S3 8L - Electric Power Fold Mirrors Retrofit Kit DIY

ShaunS3

ShaunS3

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Hi guys,

I know this has been covered before across the whole forum, but i can't seem to find anything on a retrofit kit for the S3 8L chassis. I would like my mirrors to unfold on pressing the unlock button on the fob, then folding in when the lock button is pressed.

All i can see through searches is that it is possible but, i would like to know the cost of a kit, if there is one available?

NHN aka Nigel appears to be the man in the know as he has personally done this with his 8L S3 before and appears to be a very talented bloke when it comes to auto electrics.

Are there any vidoes available of an 8L S3 with power folding mirrors?

Any help is much appreciated :)
 
+1 I'd be interested in this too.

AFAIK you need the powered mirror brackets, the mirror adjuster switch with the parking position, and possible a control module/brain for it?

Liam
 
Have a search on the MK4 golf forums, remember reading a project thread where someone did this but for the lie of me cannot find it
 
Yes you need the power fold bases, you dont need the oem switch/module for it to work, I actually used a trigger pulse of the conv module/pump in boot of the lock/unlock which triggered a timer relay to fold/unfold, 1 relay on each circuit, its just reverse polarity to fold opposite way.

There have been uses of the relay 361 but this method keeps power on the circuit all the time iirc & you have to question if it will do any good to the motor having power 24/7, hence why I opted for timer circuits which were iirc, 10 seconds which is plenty of time to fold/unfold either way.

I also incorporated the 1 click closure in the same circuit, was very cool tbh with full closure & folding on 1 remote press :)
 
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NHN said:
Yes you need the power fold bases, you dont need the oem switch/module for it to work, I actually used a trigger pulse of the conv module/pump in boot of the lock/unlock which triggered a timer relay to fold/unfold, 1 relay on each circuit, its just reverse polarity to fold opposite way.

There have been uses of the relay 361 but this method keeps power on the circuit all the time iirc & you have to question if it will do any good to the motor having power 24/7, hence why I opted for timer circuits which were iirc, 10 seconds which is plenty of time to fold/unfold either way.

I also incorporated the 1 click closure in the same circuit, was very cool tbh with full closure & folding on 1 remote press :)
Click to expand...

Did you ever get any videos of your S3 with this done?

If someone was to do this, what parts would you require? Would you offer an installation service?

If installing on the OEM switch module, how would they work the OEM way?

I dare say there are alot of S3 8L owners that would love this mod, i also agree it is very cool :)
 
I did fit this kit to my B5.

Each mirror is about £30ish off ebay but I've only ever seen one side. Drivers side I think. Not seen the passenger side.

If you look in to after market mirror (Lucas I think), they with the electric motor. My Lucas mirror from GSF came with the motor.

You need to buy the correct mirror switch off Audi, I can't remember the price.
I used 361 relay from a A8 and wired it to ignition live.
Soon as I get my *** in gear, I'm going to do what Nigel did and make them open and clock on lock and unlock.

On my mirrors there is a 3rd wire which I think kills the power to the mirrors when they reach open or close position, so power is not always to the motors.


There is no kit, just a selection of parts.
If you search through the B5 section there is a full wiring diagram and part numbers.
 
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ScottB5 said:
I did fit this kit to my B5.

Each mirror is about £30ish off ebay but I've only ever seen one side. Drivers side I think. Not seen the passenger side.

If you look in to after market mirror (Lucas I think), they with the electric motor. My Lucas mirror from GSF came with the motor.

You need to buy the correct mirror switch off Audi, I can't remember the price.
I used 361 relay from a A8 and wired it to ignition live.
Soon as I get my *** in gear, I'm going to do what Nigel did and make them open and clock on lock and unlock.

On my mirrors there is a 3rd wire which I think kills the power to the mirrors when they reach open or close position, so power is not always to the motors.


There is no kit, just a selection of parts.
If you search through the B5 section there is a full wiring diagram and part numbers.
Click to expand...

