E34 Wiper Problem

Wonder if anyone can help?
I have a 1996 E34 5 Series and whilst driving in light rain a few days
ago I hit the intermittent wipers, they got half way accross the
windscreen, then stopped in their tracks. Now they do not operate at
all, and I haven’t even checked the fusebox as I can hear the wiper
motor working upon attempting to switch on the wipers.

Any ideas? My initial theory is a broken connection, but where do I
start?

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WilliamsLtd wrote:
> Wonder if anyone can help?
> I have a 1996 E34 5 Series and whilst driving in light rain a few days
> ago I hit the intermittent wipers, they got half way accross the
> windscreen, then stopped in their tracks. Now they do not operate at
> all, and I haven’t even checked the fusebox as I can hear the wiper
> motor working upon attempting to switch on the wipers.
>
> Any ideas? My initial theory is a broken connection, but where do I
> start?
>

I agree with your theory. Start by making sure that you turned the
wipers off before you switch off the ignition, this so the motor returns
to the park position. Then open the hood and remove the plastic cover
at the rear of the engine compartment over the small compartment between
the false firewall and the real firewall. This is where the wiper
linkage lives. You'll probably have to remove the wiper arms before you
do this. Once you are in you should be able to figure out what linkage
has come disconnected.

-Fred W

In article <1_600667_19e998efc23e9a86592bc093d6b83ceb@autofor umz.com>, WilliamsLtd > wrote:
>Wonder if anyone can help?
>I have a 1996 E34 5 Series and whilst driving in light rain a few days
>ago I hit the intermittent wipers, they got half way accross the
>windscreen, then stopped in their tracks. Now they do not operate at
>all, and I haven’t even checked the fusebox as I can hear the wiper
>motor working upon attempting to switch on the wipers.
>
>Any ideas? My initial theory is a broken connection, but where do I
>start?
>

This happenned with my 91 E30 318is. The gear that actually drives the wiper
linkage chipped a tooth, so it had a dead spot. Motor would run, wipers
wouldn't wipe. If I moved the wipers by hand it would re-engage and they would
go until they hit that spot again. Solution was a remanufactured wiper motor -
$80 + a couple hours of swearing in the garage.

Kevin Rhodes
Westbrook, Maine
91 318is