Disabling Auto-Dim on rear-view & side mirrors?

[youngsj]

Hi - I've always had the ability to turn off the auto-dim feature on the inside rear-view mirror and the outside side mirrors on other cars I've owned; however, I can't seem to find the setting on my '08 m3 sedan.

I know this probably sounds trivial & strange to many of you, but I really don't like driving at night and not having total bright/clear visibility of the cars behind (rear-view mirror) and to the left/right (outside mirrors)...and I find that it really limits visibility when these mirrors auto-dim - and is also distracting.

The manual states that there is a photo-electric cell on the front and rear of the rear-view mirror which controls the auto-dim function. I have located these two photo-electric cells, and believe it or not, I'm ready to put a small 1/4" circle of black tape over each of them to disable em!

Anyone know of a more graceful/electronic setting to achieve this?

Thanks guys

PS - Have had mine for 4 days and am head over heels

[rvacha]

I think the black tape is about as graceful as it gets.... other than a sheet of dot stickers from somewhere

[zieglerc]

Maybe there's a fuse you could pull?

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by zieglerc

Maybe there's a fuse you could pull?

Man, I hope I never have to change a fuse in this car. The panel is way behind the glove box. The fuse chart supply only has pictograms for descriptions that are not al clear. I doubt that there is dedicated fuse for the dimming function.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by youngsj

Hi - I've always had the ability to turn off the auto-dim feature on the inside rear-view mirror and the outside side mirrors on other cars I've owned; however, I can't seem to find the setting on my '08 m3 sedan.

The manual states that there is a photo-electric cell on the front and rear of the rear-view mirror which controls the auto-dim function. I have located these two photo-electric cells, and believe it or not, I'm ready to put a small 1/4" circle of black tape over each of them to disable em!

Anyone know of a more graceful/electronic setting to achieve this?

I don't know of a better solution. I believe you only need to cover the one on the face of the mirror, though. You want to prevent it from seeing bright light when the front one is sensing darkness.

Thinking about it a little more, if you could manage to disconnect the sensor wire coming from the mirror, that ought to do it.

[youngsj]

Ok - thanks all. I agree, probably no specific fuse, and disconnecting wire may disable more than i bargained for (eg: garage door opener, compass, etc)...or far more complex if I'd need to open mirror to isolate the exact photo-cell wire. I'm gonna start w/covering the cell on the front face (I'm now thinking white round sticker instead of black tape), and go to the back only if necessary. I'll post back with results, but it may be a few before I try/test/post. Appreciate the help.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by youngsj

I'm gonna start w/covering the cell on the front face (I'm now thinking white round sticker instead of black tape), and go to the back only if necessary.

You should be able to find some silver foil tape (aluminum duct tape comes to mind- Home Depot), and use a hole punch to make a perfect little silver dot.

[mrrm3]

On my E46, I hated that feature as well. So, I bought a replacement mirror for a stripped-down E46 that didn't have the bells and whistles (but did have the clown nose). It was rectangular instead of ellipictical so it also gave a wider rear view. Now, the mirror also incorporates the compass and garage door opener so it is much more of a sacrifice. I like the silver tape idea. Please let us know if it works.