I ordered my new A6 with this option factory fitted but when it arrived the option had not been fitted.
I was to have the mirror fitted by the dealer to rectify the problem but they found that there was quite a lot of re wiring to do in the headlining.
I settled for a refund in the end.
Sounds like its not something you can fit easily.

 

I'd interested if you manage to fit the auto dimming mirror, as its an upgrade I'm interested in........

 

I had a good search in the roof lining and could not find any plug for it.
I did find a wiring diagram on the Gentex website. Gentex is the mirror's manufacturer.
For my car, I only needed wires 1, 2 and 3.
1 is +12V
2 is Earth
3 is connected to the +12V on the reversing lights. This makes the mirror clear when selecting reverse gear. This connection is not essential as it works fine without it.
The other wires are for the auto dimming side mirrors which I don't have.
I took the +12V from the fuse box where it says Auto dimming rear view mirror (Makes sense).
As there was no fuse or connection at the other end of this circuit, I deducted that it must not be pre-wired.
It took me about an hour to install and about 5 minutes for the compass to calibrate itself. Works great and the missus is happy that it looks like factory fit.

 

hi mavala,

do you have any pics of the install? Would love to have this option on my car.

 

Sorry that I didn't take any pictures while I was installing it.
I'll take some pictures of the finished article with where I took the power supply and how I did it tomorrow.

 

Above all, make sure you get the right mirror for your car model and year

First thing to do is to remove the existing mirror:
Just prise the mirror of the base. If you put the mirror all the way down and just apply a little pressure, it will unclip from the base. It is only hold in by a rubber ball joint.
Once this is done you need to rotate the base anti-clockwise to remove the base from the window bracket (about a quarter turn).
You now need to prepare the new mirror for installation.
Get 2 x 2mtr (7Ft) of electric wire (different colour is easier)
Solder one to the wire on pin 1 (+12V) and the other to pin 2 (0V or Ground).
You now need to remove the roof central console to be able to get the wires to the Passenger side Fuse box.
To remove the center console, remove the covers (Easy to unclip). Once you have done this ,you will see two phillips screws near the front that need to be removed to be able to remove the whole base.
Once removed just let it dangle there as you don't need anything in there.
You can now fit the new mirror in reverse steps, exept that you don't separate the mirror from the base, as there are electric wires in this one.
Once fitted you can route the wires throught the channel and above the roof lining and replace the cap on top of the wires.
Next you need to lift the trim on the top on the door passenger side.
If you just lift it you will be able to see the curtain airbag. Make sure when running the cabling that your wires are above the airbag (for obvious reasons).
You now need to push a cable rod above the airbag towards the centre console. Hook up the 2 wires and pull them to the side of the car. Once there, you can now guide them behind the trim to the fuse box. On the wire connected to pin 1, it is recommended to install an inline fuse (3Amp) then connect it to the second slot on the brown bank next to the 15Amp fuse (Labelled Auto dimming mirror).This is a +12V that is switched with the ignition. Connect to the top as it is the live side (if you already have a fuse in there, your car may be pre-wired. Check this before starting running wires).
I connected the earth wire to the screw that is holding the fuse box as it provides a good earth ( do not take an earth in the roof console as most circuits are switched on the 0V side).
I have added some pictures
1. Finished
2. Side view
3. Live connection for the +12V
4. The Earth is connected to the screw to the right of the black hole
5. The area that you need to lift to get the wires across

THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. I DO NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSABILITY IF YOU TRY THIS AND MAKE A MESS OF IT!!

If anyone needs more info, please send me a PM with a phone number and I will try to talk you through the installation.
Or if you can make it to Hereford, I don't mind giving you a hand with your installation.

 

HI, Iv just done a retro fit with a bmw autodim rear view mirror ,but iv been told the + live wire gos to lights on ...my fuse box has no auto dip option (98 A4 to old maybe). can you check if its ign live or lights live ?
many thanks, killphil

 

Definitally Ignition Live. Otherwise the auto -dimming will only work if you have your lights on

 

thanx for quick reply pal,so yours works during the day also? it dosent just dim because its light out because of front senser that checks ambient light? is that correct?
phil

 

No, it is photo-electric. It reacts to bright lights reflecting of the sensor mounted on the rear view mirror.
When there is no lights behind you, the mirror is as clear as normal

 

Hey, that is some nice work you have done. Can You point me to shop where I can buy such mirror? I'm waiting for Audi A4 B8 but I forgot to include auto dimming mirror.

