How to connect folding mirrors to the central locking

If you want your FTO's folding mirrors to open/close along with the central locking then follow these few simple steps. It took me a few hours the first time, but hopefully this will speed things up for you. The original information was taken from the FTOOC FAQ.

You will need two SPST (4 pin) 12v relays which you should be able to find at your local auto spares supplier. You will need a third SPDT (5-pin) 12v relay if you want to get around the auto-lock functionality found in some alarm systems. More about this later.

Other items you will need are: thin wire, a sharp knife, soldering iron and solder, insulation tape, phillips screwdriver, any SPST switch (optional). It also helps if you have a multimeter to check your connections.

Disclaimer: I have tried to be as clear and concise as possible but I do not take any resposnsibility if things go wrong/don't work. Do it at your own risk.

Wiring the Auto Folding Mirrors

Remove the four screws and drop the panel under the dash. Locate the central locking control unit (circled in red).

Pull the plastic connector out. Take a sharp knife and cut some of the insulation from the wires that go to pins 1, 3 and 8 as shown in the schematic below. You may prefer to use a connector which splices the wire for you.

Schematic showing wiring connections - based on original by Tim M.

This part takes the longest but is relatively easy: Connect the relays following schematic v1.0 above. I taped both relays together back to back as you can see at the bottom of this image. There is a convenient ground point to the right of the central locking control unit.

Make sure all connections are well insulated.

At this point you can test your central locking and feel the relays to see if they're working ok (you should feel a mild click as they switch on/off).

Remove the mirror control panel, lift up the black plastic cover to reveal the pin connectors and attach the open and close signal wires to the two rightmost pins. I used a pin connector from an old PC case instead of messy soldering here.

Test the central locking and if the mirrors fold incorrectly (ie. fold out when car is locked) then simply swap these two connections around.