- Rain Sensor Malfunction
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Rain Sensor Malfunction
This post is about a 2001 X5, but since the rain sensor comes on many different models I figured it'd be better to post here.
Before I say anything else, yes, my windshield was replaced at some point, but it was done right. The sensor worked just fine up until a few months ago. Can anyone give suggestions on what to test? I did pull the fuse for the rain sensor, and the only thing it changed was my power window operation
Current behavior in the rain:
- Wipers swipe twice in a row
- Neither speed nor frequency change with how hard it's raining
- Rotary (interval) switch does nothing
- Frequency DOES change with vehicle speed
In the dry, you should be able to turn the switch to position 1 (rain sensing position), see the wipers swipe once, then stop. In other words, you should be able to leave it in that position. I can't do that. Mine acts as if the sensor is always sensing just a little bit of rain (consistently swipes once every 5-10 seconds).
In addition, the wipers "park" in the wrong spot, about a quarter way up the windshield. I was told that's what happens when using the rain sensor, but I don't remember. Even when the rain sensor isn't engaged (ex. position 2, high speed), or when I turn the wipers completely off (position 0), it parks in the wrong spot. Where they get stuck:
Pictures of the mirror and the sensor:
Last edited by DillonInCO; 08-15-2014 at 12:52 PM.
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Bump...still haven't figured anything out. Seems like my next step should be to pull the cover off the sensor, and probe the wires with a volt meter, but I don't know what voltage to look for...
Anyway, a slight update, I cleaned the windshield, then I washed the car and left the wipers on. With just a little bit of water on the windshield, the wipers did the same thing they do when it's not raining and when it rains lightly: swipe twice, every 5 seconds or so. When I sprayed the windshield with the power washer, they came on full blast. SO the sensor IS working, sort of. Makes me wonder if something else---maybe whatever is causing the wipers to "park" in the wrong spot---is the source of all this.
Last edited by DillonInCO; 08-19-2014 at 06:29 PM.
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