Auto dim mirror

I tried to bring back my old post unsuccessfully. I was looking for an auto dimming mirror to put in my 996 a few mos ago and after some research found that a 993 mirror fit. I found a new-old-stock 993 mirror on e-bay and put it on a few weeks ago. I clipped the hot wire to the hot wire leading to the sunroof switch and the ground to the screw for the upper roof console. Works beautifully and can recomend this switch to anyone who is looking to upgrade. Do it!!

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Any difference in size of the mirror? Assume it's an 'Audi' marked part? Can you post a photo???

Mirror is the same size as the non-auto dim mirror. Unfortunately, will not be able to post a photo due to my schedule this week and going off to sail for a week on Fri. Can't wait!

Is the sunroof hot lead switched power?

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Yes, and that is what makes the change so easy (Once you find the right mirror)

Can you share the p/n of the mirror please?

Marlon, the part # is: 993 731 982 00 and the e-bay seller (Brian - he may have more mirrors) is: einmaligporsche Good Luck!

how do you remove the mirror in the 996? does the 993 mirror come with some tubing that runs from the mirror area to the headliner? thanks

I already have the Audi mirror with the adapter cover that runs to the headliner, as well as the connectors. It was finding switched power w/o ripping apart the A pillars and running through the dash that kept me from doing it one evening. I assume you can find that power lead by popping off the light assembly in front of it? I did this on my Z3 and never missed not having the reverse shut off feature. Thanks for the hint!

The mirror twists off the windshield mount in either direction (clockwise or counterclockwise). I put a rag over the stem and used a channel lock to twist. Correct, the backup feature is not installed (do not miss it) - merely the + and - of the mirror itself. As I mentioned above, I used the sunroof switch in the overhead panel as my switched + and put the negative to a screw hole. The 993 mirror I bought on E-Bay had the tubing to cover the wires attatched to it.

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coo - el.....

Did you grab the red/gray wire before it went to the switch, ie where it comes out of the black plastic tubing? If not, what color did you stab off of, if you remember? I pulled down the interior light assembly and saw the wires that go to the switch/sunroof controller, but checking the schematic does not show it switched. I know the sunroof has a time delay to allow it to work after the key is pulled, so it's not a normal switched supply. But if it is switched off before the stab point under the lights, then that's fine with me, as long as it is not hot all the time. I assume you checked to make sure there was no power to the mirror after the key had been out for a while. Thanks!!

Hi, just back from vacation! I do not remember which wire is the switched hot - I used my multimeter to check wires and used the one which is on when key is on and off when key is switched off. If you do not have a meter (a great tool by the way), you can do the same with an inexpensive test light. I rec using the body for ground as there will be no question as to which is the positive wire. I spliced the wire about 4 inches from the sunroof control switch (and put a few dabs of epoxy on the switch housing to stop the loose fit while I was there). Good luck!

Yeah, I have a DVM, and I will check, just always like to verify if I can. So you actually pulled the switch down to access the wire then?

Yup. Somewhere on this board are the instructions for taking down the roof console - Unsnap and remove the 2 "eyes" and unscrew the console. Pull the back down (it snaps down), then push the console forwards (towards the windshield) and it comes down. The sunroof switch has a 6 wire plug (no need to take this out) and I checked with the multimeter to see which one is switched. I might be wrong, but I think it is the driver's side rear wire (I'm old and memory is REALLY screwey). I then followed the wire up a few inches and spliced in the + wire from the mirror. Let me know how you do!

Perryinva - if you could share the correct color wire once completed it could save us from having to do the same multimeter test - Thanks in advance!!!! I just ordered a mirror from the same ebayer (buy-it-now $99) - so he may have more than one of these parts!!! - J

