Location of Washer relay on 89/90 E34 525

[Ken R.]

Hello,

None of the washer pumps longer work and the
wipers run continuously if the washers are activated -
need to turn off the car to stop the wipers.

I replaced the intensive pump (easiast to access).
Dealer had indicated it was defective on a previous
visit. Yet, I found no improvement upon replacement
and when I put power to the pump I removed, I found
it operated.

Where is the washer relay located for an 89/90?
The Bentley wiring diagram shows one but the pics
do not seem to indicate a washer relay for the 89/90.

Thanks,
Ken R.

[Javier]

Relay is K5 in P90 (Front power distribution box, were the fuses, LKM and CCM are), but it is not suposed to be there in USA cars.

[Paul in NZ]

Relay is K5 in P90 (Front power distribution box, were the fuses, LKM and CCM are), but it is not suposed to be there in USA cars.

Does the intensive clean function have a seperate relay?My normal wash/ wipe works fine but the intensive clean(button on end of wiper stalk)doesnt..

[Javier]

Electric diagrams 59K mailed, too big to post.

[Ken R]

>> Relay is K5 in P90 (Front power distribution box,
>> where the fuses, LKM and CCM are

If I understand the nomenclature correctly, K5 is
the first position in the second row of relays in the
FPDB.

>> it is not supposed to be there in USA cars

Fig 1. on pg 610-1 of Bentley's 5-Series manual
lists position 5 as vacant. However, there is a relay
in this position on my car - a 1990 ('89 build date)
Canadian-Spec car with the Headlight cleaning option.

The relay is Blue (p/n 61 31 1 378 786 Relay w.Notch
Lock) and is the same as the relay in position 6. I
tried switching them with no improvement.

Pg 142-EWD in Bentley shows a Wiper/Washer diagram
for 89/91. This has the Washer and Intensive pumps
but does not show the Headlamp pump. (The 'Headlamp
circuit - Canada' does not appear until EWD-147 for
93/95 cars.) A washer pump relay is illustrated in
the circuit along with Vio/Blk connectors to the pumps
- one wire to my Intensive pump is Vio/Blk, but I have
yet to find it in the FPDB or in the Aux Relay Panel.

Thanks for the reply,
Ken R.

[Ken R]

Does the intensive clean function have a seperate relay?My normal wash/ wipe works fine but the intensive clean(button on end of wiper stalk)doesnt..

Check whether the Intensive pump works. The Bentley
circuit drawings show both pumps on a single relay.
The route to ground after the relay appears to be what
determines which pump operates and when.

After replacing mine with no effect, I applied power to
the terminals of the original one by holding a 9V radio
battery to the pump terminals and found it still worked.

[Javier]

In 1995 models, the Headlight/Foglight washer pump is handled by the N6 Headlight/Foglight cleaning module located in the LH auxiliary relay box in the engine compartment. Have not find it in earlier version drawings but don’t know why it should be different. See picture for location. It is not a simple relay but some elctronics involved.

[Ken R.]

Hello,

Just a follow-up note to announce that the problem
is solved and some questions have been answered.

The cause for a) the failure of the pumps to run,
b) needing to turn off the ignition to get wipers
to stop after attempting to engage pumps is that
Fuse #24 in the FPDB had blown. These exact
symptoms are documented in an 'Attachment
to S.I.61 01 91 (3213)' - Item 2. There is a note
that the behavior (of the wipers?) was corrected
in Aug, 1990.

"Idiot, why didn't you check the fuse first ???" I
hear you all say in unison. I did, visually twice
if not three times as I worked into this deeper
and deeper. It looked the same as several other
fuses in place in the box and almost looks fine
here in my hand now. I'm no rookie but I made
a rookie mistake with this style (exposed wire)
of fuse. Blush.

The #5 relay (1st position of the second row)
is the washer pump relay on this car (89/90
Canadian-Spec 525i). Since there was nothing
wrong with the relay, swapping it with an adjacent
relay made no difference while the fuse was
'pooched'. Pulling the relay after replacing the fuse
resulted in the washer & wiper not activating
when the wiper stalk was pressed.

As Javier has noted, the #1 relay in the Aux Relay
Panel is for the Head & Fog light washers. For
those of you who like to tinker, it is easy to
disassemble - an edge at one side of the base
is hinged, releasing this edge first makes it a snap
to release the other two opposing sides and remove
the cover.

Thanks to Javier and to all who replied.

Ken R.