Great info, cheers Scott.

Have you got a video of your mirrors in operation? Would be good to see.

So are the power folding mirror bases restricted to each model or are they all universal to say A3/S3 - A4/S4 etc? If specific to the model (say S3) and are available for the S3 8L, i don't understand why VAG didn't fit them as standard to the S3 8L atleast.
 
Nah sorry this was done back in the days when net was only a young baby & camera phones were tbh shyte lol.

As for the 3rd wire, some mirrors have built in position sensors, I cant recall if those mirrors had microswitch sensors or just detected the resistance & then switched the power of via the wire, but as we wernt incorporating the oem system & using timer based circuits, we didnt even bother with a power of trigger.

TBH 8L folding mirrors are few & far between as they were never fitted & wernt listed as a UK option afaik or were to expensive to add, afaik I was the 1st 8L to fit them, no bragging here, just was unknown back then on that chassis, hence why they're scarce as hell these days, I know I paid full retail for the mirrors from audi back then, cost me way over a grand lol.
 
I read somewhere that they was an option in Canada.
It might be worth going down the after market route to save some cash over the VAG option.





Do B5 Mirrors fit A3s?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ScottB5 said:
I read somewhere that they was an option in Canada.
It might be worth going down the after market route to save some cash over the VAG option.





Do B5 Mirrors fit A3s?
Click to expand...


Wing mirror envy!!!!

They look smart v.smart Scott! Loving those waving wing mirrors...and there i was thinking my project was nearly finished and you go and show off your mirrors...now i want to try and do this too! :readit:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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NHN said:
Nah sorry this was done back in the days when net was only a young baby & camera phones were tbh shyte lol.

As for the 3rd wire, some mirrors have built in position sensors, I cant recall if those mirrors had microswitch sensors or just detected the resistance & then switched the power of via the wire, but as we wernt incorporating the oem system & using timer based circuits, we didnt even bother with a power of trigger.

TBH 8L folding mirrors are few & far between as they were never fitted & wernt listed as a UK option afaik or were to expensive to add, afaik I was the 1st 8L to fit them, no bragging here, just was unknown back then on that chassis, hence why they're scarce as hell these days, I know I paid full retail for the mirrors from audi back then, cost me way over a grand lol.
Click to expand...

Wow....over £1000 for folding mirrors. Really hope they are cheaper these days :)

Would you offer an installation service if the parts are supplied to you?
 
ShaunS3 said:
Wow....over £1000 for folding mirrors. Really hope they are cheaper these days :)

Would you offer an installation service if the parts are supplied to you?
Click to expand...

I can assure you, audi's prices woiuldnt of gone down from 10 years ago lmfao.

Yeah I'd happily offer to install, just have to recap myself of the schematics, I can remember 95% lol.
 
NHN said:
I can assure you, audi's prices woiuldnt of gone down from 10 years ago lmfao.

Yeah I'd happily offer to install, just have to recap myself of the schematics, I can remember 95% lol.
Click to expand...

May be worth looking into the aftermarket option like Scott said. As long as they work, can't really see a problem but would prefer genuine parts if possible. Is this one from ebay the one i need to be looking for?

AUDI A3 S3 2 DOOR 01>03 LEFT MIRROR RHD FOLDING ANTI DAZZLE 8L2858531AA3FZ NEW | eBay

Where abouts are you based?
 
ShaunS3 said:
Where abouts are you based?
Click to expand...

Right this minute, Sussex, in about 10 hours Venezia, Italy, lmfao.

Serious note, I work all over the place mate & drive to my jobs usually if that helps.
 
NHN said:
Right this minute, Sussex, in about 10 hours Venezia, Italy, lmfao.

Serious note, I work all over the place mate & drive to my jobs usually if that helps.
Click to expand...

haha good one!

I'm based in West Yorkshire mate so would be quite a long journey from Sussex i would imagine.