FINALLY did it last night, and as Steve B posted, it was a piece of cake. You want the brown/green striped with black spots on it (seriously), terminal #3 of the sunroof switch. It gets timed power from the power window circuit, so the power stays on the mirror for about 30 seconds after the key is removed, unless you lock the car with the remote, then it kills it immediately. I had already bought an Audi A6/A8 mirror from a recycler off ebay. It came with the wire covers and a 6 pin connector which matches the wiring diagram on "Interior self dimming mirror install" on the TSB pages of Renntech. I used 2 scotch taps (18-14ga), one to pin one of the mirror, to the power off the sunroof switch, and the other to the brown (ground) wire that is used on the connector to the overhead light assembly that you have to remove to take down the upper console. To take down the overhead console, you remove the lights by pulling firmly from the front and it pivots down and allows easy unplugging. Then you pop off the two "alien eyes", (the left of which has the sensor for interior motion in the car, the right is for looks to make it match) with a small blade screwdriver. There is a phillips head screw under each eye. Once those are out, you can either remove it like Steve mentioned (I couldn't/was apprehensive) or slide the console forward a bit and pull down the front to disengage it from the trim up front. Then the back part just pulls straight down, but it's still tight. But it is MADE to pull off, as that is where the allen wrench and access to manually close the sunroof is located. If you look at the front of the overhead console, you will see that it has a molded in detent to allow easy cutout (I used a Dremel, looks perfect)to match the wire cover of the mirror. I also had to drill a small hole in the plastic where it meets the mirror cover to allow the wires through, but I'm pretty sure that is because it was an Audi mirror cover and not the Porsche one. Works and looks absolutely perfect and stock. I also found out why the reverse hook up is desired. When I went to back out of the garage this morning, the bright morning sun comes in thru the open garage door, (simulating headlights from behind) and the relative darkness in front of the car, caused the mirror to dim immediately. but I could still see out the back fine, and this mirror, at least, is VERY quick in making adjustments, like a second or so. The one in my VW and my old BMW, are/were much slower to react, like 4 seconds. So as soon as I'm out my garage, its back to where it should be. Not worth tearing up the pillars just for that, but I'd hook it up if I was in there for something else.

Congratulations! Along with my short shifter and exhaust mod, I list the auto-dim mirror as one of the best "bang for the buck," mods I've done.

SteveB and PerryInva - I installed the 993 mirror this evening - not sure that it is working so I want to confirm my steps. The 993 mirror has 3 wires - black/blue, blue/red and brown. Using wire taps I tapped the brown mirror wire to the brown wire to the overhead console light, I also tapped the blue/red to the brown/green w/ black spots wire of the sunroof. After a short drive I couldn't confirm whether or not the mirror was working. Please let me know if my connections were different than yours. Is there any light that turns on with the sensor or way to test that the mirror is indeed working? Sorry to sound like a newbie, but this is my first auto dim mirror. Thanks - Jeremy

Good Morning Jeremy, As mentioned above, I did not write down the color of the wires, thus cnnot help regarding the colors, however, I believe that BROWN is NEGATIVE (the usual) and BLACK is POSITIVE on the mirror wires. It sounds as if you do not have a black, so I would use the brown for neg and connect the others in sequence until dimming occurrs: I used my 12 volt power transformer (Radio Shack) to determine the correct wires from the mirror: Tape over the sensors on the mirror and connect the wires until the mirror dims (this is quite obvious and occurrs within seconds). Then use a volt or multimeter to see which are the appropriate wires leading to the sunroof switch. Turn the ignition switch on and off until you find the appropriate positive which is "switched" on and off with the ignition. (When you do this, attatch the neg lead of your multimeter to the body of the car for a ground - That way, you have one known lead and only have to find the positive switched wire.) To my knowledge, there is no light to tell you that you are dimmed, but it is pretty obvious if you cover the sensors. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Steven B - Thanks for the response. I connected the black/blue wire and it is now definitely working - thanks for all the info. For anyone looking to do this DIY with a 993 mirror the wire connections are as follows: Brown mirror wire to the brown wire of overhead console light (-) Black/Blue mirror wire to brown/green w/ black spots wire of the sunroof (+) Blue/Red mirror wire - no connection (reverse wire) I had no problem getting the mirror off - it took some arm strength, but a half turn counter-clockwise and it popped right off. Good luck to all - J

Nice............Enjoy.

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thanks for your post. How are was it to mate the channel that hides the wires from the mirror to the back of the sunroof switch/light housing? I can disassemble and do the wiring but Im bad at cosmetic stuff... thanks

PasPar2 - It is fairly easy. The point of connection between the wire channel and the sunroof/light console housing is actually hidden by the antenna in the windshield (is black near the top). This blocks any view from the exterior, so the trick is to keep the wire channel stright which I did by using the antenna wire in the windshield. I also used a dremel to cut out the wire channel section in the console so that the wire channel fit (if you drop the console you will see the template close to the windshield) - it may have fit without the cut out - but this was easy enough as the console already provides a cutout - remember this is hidden once installed so it does not need to be perfect. Good luck!