help: 2003 XLT side view mirrors do not work!

[S.V.T.]

hey everyone, i just picked up an 03 xlt exploder to go with my 03 cobra.. now the door ajar light is always on (hoping wd40 will do the trick - as i've read here [thanks!]).

however, my problem is neither the driver or passenger side view mirrors work with the switch (they're electric).
i checked the fuse, and it's fine..
is there a simple way to test if it's the switch and/ or motors of the mirrors without spending money on either/ or both parts before hand?


thanks for any and all help!

-j.

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

Do you have a multimeter or test light? You'll need to check for voltage to the switch, then through the switch to the mirrors.

-Rod

[S.V.T.]

rod, thanks for the welcome!
i do not; however, i will pick up a multimeter tomorrow or the next day.
question though, how do i properly test the voltage to the switch and the voltage between the switch to the mirrors?
i just clamp the ground on the multimeter, and touch the tip-end to the positive wire, and then if working correctly, the multimeter will light up?

Originally Posted by shorod

Welcome to the forum!

Do you have a multimeter or test light? You'll need to check for voltage to the switch, then through the switch to the mirrors.

-Rod

[shorod]

With a multimeter, you'll have a positive (red, +) and a negative (black, -) lead. You'll connect the negative lead to a clean ground. Set the meter to DCV if autoranging, or DCV, 20V scale if not autoranging. The, with wiring diagram in hand so you know which is the feed and which are the outputs, hold the positive lead to the feed wire and verify a reading on the meter display of something around 12 V. Then, switch the mirror swith to one of the mirrors, press the joystick to a direction and verify ~12V on the appropriate wire to the mirror.

If using a 12V test light, you'd do much the same, but the test light would (unless an LED test light) would not be polarity sensitive and rather than looking for a reading of 12V, you'd just look for a bright light indicating good voltage.

-Rod