C4 Picasso Mk2 folding mirror repair warning / notes

[CallyyllaC]

Posting this in case it saves someone else from wasting a day trying to repair their folding mirror. I will attach as much information as I can to help people.

I looked everywhere over the last week or so for hints on how to repair a folding mirror. I found some information, but nothing very in-depth or specific to the C4 Picasso Mk2.

Initial symptoms

The mirror started acting up very quickly, it went from normal to barely a hint of movement within 3 days. Sometimes it would open and close, but never fully. Sometimes it needed a small push before it would move, then it would stop again partway through.

It was also noticeably wobblier than the other side, even when the gears were engaged. The other mirror worked normally, so the fault looked local to the driver's mirror rather than a general switch/fuse issue.

The plan

I bought a refurbished folding actuator advertised for a C4 Picasso Mk2, £35, so I thought it would be worth a risk over a full mirror, especially when it came off a Picasso Mk2. The plan was that, since I did not know whether the motor, gearbox, or actuator itself had failed, I would replace the entire actuator to avoid taking the mirror apart multiple times.

That was optimistic.

Taking the mirror apart

I followed this C5 mirror actuator video, which was actually pretty close for the C4 Picasso Mk2 mirror:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O-UsXH6FS4

Mirror actuator placment

My actuators power cable:

Getting into the mirror housing itself was fairly straightforward. The nightmare was getting the actuator out of the mirror housing. It took about two hours of swearing before it finally moved. The actuator is held in under tension and is not what I would call service-friendly.

Actuaor removed:

Problem 1: wrong connector

One thing I noticed immediately was that the motor connector on the replacement actuator was wrong. In hindsight, I probably should have stopped there.

Instead, I thought I could swap the connector or splice my way to a working mirror.

Problem 2: the actuator was not actually the same

Once I finally got the original actuator out, it was obvious the replacement was not the same part.

The replacement actuator was different in several ways:

• different size
• different connector
• different motor
• different internal gearing
• different actuator housing layout

My Actuator:

Replacment Actuator:

Motor: FC-280SB-16220

The replacement had a black gear instead of the red gear in mine. It looked similar to the actuator in the C5 video, but I dropped the gear and it has now disappeared forever.

You can swap the power connector between the two. I tested this and it did work. However, that does not solve the real issue: the replacement gears/motor assembly do not fit properly into the original actuator housing that fits my mirror.

So even though it was sold as a C4 Picasso Mk2 actuator, it was not usable for my car.

What I found inside the original actuator

The original motor still worked a bit, but not properly. With the lid off the actuator, the motor/gears would move. With the lid back on, it would bind or stop.

I re-greased the mechanism, and it improved slightly, but the internals did not look great. The gears were engaging, but they looked somewhat worn, and the motor felt weak. So there was definitely something wrong in the actuator, but I am no longer convinced it was the only fault.

Problem 3: wiring inside the mirror/loom

When I was putting the mirror back onto the car and reconnecting the wiring, one of the power wires to the folding motor snapped clean in half.

It reminded me of the ABS wiring loom issue, except this did not look crusty or water-damaged. The loom tape inside the mirror area looked old and tired, and the wiring had definitely seen better days, but there was no obvious water ingress.

I soldered the broken wire back together, rebuilt the mirror, tested it, and it still didn't work.

That could be because my solder repair was not good enough, or the cable was not in great condition, or that the actuator/motor itself is also faulty. At this point I am just buying a new mirror, a cheap damaged one on eBay, then using the housing of my mirror over it so it looks nice.

Conclusion

If your folding mirror:

• opens only partway
• sometimes works if helped by hand
• stops randomly
• feels wobblier than the other side
• the other mirror works fine

Then yes, the folding actuator may be faulty, or it may be the wiring loom, but be very careful. Do not assume every “C4 Picasso Mk2 folding actuator” is the same.

In the end, you can open it up, and you may be able to buy a replacement motor if that is all you need. I could not find any replacement gears for my actuator, although I did not look extremely hard once it became clear the job was turning into a nightmare.

If you do decide to save some money and do it yourself, good luck. Hopefully this helps.

I will update this later with how easy it is to swap the full mirror, to keep everything in one place. I do not know exactly what version I bought, only that it was listed as power folding. I may still have to swap back the puddle lights and heated mirror glass. We will see.

[mickthemaverick]

Thanks for that write up, I would suggest it reflects well on you and your endurance. Hopefully the new mirror will just reflect the road!!