Thanks!
Regards.

 

This is the guy I bought mine from.
The following unit will only work if you have the auto rain sensor fitted. Otherwise you need a different model.
The price has gone up a bit because of the poor exchange rate with the Euro.

AUDI A4 B8 A5 8T abblendbarer Innenspiegel mit Compass on eBay, also Spiegel, Innenausstattung, Auto-Anbau- -Zubehörteile, Auto Motorrad Teile (end time 24-Apr-08 09:06:05 BST)

 

Thank you! I have rain sensor fitted.

best regards.

 

That was great work mavala.....
I am a newbie to this site and forum so excuse if I am a little slow. I would also like to install an auto dimmer rear view and if possible driver side mirror, one thing I did notice is that you are mostly located in London and UK.

I am in Atlanta USA and I have a 2007 A4 (B7) quattro, the installation instructions you gave is this only for european models? The rear view mirror in your pic looks different to mines, the rv mirror I have is only stuck to the windshield and doesn't have the additional base piece your's seem to have.

Do you know if your solution could work on my car? If yes do you have any suggestions on where I can purchase the unit?

Thanks again in advance.

 

The one in my car is for vehicles fitted with rain sensor. If your car has not got this option, you need a different type of fitting.

 

The rain sensor and non rain sensor ones are not interchangable , i found out after purchasing the wrong one. I had to wait for months to find a way to get the screen mount for the rain sensor mirror as they only come as part of a windscreen. Fortunatly i have a friend that works with screen replacement so it was a matter of time to find the screen mount from a damaged screen, all because i didnt do my homework first

 

What a nightmare!
I got the old mirror off
Not bothering with the wiring as the cars going in tomorrow for some repairs so I thought I would "clip in" the new one and work on it some other day

I can't get the new one or the old one clipped back in!
What I have is the bracket itself on the windscreen
This has a rain sensor and the cable fitted to it

Now I would have guessed, all you do is line up the 3 notches at an angle and twist the mirror round to connect

It just does not do it... really getting frustrated now to the point I might just tell Audi that it fell off (something apparently common in some Audis!)

 

finally popped the mirror back on today
It's easy to take off but putting back on is another story - a certain knack to it!

Basically, you need to align it 20 degrees or so and twist it back clockwise
BUT... while this works, you need to unclip the cable cover otherwise it will just not twist and you'll end up breaking the cable cover like I almost did

I unclipped it but left it dangling on - if you remove it completly, you dont have enough space to put it back on later

Once unclipped, twisted it into place, and clipped the cable cover back on

Now I have an auto-dim mirror...that isnt wired up

 

Be sure it will work for your car

To upgrade my broken auto dimming mirror for my 01 A6 4.2, I bought a mirror with compass, rain sensor and auto dimming features from an 05 A4, but my windshield doesn't have the rain sensor connector, so I am now going to sell on eBay. I hate when that happens.

 

The +12v needs to be connected to "Ignition" so the compass functions at all time the car is driven. Yes you are correct the ambient sensor defeats the dimming during daylight hours. Also if you install a compass mirror there is a procedure where you need to enter your location to correct for magnetic differences and then you drive the car in a circle several times to aligne it. The Gentex site used to have the procedure on their website.

 

Thanks for the info. As it turned out, the mount on my 01 A6 4.2 windshield will not accept the 05-06 Compass Mirror, so I still have it in the box. If you know of anyone needing a mirror for an 05-06 A4, S6, they can have it for $175 including ground shipping charges in the US.

 

Tom, you could try a local glass installer. Perhaps they can remove the old one and purchase the correct mount and install it. I've added several Gentex mirrors this way. Getting the old mount off is a problem. On a few I placed the new mount adjacent to the original rather then chance breaking the windshield.

 

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Awaiting your earlier kind reply.

Thanks and best Regards.

William Yu
Overseas Dept. Manager