok as the reversing lights are working ok.

[9-3 Aero]

The power mirror design of our 9-3 is different from the one in question, including a safety measure preventing overload of the mirror motors by interrupting power 2 seconds after command is given, if no movement is detected.

I don't find a written statement regarding such a feature applying your 9-5, however if applicable there's something you could try. Move the left mirror a few times to full 3 -, 6 -, 9 - and 12 o'clock positions, leave it a "middle/neutral" position and try the reversing tilt again, when carefully watching for any movement or tiny wiggling. If noted, the culprit could be the mirror is mechanically inert.

[bandsawman]

Brilliant! It's working now!
I tried what you suggested, and it turns out that the mirror isn't fully moving freely in all directions - it's sticking occasionally. But it's now tilting as it should.

No doubt this is only temporary and it'll fail again in the future - so I know that I need to strip the mirror to examine the mechanism to sort it out properly.

Many thanks for your assistance in diagnosing my fault :-)

[9-3 Aero]

You're welcome

Maybe it's due for a few drops of oil or some grease. When warmer ambient times comes, check whether or not it still sticks in the positions you've noticed - it could be a matter of tight tolerances rather than mechanical wear & tear.

[bandsawman]

That really makes sense - and it seems to fit with the level of engineering that I've come to expect from my first Saab...
...Oh, I do love this car!