If your power mirrors stop responding normally, it's probable that the door mounted switch is corroded.
1. If you're getting nothing out of the switch, it's possible that the fuse (fuse F5 on the aux fuse box above the main fuse block) is blown. However, if the courtesy lights are working (same fuse) then it's not the fuse.
2. In my case, I was getting nothing out of the switch, although it was getting 12v into the switch from the fuse. Noted, however, is that since I'm almost the sole driver of the car, the mirrors haven't been moved in a very long time. Like personal exercise, use-it-or-lose-it. My switch looked great on the outside, but inside was full of scale and green oxidized gunk. The top picture is prior to cleaning and the bottom picture is after cleaning.
Cleaning the switch is somewhat of a tedious process and one that should be done on a clean table and carefully guarding against losing some VERY small components. Ask your wife to leave you alone for a while.
You'll need some electrical cleaner spray like CRC QD Electrical Cleaner, some fine emery paper, a very small jewelers screwdriver for prying apart the switch and scraping scale off the switch components, and some kleenex/soft cloth.
Carefully pry the switch apart at the four lock fittings. Just get it the tabs unlocked, then very slowly pull them apart horizontally. The pins you see in the second photo are spring loaded, although not heavily so. As you get the two halves apart, the pins will unload from their springs and cones may fall loose. Do this over a piece of cloth so anything that falls out won't go rolling into 5th dimension.
Once apart, pull the pins and spring out of their holes and spray with electrical cleaner spray. Same with the cones. They will just fall out of their sockets. You will probably have to scrap the scale off everything and dig out the muck with the jeweler's screwdriver. I used some very fine emery paper to get down to clean metal on the contacts.
Reassemble opposite to how it came apart. I used some dielectric grease to hold the cones in their sockets as well as some on the pins and L/R switch contacts. Reassemble horizontally just like it came apart. Hopefully the pins don't hang up as they get compressed. Mine did not.
Reinstall in the door panel and test. Hopefully that fixes it for another 27 years.
PDF guide below for downloading.
1. If you're getting nothing out of the switch, it's possible that the fuse (fuse F5 on the aux fuse box above the main fuse block) is blown. However, if the courtesy lights are working (same fuse) then it's not the fuse.
2. In my case, I was getting nothing out of the switch, although it was getting 12v into the switch from the fuse. Noted, however, is that since I'm almost the sole driver of the car, the mirrors haven't been moved in a very long time. Like personal exercise, use-it-or-lose-it. My switch looked great on the outside, but inside was full of scale and green oxidized gunk. The top picture is prior to cleaning and the bottom picture is after cleaning.
Cleaning the switch is somewhat of a tedious process and one that should be done on a clean table and carefully guarding against losing some VERY small components. Ask your wife to leave you alone for a while.
You'll need some electrical cleaner spray like CRC QD Electrical Cleaner, some fine emery paper, a very small jewelers screwdriver for prying apart the switch and scraping scale off the switch components, and some kleenex/soft cloth.
Carefully pry the switch apart at the four lock fittings. Just get it the tabs unlocked, then very slowly pull them apart horizontally. The pins you see in the second photo are spring loaded, although not heavily so. As you get the two halves apart, the pins will unload from their springs and cones may fall loose. Do this over a piece of cloth so anything that falls out won't go rolling into 5th dimension.
Once apart, pull the pins and spring out of their holes and spray with electrical cleaner spray. Same with the cones. They will just fall out of their sockets. You will probably have to scrap the scale off everything and dig out the muck with the jeweler's screwdriver. I used some very fine emery paper to get down to clean metal on the contacts.
Reassemble opposite to how it came apart. I used some dielectric grease to hold the cones in their sockets as well as some on the pins and L/R switch contacts. Reassemble horizontally just like it came apart. Hopefully the pins don't hang up as they get compressed. Mine did not.
Reinstall in the door panel and test. Hopefully that fixes it for another 27 years.
PDF guide below for downloading.