1989 300te. The drivers side view mirror is peeling. The inner case (aluminum) needs to be stripped and painted. So, I took off the whole assembly...to reveal that there are wires to the housing. I assume defroster wires (manual adjustment, so no motor). How do I determine if the mirror glass is hooked up? Any way to get to the back of the mirror? Remove the mirror? I see that the outside case of the mirror housing is plastic...can that be removed? Or is this thing a solid, no-take-apart unit?
AND...how does the defroster work? How do I even check if current is going to the mirror?

Glass just pries off.

Kind of a ball-and-socket mount.

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

The side mirror defrosters work together with the rear window defroster. In some models it works automatically when humidity is detected at the mirror.

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

So, how do I check if the system is working? In my hand is the mirror, disconnected from the housing. The car has a connector that the mirror assembly plugs into. Would a 12 volt light be useful? Or an ammeter?