Compass Resetting?

TheArchaic1

TheArchaic1

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Columbus, WI
Has anyone ever needed to reset their compass in the rearview mirror. Mine needs to be reset, and I can't find anything in the manual to reset it without going to a dealership and paying to have it done. If I can get away with doing it myself, I'd be better off. ANY help would be great!
 
For a 2006 its done like this:

1) First you need to determine what Zone you are in. If you are in Ohio it looks like you are a 9.
2) Turn the ignition to On/Run position
3) Press and hold the button in the middle of the mirror for no more than 6 seconds until the Zone selection number appears.
4) Release the button and press it down again
5) Repeatedly press until the proper zone number appears then release
6) It will show all modes then return to Compass in 10 seconds

To Calibrate
1) Start the car
2) Press and hold the button on the mirror until the C appears
3) Drive the vehicle slowly in circles until the display reads a direction
 
So I guess I can just pick one, because I live just north of Madison, WI and I fall pretty close to being in the middle of the state.
 
I would go with 8 based on what I see on the Zone Map...I think either zone will result in an accurate calibration.
 
Ok, I just went out into my drive way and tried it out and it didn't work. everything is lit up in the little window for the compass, and it looks like there is also a thermometer in it as well. There are two buttons, one that says compass and one that says mirror. Any ideas?
 
It must be different for 1st gen vs. 2nd. For mine the instructions are on page 111 of the Owners Guide...nothing in your guide index under Compass?
 
The manual only talks about the auto dimmer in the rearview mirror, and the same goes for the little quick reference book as well. There is no mention of a compass anywhere in the manual. I am stumped!
 
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I think someone may have switched out the manual for some stupid reason, but I looked at the manual posted in the tech section and it states the same thing that you said to do, so I think there may just be something wrong with the compass on the mirror. Gonna try it again in the morning, but I may just make a trip to my dad's ford store to see if they can fix it.
 
FWIW, I had a compass that was 180 out for several days. Then it was OK again and has been since.
KS
 
I tried resetting that friggin compass according to the owner's maual, and it does everything the way it is supposed to until you turn on the car to calibrate it, then it just goes right back to doing the same crap as before. I have a compass on my radar detector right above the mirror, but it is just annoying. This is the only thing that doesn't do what it is supposed to on the whole damn car. It is so small that it is pissing me off.
 
Have you tried moving the radar detector away from the mirror? Was it recently added?
 
joegr said:
Have you tried moving the radar detector away from the mirror? Was it recently added?
Click to expand...

It was doing it before I put in the radar detector. That is the only thing that doesn't work right in the whole car. Not a big deal for me because the mirror darkens when lights hit it like it should. I have just never seen a rearview mirror that had the compass and a thermometer in it. Anyone else have one like that?
 
I've had six cars so far with the compass in the auto-dim mirror (counting the two LSs I have now). The only problem I ever had with one was once it went a little crazy when I started out, until I made some turns and it corrected itself. At that time I had been parked by a microwave relay tower, but that might not be related. I have driven at least one car that also had an outdoor temperature display on the mirror.
The same company manufacturers those mirrors for almost all makes of cars. The displays in our mirrors have the temperature features built in, but they aren't used since the climate control already has this function.
 
Here's the kicker, it worked when I test drove the car at the dealership. As soon as I took it for the test drive I said I wanted it, and they took the car off the lot, and put it in the back of the garage. I had my own financing so I had to wait out the weekend for my bank to open to get the check to go and pay for the car. The dealership even delivered it to my house, and when I took it out for my initial first drive, that's when the compass stopped working. Since my dad is the gm for the dealership I got a great deal on the car, and the only thing the dealership did is detail it for me so I have no idea how the compass got screwed up. It's just one of those stupid little things that is annoying me now.
 
Did you ever figure this out? After I had my windshield replaced last year, I noticed that the compass on my mirror stopped working and will only show "100F" on the display, no matter what. I've followed the manual's instructions on how to set the zone, done resets, disconnected the battery, checked the cable connections. Nothing works. I would have gone back to the shop, but it was a few weeks later and I didnt want to be bothered with them (terrible shop) anyways. I'd like to fix this myself. If it's a simple as replacing the mirror with another from a salvageyard, I'd have no issue doing that. But just want to know if its absolutely the mirror thats the issue or is it something else? (another control module somewhere feeding info to the mirror?)
 
lseguy said:
Did you ever figure this out? After I had my windshield replaced last year, I noticed that the compass on my mirror stopped working and will only show "100F" on the display, no matter what. I've followed the manual's instructions on how to set the zone, done resets, disconnected the battery, checked the cable connections. Nothing works. I would have gone back to the shop, but it was a few weeks later and I didnt want to be bothered with them (terrible shop) anyways. I'd like to fix this myself. If it's a simple as replacing the mirror with another from a salvageyard, I'd have no issue doing that. But just want to know if its absolutely the mirror thats the issue or is it something else? (another control module somewhere feeding info to the mirror?)
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what year your LS is. The earlier years have the compass sensor external to the mirror, but it is close by, on the glass just behind the mirror like the rain sensor. Later years have the compass sensor internal to the mirror.

The mirror is not controlled by anything else in the car. It doesn't even communicate with anything. The only connections are: Ground, Switched +12V power, +12V signal when the car is in reverse (locks out the dim function), and an output signal to control the dimming of the driver's side mirror.
 
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