Windscreen wiper problems

[Legrath]

Since this morning, my wipers have decided to no longer work on any of the settings, except the fastest setting. Nothing happens at all, until I move it to the highest setting.

...and when turning them off, they just stop wherever they happen to be on the screen, without returning to the normal resting position.

Seems to me to be like some sort of Electrical relay problem ?



Thanks,
David
91 535i Sport
UK

[Blondgod]

Since this morning, my wipers have decided to no longer work on any of the settings, except the fastest setting. Nothing happens at all, until I move it to the highest setting.

...and when turning them off, they just stop wherever they happen to be on the screen, without returning to the normal resting position.

Seems to me to be like some sort of Electrical relay problem ?



Thanks,
David
91 535i Sport
UK

Bump bumpy bump
Exact same thing with my 525i 1991, but i can also engage the washing thingy.. flusher eh.. uhrm.. damn I'm norwegian and have no clue what to call it, but it makes your windshield wet, oh and headlights too :P

Anyway, I think it is a relay problem rather then a switch, but problem is that I have NO clue which one of the 10 or so relays connect to the windscreen wipers. Does anyone have a relay map or something for me to check out to see if this might be it? Does anyone also have a guide on "how to check relays?".. Any help would be greatly aprechiated. Thank you! :O)

[632 Regal]

There should be a label on the fuse/relay cover indicating which relay and fuse is for what. You should locate the correct one and switch another relay to the wiper socket and see if that fixes it.

[BlondGod]

There should be a label on the fuse/relay cover indicating which relay and fuse is for what. You should locate the correct one and switch another relay to the wiper socket and see if that fixes it.

The fuse box does indeed have a "map" over what fuse goes to what, but there isnt anything telling me what relay does what, besides, according to a wiring diagram, there should be 6 leads going into the relay/unit and 4 going out, thus a relay as I know it is probably not connected to the windshield wipers at all?
I went throug the wiring to see if I could trace the wires back to a connection box of some sort but no luck, after the wires went into the engine compartment I didnt have a chance. So I tried the other way around, tracing the wires from the windshield wiper motor and they seemed to be heading straight back into the inside of the car. Anyhow, so I took all the relays out as well as all the larger "electrical boxes" and reseated them. just as I went to start her up and check for improvements I heard a crackling sound underneath the window. Before I could check it any furter the sound had stopped, but it seemed to come from the first connector after the windshield motor, so I jiggeled that around a bit and made sure it was securely seated/connected. And it worked! However I have no clue as to what action specifically it was that did the trick. I did notice that the wipers only moved at the slowest speeds + interval, and full speed, but I think I've read somewhere that the speed of the wipers correspond to the speed of the car, and that they will not move any faster unless you drive faster then 10-15 Mph or so?

Anyways, it might be an idea for others with similar problems to reseat all connections and relays.

[632 Regal]

Good mann! Bet you feel better now.

[BlondGod]

Good mann! Bet you feel better now.

Yeah kinda, but I'm walking around with the feeling of impending doom since I have no clue to what i did right. I have also read on different forums that the wiper unit is located behind/in front eh-- towards the engine compartment hidden behind the glovebox. Also I found this thread that is somewhat relevant, how much I do not know yet, but again, it might help others:

wiper repair

[BlondGod]

I spoke too soon, the wiper prob is back, in addition I have gotten the ESD regelit(?) break LT circuit warnings and the occasional return of the shimmy.
(I replaced the upper thrust arm, sway bar link and lower control arm, all on Left side though, just a couple of days ago) This seems to be a monday car as we call it in Norway(assembled on monday when nobody really wanted to be at work ) Anyways, when I get rid of all the gremlins in this beauty it will sure be a pretty thorough DIY addition to this forum if nothing else.

[BlondGod]

As I've posted earlier I've had a few electrical issues, and with one daft operation I have rid myself with all the probs, and it was easy too! The only thing I'm still kicking myself for is that I didnt have the brain capacity to figure it out before I posted the last post here.. well.. I'm dumb.

If you have the same problems as me this fix might work for you too.(The electric part, not brain capacity part)
have a look at the photo:


The two points/connections "highlighted" in the picture were almost pitch black due to corrosion and a bad connection wich made sparks fly back and forth.. the crackling sound I had heard earlier should have made some light pop up in my head but alas, I'm thick.
All you have to do is to disconnect the thin plastic cover covering the windshield wiper motor and disconnect the plug shown in the picture, if you pull the arm, that the left connector rests on, towards you it should effortlessly pop out of its socket/joint, making access to the connector very easy indeed. Scrape of any dirt and corrosion with a steel brush, or use a small flatheaded screwdriver to clean the metal pins/sockets. For good measure i put a lot of wd40 in the connector to keep moisture out and improve connectivety.
After I have done this, no more regedit, or brakeLT warnings and the wipers work great.

sorry for bad grammer, terrible spelling and an apparently hungover digital camera.

[rickm]

You can also buy some Stabilant to use on those contact points too..."Stabilant 22" is the full name.

[Blondgod2]

Thank you for the tip.. havent heard of that product in Norway though, but I'll have a look. Cheers!