Another silly audio question, My Rearview Mirror Lamp Switches Vibrate

[Phantom]

My rearview mirror lamp buttons vibrate like crazy! I have eliminated almost all other stray rattles/buzzes besides this one. Right now I have some electrical tape on them, but It looks shabby. Has anyone else addressed this problem? what were your solutions?

[tom4bren]

HMMM - black duct tape???

Seriously tho, no. They're probably not serviceable without popping the glass out of the mirror. Before knocking your head against a brick wall trying to find a cure, try to locate a replacement.

[Phantom]

Well the "cure" would be to turn down my sub, but that ain't gonna happen! :bgwo: Those lamps come in handy sometimes, otherwise i'd just pull the mirror. Seriously, what other practical use does it have? It just reduces forward visibility in my book.

[tom4bren]

you can see if someone is tailgating you.

it also helps to get you through inspection.

[Phantom]

Good points both, guess its safe from me removing it after work >.> So no one else who has a sub in their VX has had this problem? It is quite noticeable especially when there is a bass heavy passage (bass guitar solo, Cello and double-bass passages)

[Ldub]

You COULD dab a bit of clear or black silicone caulking or gasket maker into the gap between the mirror housing & the switches.
Then wipe the excess off with your finger tip, cleaning between wipes with a paper towel.
Let it cure for 24 hrs & score gently around each switch with a sharp ex-acto knife so theyll move again.
This is all theory of course...:smilewink

[Phantom]

Thats a great suggestion and worth tryiny since I have the silicone and exacto knife handy from installing the speakers. Ill give it a try and repost with results. Thanks Ldub!

[etlsport]

ive never had the problem.. and my mirror shakes a lot... it fell off last year lol

[tom4bren]

I was going to suggest RTV but assumed the switch travel would be too much. Didn't think of cutting it after it cures tho. Good call.

[etlsport]

if you really dont want the rear view mirror its easy to take off... 1/4 turn of the base and it slides out, then just unplug it... i found i use mine a decent amount now that i have no backseats... its useful to see whos coming up behind me in the other lanes

[Phantom]

Used some black gasket sealer and a whittled down toothpick. got it really good in all the way around both lamp buttons. Let it cure overnight and used the exacto knife on them. I had to give a squirt or two of silicone lube to get them moving smoothly again. So far so good! Played the worst offender on the way to work (Victor Wooten classic thump) and no buzzing. I am aalways going to keep some gasket sealer handy from now on. :)

[Gussie2000]

Good points both, guess its safe from me removing it after work >.> So no one else who has a sub in their VX has had this problem? It is quite noticeable especially when there is a bass heavy passage (bass guitar solo, Cello and double-bass passages)

Well i place in two 600 watts subs in my VX & i never had that issue.

I gues you'll have to ended up removing the rearview mirror if you have no solution.,But it will be my last choice,somehow that mirror do some sort of his "job"

[twistedsymphony]

they make non-conductive "grease" (I forget exactly what it's called) that's used to waterproof/prevent corrosion of electrical connections in the engine bay... you can get it at any auto parts store.

take the mirror apart and apply liberally to the back of the buttons, it wont damage the electronics (just make sure it's not creating a barrier between the contactsand it's thick enough that it wont seep out on you either...

I have no idea how hard it is to take apart the mirror but I've done this for button rattles on other cars with great success.

[LittleBeast]

It might help to have the rear view mirror installed higher up than the stock position so you can tilt it up to make contact with the head liner. That is what I had to do to see out of the front windshield without the rear view mirror in my line of sight, it also helps with rear visibility as now I can see cars windshields behind me where before I could maybe only see their roofs if anything at all, and it should keep it from rattling so freely which might eliminate the problem with the buttons all together.

[circmand]

Please explain how. The only vehicles I can see in my rear view mirror are airplanes. I use mine to look for cop planes who are doing air speed tickets.

[twistedsymphony]

I should really just remove my rear-view... all it does is tempt me into looking at it and then let me down with ZERO visibility every time.

they sell vans without a windshield mounted rear view so I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult for some state inspection mechanic to believe that it never came with one... I could use that auto dimming functionality on my other cars too :rolleyes: Why they even bothered to make the thing auto-dim is beyond me.

[LittleBeast]

Please explain how. The only vehicles I can see in my rear view mirror are airplanes. I use mine to look for cop planes who are doing air speed tickets.

LOL, it really is not that complicated, whenever I replace the windshield, I am on my 5th in 5 years, I have them install one of the factory rear view mirror mounts almost as high as you can, and then put the rear view mirror as high as I can on that very high mount and it increases the rear visibility a lot!!!!! I will take some pics as soon as I can, but for now just imagine your rear view mirror mount as high as it can get on your windshield and then imagine how much looking down and out of the back glass would help as opposed to just looking straight out.

[tom4bren]

"Why they even bothered to make the thing auto-dim is beyond me."

It just goes to show that if you're not real careful, you'll learn something new every day. I didn't know ours auto-dimmed.

[Ldub]

"Why they even bothered to make the thing auto-dim is beyond me."

It just goes to show that if you're not real careful, you'll learn something new every day. I didn't know ours auto-dimmed.


Call me skeptical, but mine is a good old fashioned manual dim. (lever on the bottom):confused:

[tom4bren]

"Call me skeptical, but mine is a good old fashioned manual dim. (lever on the bottom)"

That's what I thought too. Maybe his RVM is a close cousin to the OEM shovel.