I can't stand being blinded by hi-beams at night, especially when the vehicle is behind me. Bugs the heck out of me. I've put some serious thought into mounting a couple gazillion candlepower off-road lights to my rear bumper, but with my luck, the first time I'd try to blast someone, they'd turn out to be law enforcement...or worse, it'll blind 'em so bad, it might cause an accident...that just wouldn't be cool.

Now I know it's easy enough just to reach up and re-adjust the rearview, but I was thinking how cool it would be to have one of those new "auto-dimming" mirrors mounted on my old 87 300E. I came across one for a reasonable price, but don't want to make the investment until I know i'd be able to make it work. There's a wire bundle coming out of it with a connector at the end, looks like 6 or 7 wires total. I have no idea what car it came out of, my guess is something like a 98 or newer E300.

Does anyone know if the mirror will dim correctly with just a positive and negative lead hooked up? Or is it more complicated than that? Any ideas on where I could find a schematic that would explain which wires are for the mirror and which are for the garage door opener buttons? Am I crazy thinking I can "Macgyver" this newer mirror onto my older car? It kind of sounds like a fun project if I can make it work. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Cheers

The auto dimming mirror on my W210 just contains a light sensor. I know of no other light sensors on the car that it needs to connect to, so I'm 99% positive that its just 12V.

The other connectors may be for the LEDs that some mirrors contain for the alarm system. Mine doesn't have any LEDs.

Food for thought:

The early MLs (and other models) now have issues where the electrolytic fluid between the glass panes starts to leak out. This is the stuff that reacts to light and allows the "dimming" feature to work. Some folks had replacements under goodwill but for the most part, it's out-of pocket. My ML has this problem.

A new ML mirror at the dealer will set you back about $670! My CLK has 'em on both outside mirrors too (at $350/ea. for just the glass replacements...hope they hold up for awhile!).

Ironically, the ML "non-dimming" versions go for about $66. I guess it is a design issue with the install difficulty, as stories at the shop abound with shattered ML windshields from improper removals of the affected units!

Some later mirrors (like on the CLK) also have the garage opener controls integrated into the mirror bezel. That makes for a more complex harness to work out.

I'm going to just clip one of those panoramic mirrors over my failed mirror...

In your case, put a test lead on each wire and shine a flashlight onto the mirror and see if the resistance changes.

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Hey MacGyver-

Good news! The autodimming mirror will work in your car.

Check out 2phasts site for installation instructions:

http://www.2phast.com/500e/



His car is a 500e but the mounting bracket should be the same for your car. I have also done this installation in my 94 E320. I picked up an autodimming mirror out of a CLK (w208) for ~$35 shipped. The only thing you need to do is hook up power and ground to the mirror. As an added bonus the homelink programmable garage door openers also work.

Good luck!

__________________
Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE

The best thing that I have found for high beams is the sun screen in the rear window of my 300e. It totally cuts the glare and if the vehicle is on your tail, it lets them know that you have a problem with their head lights. I don't know how easy it would be to install one of these, but it is worth consideration.

Brian

I've been trying to find one..they're not too common in the 124.

__________________
Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE

I found a self-dimming mirror in Mercedes's parts system for the 500E. Bet it fits any W124.

Normal mirror $50

500e self dimming $175

__________________
Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Yes the autodimming mirror was available as an option on the later model w124s. I prefer the look of the newer mirrors as well as the added functionality of the homelink garage door controls.

Also, these mirrors can be had for much less than 175.

__________________
Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE

I don't know if this would explain the extra wires or not - mine has that built-in "HomeLink" auto door opener. There's three buttons right underneath the mirror - if you're looking at a mirror that has this feature, that might account for the other wires.

G-Benz - Compare the driver's side and passenger side mirrors price-wise. I found it INSANE that the driver's side mirror glass on my '00 C230K is a whopping $220, while the passenger side is only $80. And I just HAD to bang the driver's side into the garage by accident! Luckily, I remounted the glass back on and open and close the door VERY carefully now!

-Michael

__________________
+AMDG+
2005 W203
Running as fast as I can to stay behind!!

Actually the homelink only uses the same 12V and ground that the autodim uses. The other wires are for side dimming mirrors (they use the sensor in the rear view mirror), reverse lock-out, or other convenience features such as disabling autodim unless the headlights are on, disabling autodim if the dome light is on...etc.

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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE

Thanks everyone for the input!

My '96 W210 mirror has two light sensors, one on the front and one on the glass, which looks just like the image above.

However, it's too agressive to dim the mirror when the light isn't yet blinding, and it's not adjustable. I'm thinking about putting a filter in front of the rear sensor (on the mirror itself) to limit the dimming action unless there really are high-beams aimed at it. As it is, I can't tell if the car right behind me has extra lights on top at night. I like to know if they're there.

Ironically, while searching for auto-dimming mirrors for my ML on eBay, I bid on (and won) a set of 96 W210 sun visors. I am particularly interested in the Homelink controls on the driver's side visor, and although grey (my W124 interior is Palomino), I still plan on retrofitting the Homelink unit to the W124.

If it's successful, I can truly say that all of my MBs have Homelink!

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I have a '96 W210 and a brand-new garage-door operator. They do not work together. The car's transmitter is designed for the old-style rolling-code operators. The new operators use a different scheme. If you have an older door operator, you're fine.

Have you contacted homelink about this issue? If you call their technical support they may be able to help you. Although I know the transmitter isn't compatible with every brand.

The rolling code scheme is a newer feature on garage door openers. They used to have just one code - that is the "older" style.

__________________
Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE