TravelinLite Power Fold Mirror retrofit 2016 Shuttle

Vambo

New Member
Right, I've just recently bought the aforementioned kit to upgrade my current T6 heated mirrors to the power fold versions:
T6 15-20 Electric Power Folding Mirrors (upgrade kit)

I consider myself pretty handy but the instructions provided are pretty poor in my opinion. PDF Viewer or see below

I've found a few threads already open on this subject and tried to troubleshoot this but to no avail so if permitted I'm going to start a new thread in the hope it solves my issues and maybe helps someone else out in a similar position!

So as per the instructions I'll take it from the top with questions in bold:

Page 1:
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Page 1:
Got no problems with this as I've removed the door cards before and the information looks good.

Page 2:
Screenshot (1186).png 20230724_230716.jpg InkedInked20230725_204507.jpg 20230723_194044.jpg 20230723_194356.jpg
Page 2:
1) So as per paragraph 2/photograph 3 - this is not the only electrical block to disconnect before you take the 3 screws out that secure the mirror to the door.
As I tried to extract the mirror from the door I found it was still attached to other electrical cables and had to reattach the wing mirror to investigate further!
(If you have wind deflectors then this may slightly impede the extraction/installation of the mirrors as well so you may have to re-fix the ends afterwards)
I wrongly assumed the other wires going through the door grommet were being fed back into the dash, these were in fact the 'Aerial' & 'GPS Aerial' which are attached to
the wing mirror.
Once the wing mirror and cable assemblies are fully extracted from the door you can then feed the aerial cables through the rotating aperture from the door side to the
mirror side intact.
The new wing mirror rotating aperture is slightly smaller than the originals but the cables will still go back through intact albeit I had to slightly curve the earthing clip
shown above.
2) As above the earthing point is not present in the new mirrors so I drilled out the earthing wire to accommodate the securing screw - anyone see any problem with this?
(Q1)

The mirrors were screwed back onto the door without further incident.

Page 5 which should be Page 3!
Screenshot (1189).png 20230723_210626.jpg 20230724_173123.jpg 20230723_210643.jpg
Page 5:
1) As per the above instructions I removed the end panels and used the ignition key to disarm the airbag on the passenger nearside (don't know if the latter is entirely
necessary!)
I removed the panel underneath the light switch and the matching panel on the left hand side I assume is the glove compartment which is secured by torx screws.
2) You can now access the torx screws locating the central curved trim below the gear lever and after removal it left me with the exposed areas as above. (Disconnect the cig
lighter)
3) The internals of the dash seem pretty exposed to install the new upgrade kit - is there anything else that needs to be removed to accommodate the new install? (Q2)

Page 3 & 4:
Screenshot (1187).png Screenshot (1188).png 20230724_111758.jpg
Page3 & 4:
1) I cannot locate the 'unused bracket' but I'm sure I'll be able to secure the module unit in there somewhere.
Has anyone else encountered this problem and do you have any pictures of where you secured it that didn't impede any moving parts or reinstallation of the trim
panels? (Q3)

2) I found the description of where the wires go confusing and its just easier to lay them out as per the wiring diagram.
20230724_173101.jpg 20230724_144426.jpg 20230724_153310.jpg 20230724_145356.jpg 20230724_153256.jpg 20230724_173345.jpg
(The relays and fuses above reflect the location under my dashboard going from left to right)
3) Instructions - 'Permanent Positive Supply. We used a thick red wire on the back of the fuse box. See photo 6'
So photo 6 depicts a relay which looks like the relays on the R/H/S of the dash which I wouldn't describe it as the fuse box which I consider to be located in the centre
console!
So my next question would be can I take a feed from the relays on the R/H/S of the dash or would it be from 'a thick red wire on the back of the fuse box'? (Q4)
As you can see from the photos above there is already a modification for a dash cam and I'm sure there will be preferred positions for other modifications so if a feed is
taken from here then which 'thick red wire' would be the most suitable for this? (Q5)
4) Instructions - 'Ignition On Positive Supply'. Fuse Box, 2 thick Black and Yellow wires that run from the fuse box to the light switch - can't move for thick Black and Yellow
wires.
I cannot see any dual coloured black and yellow wires however there are obviously some big black wires there!
As per the photograph below, this is the connector for the light switch which has a yellow wire but I wouldn't consider it very thick!!
20230724_173357.jpg
Can anyone give me a steer on this one? (Q6)
Last question for the time being reference the last 2 points and connecting the wires at the door ends - which is the best way to safely tap into the electrics (Q7) as
Travelite claim 'This is a complete kit and you wont need any other parts or accessories' ........... I think this is probably a bit misleading unless I'm supposed to wrap wires
around each other!
There are inline fuses so I'm assuming I could do something similar to the dashcam modification if there are any unused slots in the fuse box!
I haven't attacked the door ends yet but have seen some other threads on here and questions about the colour coding so I'll continue that later as I'm almost out of images
to attach anyway.

I obviously don't want to set my wiring loom alight so if someone can give me a few pointers or let me know what they did then I'll update this job from start to finish
PS my van is my primary mode of transport so the sooner I resolve this the sooner I can put it all back together as something like this shouldn't take more than a day to complete!
Stand fast - just found a thread from SAF1981 T6 Guru so I'll try and touch base with them first - Power folding wing mirrors from Travelinlite
 
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So after a lack of any helpful interjection and some belter that absolutely cleaned out my wing mirror whilst I was still working on the electrics I'm finally getting around to updating this post and hopefully I'll be able to remember what I did for the most part!

Picking it all back up at Page 3
9) I did eventually find the unused bracket, you have to get yourself low down in the drivers side and look upwards inside the dash :rolleyes: not an easy spot but I didn't use it anyway as it looked more hassle than it was worth to get to so I used some 3M dual lock velcro and located the power fold control unit bottom centre behind the gear lever console behind the main electrical loom.
10) Prep your install by bundling together your drivers side wiring with the long fold/unfold wires (Red/Black & Red/White), these wires should be about the same length.
I made the mistake of looking at the wiring diagram on page 4 and presumed the longer lines going to the near side mirror meant longer wires to the near side mirror which made sense if the control box was mounted on the right hand side of the gear lever console it would require the longest wires to reach the furthest away door - not the case!
I used the supplied loom tape and taped up wires that were co-located prior to install - co-located being the important takeaway point as I tried to save time wrapping multiple parts but all I ended up doing was limiting the reach of the wires which other people have encountered in the past and there isn't much to play with, margins are fine!
To that end you'll have to route your loom under the dash efficiently and almost route direct as there really isn't much excess length of wire to follow too many contours!
11) & onwards ...............

DOOR WIRING:
a) Pop out the door grommets and plastic shroud as it will be easier to feed the cables through and refit afterwards.

20230803_164633.jpg (Passenger side/near side photo)

b) feed the cables through as shown below (I opted to route the power fold cables through the rubber grommet but may equally be routed the same way as the remainder of the wires.

20230803_200007.jpg (Drivers side/offside photo)

c) Insert the Red/White wire into slot 11 and the Red/Black wire into slot 12 as above - the positions should match the 2 new wires in the corresponding block coming from the mirrors. I believe the Red/White is the Unfold and the Red/Black is the Fold function!

20230804_104213.jpg 20230804_104809.jpg 20230804_120534.jpg Screenshot (1275).png Screenshot (1276).png 20230809_203813.jpg 20230803_163337.jpg

d) Route the remaining wires as shown above
e) There is only one space for the yellow wire in the switch wiring so you shouldn't go wrong
f) Tap into the wiring loom - Blue/Yellow to Blue/Yellow & Purple/Violet to Purple/Violet (I chose some T Taps but have seen some inline ones that may flow better for you.
(Due to the back of a fag packet instructions I rigged up a little 12v lamp connected to the earth just to confirm which wires activated the lock/unlock function)
(Didn't quite get a clean shot of the finished article as I put the door trim back on, cracked it off in an attempt to get a picture and forgot to put the locking mechanism
back on .............. mare
g) Passenger side is pretty easy - same as step c)

PS I ordered the following for my little modifications:
41 Piece Car Terminal Removal Tool Kit from Amazon £4.99 (I found this handy to use the single spikes to put some tension on the wires and spring both sides of the pins).
T-Tap Wire Connectors £8.99 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BD966LLG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Heat Shrink Tubing £3.99 328PCS Heat Shrink Tubing Cable Tube Sleeving Wire Wrap Electrical Heatshrink UK | eBay

Power Wiring to the control unit - To Be Continued ................
 
Last edited:
So after a lack of any helpful interjection and some belter that absolutely cleaned out my wing mirror whilst I was still working on the electrics I'm finally getting around to updating this post and hopefully I'll be able to remember what I did for the most part!

Picking it all back up at Page 3
9) I did eventually find the unused bracket, you have to get yourself low down in the drivers side and look upwards inside the dash :rolleyes: not an easy spot but I didn't use it anyway as it looked more hassle than it was worth to get to so I used some 3M dual lock velcro and located the power fold control unit bottom centre behind the gear lever console behind the main electrical loom.
10) Prep your install by bundling together your drivers side wiring with the long fold/unfold wires (Red/Black & Red/White), these wires should be about the same length.
I made the mistake of looking at the wiring diagram on page 4 and presumed the longer lines going to the near side mirror meant longer wires to the near side mirror which made sense if the control box was mounted on the right hand side of the gear lever console it would require the longest wires to reach the furthest away door - not the case!
I used the supplied loom tape and taped up wires that were co-located prior to install - co-located being the important takeaway point as I tried to save time wrapping multiple parts but all I ended up doing was limiting the reach of the wires which other people have encountered in the past and there isn't much to play with, margins are fine!
To that end you'll have to route your loom under the dash efficiently and almost route direct as there really isn't much excess length of wire to follow too many contours!
11) & onwards ...............

DOOR WIRING:
a) Pop out the door grommets and plastic shroud as it will be easier to feed the cables through and refit afterwards.

View attachment 211943 (Passenger side/near side photo)

b) feed the cables through as shown below (I opted to route the power fold cables through the rubber grommet but may equally be routed the same way as the remainder of the wires.

View attachment 211945 (Drivers side/offside photo)

c) Insert the Red/White wire into slot 11 and the Red/Black wire into slot 12 as above - the positions should match the 2 new wires in the corresponding block coming from the mirrors. I believe the Red/White is the Unfold and the Red/Black is the Fold function!

View attachment 211946 View attachment 211947 View attachment 211948 View attachment 211949 View attachment 211950 View attachment 211954 View attachment 211955

d) Route the remaining wires as shown above
e) There is only one space for the yellow wire in the switch wiring so you shouldn't go wrong
f) Tap into the wiring loom - Blue/Yellow to Blue/Yellow & Purple/Violet to Purple/Violet (I chose some T Taps but have seen some inline ones that may flow better for you.
(Due to the back of a fag packet instructions I rigged up a little 12v lamp connected to the earth just to confirm which wires activated the lock/unlock function)
(Didn't quite get a clean shot of the finished article as I put the door trim back on, cracked it off in an attempt to get a picture and forgot to put the locking mechanism
back on .............. mare
g) Passenger side is pretty easy - same as step c)

PS I ordered the following for my little modifications:
41 Piece Car Terminal Removal Tool Kit from Amazon £4.99 (I found this handy to use the single spikes to put some tension on the wires and spring both sides of the pins).
T-Tap Wire Connectors £8.99 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BD966LLG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Heat Shrink Tubing £3.99 328PCS Heat Shrink Tubing Cable Tube Sleeving Wire Wrap Electrical Heatshrink UK | eBay

Power Wiring to the control unit - To Be Continued ................
Comprehensive step by step. The instructions provided are pretty poor. What I have found though with my Travelinlite power folding wing mirrors,is the mirrors vibrate and shake making the image fuzzy. Not too impressed
 
POWER WIRING:
Now, I'll have to caveat my methods/information due to a lack of clear instructions/knowledge and done what many have done and come up with their own solution. It's not ideal but it'll do for the time being as I've had no problems and I can always modify it in the future when I make some more electrical modifications to the van!

