Help...I cant see!

Coffee331

Zorg Addict
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Points
53
Location
Maynooth
Model of Z
2.0 Roadster (2000)
Hi Guys

I recently bought a very tasty 2000 reg 2.0 Z3.

Seems to be a well looked after example and all seems to be right with the car.

I only bought it 2 weeks ago so haven't had much opportunity to drive it yet. I took it out for a spin yesterday and noticed that the wipers had decided to stop working completely.

They were working fine up to that point, all speeds working, washer working, parking correctly, no funny noises etc. Therefore i seriously doubt its the motor as I would have had some sort of warning that things weren't 100%. Also if it was the wiper control module I believe I would have have had previous issues with incorrect parking of the wipers? (I could be wrong here but from looking around the web that seems to be the case). The washer pump is working which leads me to think its not the actual wiper switch in the car.

I have checked the fuses and all is well there, so I am thinking perhaps its a bad earth somewhere?? But i have no idea where to look or even if that is the problem.

Anyone out there have a similar problem and could advise me of a few other things to check?

Any assistance at all would be gratefully received as I would like to avoid a trip to the "Bring My Wallet" dealer.

:thumbsup:
 

Connor

Zorg Guru (I)
British Zeds
Joined
Jan 10, 2015
Points
92
Location
Sheffield
Model of Z
3.0 Z5
Hi Coffee,

The same thing has happened to me, the wipers randomly stopped working, so i just winged it and fiddled with the blades a little bit and they started again.
I never did anything to actually resolved the problem, but it hasn't done it in a while so I have never bothered with it.

Not a lot of help but, just letting you know what happened when I had a similar issue.

Connor.
 

phil.a

Zorg Guru (I)
The M44 Massive
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Points
89
Location
redditch
Model of Z
z4
not sure if it is the same as the z4 but mine stopped working on the z4 there is a how to post on how to repair, it is basically grease on the contacts clean it of and all o.k. a free repair done mine less that an hour , if you Google it z4 wipers not working you will see what to do see if the wipers are the same
 

Coffee331

Zorg Addict
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Points
53
Location
Maynooth
Model of Z
2.0 Roadster (2000)
Thanks for the replies...

For the grease on the contacts did your wipers stop altogether or did they just go a bit mental? I thought that issue only caused wiper parking problems etc
 

phil.a

Zorg Guru (I)
The M44 Massive
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Points
89
Location
redditch
Model of Z
z4
did what they wanted i:e would not start when working would not stop,would not park different every time
 

David Cullen

Zorg Legend
Supporter
The M44 Massive
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Points
76
Location
Prosperous, County Kildare
hi coffee, you seem to have gone through all the obvious points anyway so its down to the nitty gritty, make sure you bell out the fuse, ie. continuity test, just to make sure. id have a look at the contacts also, just to eliminate that as an issue, if the car is only new to you it may have been acting up before you bought it and or the same goes with the motor. joys of buying off someone else ;-) pain in the butt. let us know how you get on with this
 

Shelly

Zorg Expert (I)
Supporter
British Zeds
East Anglian Crew
Joined
Jul 9, 2013
Points
201
Location
Norfolk
Model of Z
Z4 2.0 20i M Sport sDrive
Hi welcome to the forum @Coffee331 :)
When we had our Z3 our wipers stopped working :(
But Alan had to tighten the nuts where they were fixed on to :p
 

Coffee331

Zorg Addict
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Points
53
Location
Maynooth
Model of Z
2.0 Roadster (2000)
Hi again, thanks for all the replies so far :)

I have checked the obvious bolts etc and gave everything a technical "wiggle" check :whistle: but no joy.

@ David - what do you mean by bell out the fuse? I only did a quick check on the obvious with the fuses so maybe I missed something there.
 

Coffee331

Zorg Addict
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Points
53
Location
Maynooth
Model of Z
2.0 Roadster (2000)
Dusted down the trusty multimeter tonight, re-checked all the fuses to everything....all good...balls! Was hoping for something simple.

The idea struck me of maybe a wire to the motor fell off, am I grasping at straws there? Is it worth a check in that area when I get more time? Or should I just bite the bullet and order a wiper control module from flea bay?

At least I bought the car for nice day driving...oh hang on I live on craggy island it rains 99 days out of 100 :rolleyes:
 

David Cullen

Zorg Legend
Supporter
The M44 Massive
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Points
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Prosperous, County Kildare
sorry for the late reply Coffee, bell out just means checking the continuity with the fuse, which i see you have done ;-)
check the motor, yes, see if you can get direct power to it to see if it is in fact working or not, if it is then you know its on to the stalk and wiring.
im not sure if there are any relays involved here, i am sure there are, check the wiring diagnostics to see

here is some info that might help

http://www.bmwmotorsports.org/BMW_docs/ZKEIV.pdf

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417815
 

Coffee331

Zorg Addict
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Points
53
Location
Maynooth
Model of Z
2.0 Roadster (2000)
Thanks David...

I am a bit reluctant to remove the cowl over the wiper motor if I don't have to, as the plastic clips look about as sturdy as a paper house. So I bought the control module last night in the hopes it could be that. It was only a few quid so worth a try...more than likely wasting my time :rolleyes:
 

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Coffee331

Zorg Addict
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Points
53
Location
Maynooth
Model of Z
2.0 Roadster (2000)
So....the wiper module arrived in the post today.

Took approximately one and half minutes to fit :)...5 screws drop the glovebox, slide out the old module, slide the connection off of it and reverse procedure to fit the new one.

Sat in the drivers seat, fired it up, switched on the wipers and.............they worked! Boom job done! Didn't see that happening :D

Car with fully functional wipers is now ready for a typical Irish summer. :drinks:
 

t-tony

Zorg Expert (II)
Supporter
British Zeds
#ZedShed
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Points
226
Location
Torksey Lock,Lincoln, England
Model of Z
E89 Z4 23i Auto
Glad youv'e got it fixed, and spot on diagnosis too. Was the module new or S/H £?

Tony.
 
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