Heated Side Mirrors

Good evening, everyone,

I have a question about the heated side mirrors on the G3.
Does anyone know the internal resistance? On the left, I have 112 Ohms, and on the right, I have 356 Ohms. The voltage is also quite high.
Sometimes one person goes, sometimes none, and sometimes even both. But not really satisfying.
Are these things actually hot, or just a little warm?

Wishing you a happy holiday season and a safe and accident-free start to the year 2004...

I don't know the internal resistance, but they should definitely be warm enough to handle.
I am testing the function by blowing against it in cold weather.
Should be released immediately

Hello,

I don't know the exact required resistance. However, according to P=U*I or P=U*U/R and a voltage of approximately U=12V, you would have a power of P=12*12/112= approximately one watt. This is definitely too low. In my opinion, the power should be around 10 watts. Therefore, the resistance R should not be greater than 14 ohms. Anything above 30 Ohms is definitely insufficient for me.

Greetings
Private Area

Hello!

The tinted side mirrors are designed such that they are on the back with
Two conductor paths are present, which are not directly connected to each other.
The electrical heating element creates a conductive layer that extends over these two lead paths.
has been assigned. However, this layer seems to peel away over the years (was observed in)
(at least for me), which is why your Ohm values are also much too high and vary so much.

If one has sufficient skill and dexterity, one can repair them:
I have completely removed the sealant layer from my mirrors. To do this, you need to
Carefully remove the plastic backing (best done with label remover), and connect the ends of the two conductive tracks together, as these also have an electrical resistance and are distributed throughout the entire mirror. Then, one sticks it on.
reinstall the plastic holder (I used 2K adhesive).
The Spiegel now has approximately 14W.
Slightly less power output than the original (around 20W), but still heats wonderfully.
P.S.: It might sound a bit like 'McGyver' all of a sudden, but I do enjoy tinkering;-)

Best regards,
Olli

Hi!

@Eum76:

So, there isn't a "conductive layer" in the mirror. The heating resistance is actually the relatively poorly conductive trace itself, which runs along the entire back of the mirror glass... It's just glue, but it's really, really difficult to remove...

Best regards,
Dirk

Thank you everyone, you've been a great help. While I am an electrician, I find myself more interested in switchgear and robots than in mirror heaters.
I guess I'll have to make time for the craft activity. I now have plenty of time to think about the holidays.

@brezelmann:

Hello!
This is really true! I was also wondering what it was all about.
If you look closely, you should notice that the ladder track
Actually, there are two conductor paths somewhere on the reflective surface, ENDS.
The coating must be conductive.
Certainly, I can't explain it any other way, that the resistance
The higher it went, the more (rest)layers I washed off with acetone.
Maybe the heated mirrors were also changed due to the manufacturing year.
but in my G3, manufactured in '97, they are set up like this.


Best regards,
Olli

might be. My experiences were based on a right-hand drive Golf 4 with a 6.99 build date.