Inked20230802_124856.jpg (Disregard the spade into the fuse box as this was an existing tap for a dash cam)
So I'm led to believe the area encircled in yellow is an 'Ignition On Positive Supply' and the area encircled in orange is a 'Permanent Positive Supply'
Bearing in mind any future modifications, the spade already in my fuse box and the 2 new supplies that Travelite thinks are going to mind meld with some 'thick Red/Black/Yellow wires as per their wet paper bag instructions, I thought this can get pretty messy, go pretty wrong and I looked into the fusetap option as well but that is pretty clunky and didn't like that option either!
20230809_183058.jpg 20230802_125421.jpg (Again, disregard the spade for the dashcam mod)
Upon further inspection above it seems like there is a common rail supplying the feeds and there are plenty of unused slots so I surmised that if I can get the pins that go into this block then I can just make a new connection and as crazy as it sounds put a new fuse into the fuse box!
As you can see from the above, reference the wire with the heat shrink, that's precisely what I did for both wires!

Audi VW Skoda Seat Porsche 10 x Wiring Crimp Repair Terminals Pins 000979227E £6.99 - Audi VW Skoda Seat Porsche 10 x Wiring Crimp Repair Terminals Pins 000979227E | eBay
Used for the 'Permanent Positive Supply (Standard fuses)
10x 000979133E For Audi VW Skoda Seat Porsche Wiring Crimp Repair Terminals Pins - 10x 000979133E For Audi VW Skoda Seat Porsche Wiring Crimp Repair Terminals Pins | eBay
Used for the Ignition On Positive Supply (Mini Blade fuses)

20230820_190750.jpg 20230820_194054.jpg 20230820_194906.jpg

Forgive my knowledge of designated fuse slots but I installed the 'Ignition On Positive Supply' in the 3rd slot down from the top (I only had a Mini Blade Fuse 5amp in lieu of a 3amp which I later switched out).
(I installed the dash cam into the next fuse slot below).
I installed the 'Permanent Positive Supply in the top slot of the 'bottom centre standard fuse' area (Standard Fuse 7.5v)

15 Mini Blade Fuses & 15 Standard Fuses 2amp-40amp £2.99 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09H2KV1BX?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

PS There are some locking mechanisms with these connector boxes and fuse boxes which are usually a different colour but I'm sure you'll figure out how to engage and disengage them!

Finally I remained undecided about whether to cut out the inline fuses Travelite had supplied or essentially have a double fused circuit so I went with the latter as I saw no harm in leaving it like that for the time being so I used another bit of 3M dual lock and routed them to the fusebox area!

Screenshot (1277).png Screenshot (1278).png

The Facebook post is a bit old but should still be applicable to my model and whilst the mirrors now function via the supplied vw switch - they definitely do not operate via the lock switch or the fob ............. this company are absolute blaggers.
I have heard that the mirrors are a bit shaky and unstable when driving due to them being non VW and whilst I cannot be 100% of my originals, I am certain they are not as stable as the originals so I guess the message is you get what you pay for!!!!
As I mentioned earlier about some muppet cleaning out my wing mirror I ordered a replacement from Travelite as it would be a direct replacement but unlike the original order I didn't receive any communication about delivery and after a few days the alarm bells started to ring. Sure enough after having to make a few phone calls to get to the bottom of it it would seem they allowed me to purchase the item online with the promise of a 5 day delivery but had no stock and weren't due to receive any replenishment from their suppliers for about another 3 weeks .................... I wonder when they were going to give me the good news - I'll let you draw your own conclusions!!

Hind sight is a great thing but unfortunately I've went through the pain of this all so I'm kind of stuck with it for the time being. I can only inform you of my experience and granted not everybody will have a bad one and there may even be an error on my part and I'll end up looking like a plum but I'm confident this is not an isolated incident!

If you were unlucky enough to have the same experiences as me I will look into the power fold option on lock and hopefully bring this post to a close!

Power Fold on Lock:
Screenshot (1279).png
 
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Bits that I missed:

Reference the fuse box designated slots - I knew I had it somewhere ................... so I used C35, C34 & C28 as per the above!

Screenshot (1181).png

Location of the control unit behind the gear lever console:

20230820_194128.jpg
 
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