Auto dimming mirror not dimming?

[TomsFocus]

Hi guys, 

Weird one this evening.  It is below 0 so pretty chilly, engine started fine but then I put the front heated screen on and the dash cam switched itself on and off several times, finally switching back on after switching the screen off.  Then noticed the rear view mirror wouldn't dim for the entire drive home...So I got the handbook out to find the fuse but couldnt...Then I removed the key, the interior light came on and the mirror dimmed, put it in reverse with ignition on and it cleared as it should.

What is going on lol!?  I didn't know the mirror was permanently live.  But why didn't it work earlier.  And what was going on with the dash cam?  Now I'm kinda worried either the battery or alternator is on the way out.  But no other signs of that so far. 

[Russ]

Could it be moisture related as we've had quite a bit of wet weather lately?

[Dee_82]

depending on your dash cam it might have a voltage droop cut off which may explain the camera going on and off. as for the rear view mirror not dimming that's controlled by GEM itself so perhaps it also has some kinda of voltage protection circuit, if GEM detects low voltage maybe it shuts off certain things?

as for why its droping so much with the engine on, that's not so good, you would expect any cut off to be at Round 12v, so if it hitting that level when the engines on...

Forscan (or multi meter) it and see whats up, pretty sure ELMconfig will show you the voltage for each module as well

[Dee_82]

Just now, Russ said:

Could it be moisture related as we've had quite a bit of wet weather lately?

if its related to the window then a good place to take a look would be the earth point at the top of the window, that links the outside window circuits to the inside GEM, you would probably be getting a whole bunch of shorting out DTCs if water was the problem

[alexp999]

The rear dimming mirror has two light sensors, one front, one back. It measures the light difference between what's behind and infront of you to judge if it should dim.

Is your dash cam screen in view of the front facing sensor? Might have messed it up if it was going on and off.

[TomsFocus]

 

9 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

The rear dimming mirror has two light sensors, one front, one back. It measures the light difference between what's behind and infront of you to judge if it should dim.

Is your dash cam screen in view of the front facing sensor? Might have messed it up if it was going on and off.

Hmm, that's something I hadn't thought of!  I don't know which side the front mirror sensor is so if it's passenger side then yes you could be right.  I'm not even sure if the screen stays lit or is usually off while driving on this cam tbh lol. I purposely hid it behind the mirror so I couldn't see it.

 

I've also thought, does anyone know if the quickclear uses the earth on the door sill at all, as I guess the hardwire earth for the dashcam may have come a bit loose and struggled to get power with the screen on... Too dark and cold to check now though lol.

[Dee_82]

13 hours ago, alexp999 said:

The rear dimming mirror has two light sensors, one front, one back. It measures the light difference between what's behind and infront of you to judge if it should dim.

Is your dash cam screen in view of the front facing sensor? Might have messed it up if it was going on and off.

is that right for the mk2?i just looked at mine and there isn't anything on the front unless the auto light sensor is used, which will be well out of the way of the camera....

I thought the quick clear connected to the metal earth point on the roof? there is certainly something connected to the window up there,

 

[alexp999]

It must use something to measure light levels otherwise the sensor facing backwards won't know the difference between daylight and car headlights.

On the mk3 there is a small white square on the back of the mirror.

[TomsFocus]

Well now I'm really confused.

The light sensor is there as Alex said.  And the dashcam screen doesn't go off for at least 4 minutes that I've just watched it. But surely I'd have noticed if that was happening before now, I've had that cam for 3 months now!

Anyone else with the wedge cam know if it usually goes off while driving?

[alexp999]

Have you checked the menu for a setting to control the screensaver or screen timeout?

My street guardian uses the same casing and has the option, my screen goes off after about 5-10s, but I do have the option to change it.

[alexp999]

Also it might be worth shortening the cable tidy.

I did on mine so it doesn't block the light sensor on the back of the mirror.

[TomsFocus]

33 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Have you checked the menu for a setting to control the screensaver or screen timeout?

My street guardian uses the same casing and has the option, my screen goes off after about 5-10s, but I do have the option to change it.

I couldn't remember how to access the menu, nothing seemed to happen when pressing the menu button...  But I've now realised you have to stop recording first lol.   

Will have another go later, I reckon it did previously go blank after a few seconds like yours.

Not sure it really matters about covering that sensor as it doesn't need to see outside as such, it'll be just as light or dark inside without the dashcam screen on.  It's all stuck on so I'd rather not remove it if I can help it now lol.

[Stoney871]

I have that camera (under a different manufacturers name) and the screen goes off after a few seconds.
I purposely positioned the camera to the right of my mirror to avoid blocking any sensors.
It's visible when driving but not annoyingly so plus lends better access to the middle button for locking footage in the case of any dramas.

Sent from my SM-G930F

[TomsFocus]

Found the screensaver option.  Only have the choice of 1 minute, 3 minutes or off so have set it to 1 minute.  Odd how it changed itself though, time and date is still right.

Oh well, that's the mirror issue sorted anyway.  Will just have to keep an eye on the cam for now.