Rain Sensor

even without rain sensor, the wipers slow at stop lights. I have it and love it BTW.

If you give your serial # to the dealer, they shoud be able to give you the answer.

The asterisk simply means it's an option that might be fitted.

So, I called the dealership and they said I probably

The wiper is speed controlled. My E34, without a rain sensor, awitches to intermittant when the car stops if the wipers are switched on.

Then, the

The rain sensor is quite obvious on my E39. The sensor area is immediately behind the mirror, with the a box, about 3" x 2" x 1" attached to the w/s on the inside. Doesn't sound like your car is fitted with one. Mike.

When it's not raining, put the wiper stalk in the first position. If the wipers wipe intermittently then you don't have the rain sensor. On some cars it's a separate box under the mirror & on others it's built into the mirror assembly.

Personally I dislike the intermittent-at-stop wipers 'cos in heavy rain it means you can't see!

If you have your wipers set to the first position and they change speed whilst it's raining you have them. Also I think you will have a small wheel on your stalk that lets you control the sensitivity (it's on the Z4).

All optional features have an asterix. It says so in the manual.

This happens anyway - even on old E36s - it isn't the rain sensor but a system for reducing the wiper speed when the car stops.

I am amazed at how little your dealer knows. AFAK the glass itself has nothing to do with the rain sensor so it will not make any difference if you have it or not.

Get used to it.

Many of the screens have the rain sensing gubbins molded into the screen itself. Therefore no sensor in the glass pretty much means no rain sensitive wipers.

I am amazed at how little..... ;-)

I drive a 2004 330d with rain sensor and just changed the screen. You would know you got it if starts automatically when raining and if you have a small black box behind the inside mirror, which AFAK is for tha automatic headlights, but this two features came together (at least in Spain). If you have to replace the screen, pay attention the sensors are in the glass, as adder1969 said, so it is a special one. If not covered by insurance (hopefully is not the case) prepare to pay over

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Neither of my rain sensing cars have auto lights. I just shopped around for a screen for my 740 and I managed to get a heated one, with rain sensor for under 200 euros. Most of the extra you pay for is in the distribution ie. the middlemen.

Not so. There is an area of the glass free of tint for the rain sensor, which works by sensing reflected infrared light from the surface of the glass. You need the correct windshield to work with the rain sensor.

The sensor, built into the rear view mirror on E46's, includes a rectangular bit (housing the LEDs and sensors) that is flush against the inside of the glass.

JRE

Look for a 2" X 2" "box" above the rear view mirror that is in direct contact with the windshield. From the outside it will have a bluish tint to it. If you have that, you probably do have rain sensing wipers.

Dan

I drive a Z3 coupé 3.0. There's a small harness going into the mirror and a small horizontal cover ~1x1/2 ", made in a material similar to the one the mirror housing is made with. Would it be _that_ sensor ? If not what's the purpose of this harness ?

When it's raining, I don't notice any difference. How does a rain sensor behave ?

TIA

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The sensor emits an infrared light. Hence, it needs power for same. Rain reflects the infrared back to the sensor. Hence, it needs wiring to connect the sensor to the computer.

As for how it works, the computer deduces from the signal that rain is present and in what quantity. The computer then decides how often to activate the wipers. Thus, the wipers speed up and slow down depending on how hard the rain is falling. The computer also uses the speed of the car to adjust wiping frequency. The fine manual describes how to get the rain sensor working because it does no activate by itself (on my E46 anyway).

This is a relatively new feature, and it might not have been available on a Z3. Jim

Hi Jenn,the easiest way to tell if you have a sensor is to look at the windshield from the outside.If there is a rectangular area just below the interior mirror fixing that is a bluish colour then there is a sensor.It is an optional extra in the UK,it is switched on by moving the wiper stalk up one position with the ignition on,the wipers then sweep once to calibrate the sensor then park until it rains.This procedure has to be carried out each time you drive the car as the system switches off with ignition off.I am a BMW master technician in the UK Hope this helps,regards Ian

Doesn't sound like a rain sensor. Just a guess, but the wiring might be for an automatic dimming/dipping rear view mirror. Mike.

Hi Ian, thanks for the help. I do not have a rain sensor. Now, the new windshield will only cost me about $350 to be installed. That is not nearly as bad as the $485 it would cost if I had the rain sensor.

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Thanks, I guess so. As already mentioned, my windscreen hasn't the bluish area in front of the mirror. But... what could be the harness and the plastic rectangle used for ?

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Thanks for the reply. As I said in a previous post, I'm also convinced it's not the rain sensor. I didn't notice however any dimming effects or they're so much discreet.

I just installed a screen on a 7 series and $350 fitted I guess isn't bad. It was more like $200 for the screen (heated with rain sensor) plus fitting which took a while as the hood had to come off, then the wipers, etc etc

Say the screen does have a sensor, would it self-calibrate the new one?

If it is a automatic dip rear view mirror, on the mirror face, one sensor is shown by a small circle, about 3/16" diameter central at the top. Another sensor faces forwards. The light level comparison between the two sensors controls the level of stepless dimming. It is very discreet. Although effective is not very obvious in operation After writing that, I've only just thaught that if your mirror has automatic dipping, it wont have the little lever underneath for manual dipping. Mike.