How long would it take you for complete installation start-finish? I'm wondering if we could arrange a group buy/install day at a certain location depending on interest to make it more worthwhile travelling for you?

Let me know your thoughts.
 
JoeD said:
Very interested in this too, someone should do it and make a how to thread :D
Click to expand...

I will be looking into it further when i have received a response from Nigel. Going to source part numbers, suppliers and costs so i can gauge just how much it will be to retrofit this kit to the S3 8L. Will be updating the thread once done, so watch this space :)
 
ShaunS3 said:
I will be looking into it further when i have received a response from Nigel. Going to source part numbers, suppliers and costs so i can gauge just how much it will be to retrofit this kit to the S3 8L. Will be updating the thread once done, so watch this space :)
Click to expand...

I'm down with this too Shaun. Keep us posted.
 
ShaunS3 said:
I will be looking into it further when i have received a response from Nigel. Going to source part numbers, suppliers and costs so i can gauge just how much it will be to retrofit this kit to the S3 8L. Will be updating the thread once done, so watch this space :)
Click to expand...

The kit for my B5 was about £100 all in.

Thats new mirrors off ebay and guy off ASN, new switch, repair cables and 2nd hand relay off ebay.
 
ShaunS3 said:
Hi guys,

I know this has been covered before across the whole forum, but i can't seem to find anything on a retrofit kit for the S3 8L chassis. I would like my mirrors to unfold on pressing the unlock button on the fob, then folding in when the lock button is pressed.

All i can see through searches is that it is possible but, i would like to know the cost of a kit, if there is one available?

NHN aka Nigel appears to be the man in the know as he has personally done this with his 8L S3 before and appears to be a very talented bloke when it comes to auto electrics.

Are there any vidoes available of an 8L S3 with power folding mirrors?

Any help is much appreciated :)
Click to expand...
Itwasntme187 did mine yesterday and they work great. now when my mirrors are closed i know its locked;)
 
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the best thing to do is pm him , mine cost a bit because of the amount of distance he had to travel.
 
steveaudia3 said:
8p
Click to expand...

8L chassis is slightly different as it doesn't have the capability for folding mirrors as standard, where as i think the 8P does and just needs activating....hence my thread being for the 8L not 8P.

Thanks for your input anyway.
 
Did anyone get this done On the 8l
@NHN is This still something you,d be able to do ?
 
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I’d be interested in this I know hazzy days can do it where you have to turn the mirror adjuster to the fold position but I’d want them to fold automatically on locking if I was going to bother. I have the folding mirrors on the r32 but half the time I forget to turn it to the fold position
 
I have a pair of electrically folding mirrors from another model in the vag rage ( I have the complete car actually) the 8l mirror covers fit perfectly if you swap over the 8l retaining clip and then you can fit the 8l bottom cover and glass, it still folds in and out with the facelift 8l outer bits and the glass adjusts as it did.
I have some pfl 8l mirrors that I’m going to try to use those bases and swap over the folding mechanisms to them.
 
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I am chatting with someone who is trying to work this out - have been sending him wiring diagrams as he needs.

Will update with any solid info if and when it comes :)
 
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Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you a cheap source of mirrors, I’m not going to say just yet just so you don’t all rush out and buy some only to throw them in the bin like the c5 clocks fiasco!..... speaking of which my electronics man just text me to say he has a piggy back board for me to operate the esp light on my c5 clocks, just the door issue left for now.
 
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Having searched for wiring info on ukmk4’s it turns out that the seat Leon is a common source for these folding mirrors in the mk4 golf scene so this info really is nothing new, just like they do on the mk4 golf the a3 bases swap over to the Leon mirror internals and you can fit the facelift 8L plastic cap and glass, my bottom trim needed a bit of dremmel action near the hinge to fit properly.
I saw another nice oem+ mirror mod on ukmk4’s which is skoda superb led puddle lights in the bottom trims.
 
I would be interested in this too... related (probably dumb) question, but did all S3 have heated wing mirrors?
 
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