e39 540it - rear glass hatch wiper actuator

Hi,

The wife alerted me to a problem in her 540. A pin, (which is spring loaded and appears to attach the wiper mechanism to the motor, which is in the lower part of the hatch), just fell out. Presumably, the cold weather affected it, and closing the hatch knocked it out. A small circlip was also coaxed out, so I'm thinkin' that's what failed. Trouble is, it don't look easy to get another one on there. The circlip attaches way up in the mechanism on the window portion, and doesn't look all that serviceable.

Here are some pics showing the various players in this issue. Hopefully there's a fix that doesn't involve r&r-ing the mechanism.

Thanks in advance

Tim

Looks to me like you can get access by removing the plastic shroud around the bracket that the pin goes in. Just get a new circlip and you should be able to push it on. I routinely have trouble with mine when I close the hatch glass and the wiper was moved causing mis-alignment with the hole. Takes a few tries to get it re-aligned. Good luck...by the looks of the salt on your car, you will need that wiper! (Looks just like mine!)