How did you unplug the rain sensor?
 

How do you unplug the rain sensor? Mine works fine, but I hate the rain sensor feature. I prefer to set the sweep frequency myself. Seems like the rain sensor has a mind of its own. Even in light rain, it rarely runs in intermittent, but goes back and forth between slow and fast. Extremely annoying.
So if unplugging it allows it to operate like normal intermittent wipers, I'll be very happy. And FWIW- the rain sensor in my 528 works much better than the X5.

TowX,

To unplug sensor here is what I did...

1) Carefully prise the sensor cover apart using a medium sized flat screwdriver. The cover is behind the rear view mirror. It is not held together by screws but by plastic lugs (cannot describe this better). It splits down the centre and comes away in 2 halves.

2) The rain sensor plug plugs in at the top of the sensor and it is a simple matter of pulling it out. There was no retaining clip on mine. It was a bit stiff.

3) Replace cover

Hope this helps

Thanks, I'll try it this evening. (at 14 mpg for the X5 adn 19mpg for the 528 you can guess which one I commute in.)

BTW- after you unplugged, did your intermittent work normally, in other words, did it work at the different speeds based on how you set them? My dealer once told me that I'd only have one intermittent speed, not a variable speed.

Thanks again.

TowX,

I have only noticed a single speed sweep (every 6-7secs) upto 40mph, I have not as yet tested beyond that. Intermittent controls do not work anymore.

My X5 (2004) is working well after unplugged and have different speeds on rotating the knob. For the fastest intermittent speed, it will also accelerate (from 7 to 3 seconds) when I am driving....so I am really OK with this.

Have you guys checked out the rain sensor fuse in the glove box? I had to look at a couple fuses last night and saw that the rain sensor has it's own fuse. in mine it's #45. I real like my rain sensor and works great.

mine too:iagree:

I am also suffering from auto rain sensor problems. Not surprisingly the auto light function is similarly afflicted (they use the same sensor area on the screen).

My dealer informed me it is not uncommon and the cause is the actual sensor becoming slightly detached from the glass (you can see this if you look at it from the outside) so the refraction is affected and the sensors misread. I was informed the sensor is not available separately and the screen must be replaced.

So, my questions are:-

- can the sensor alone be replaced?

- has anyone managed to fix the problem, i.e. re-attach the sensor to avoid the 'bubble' that causes the problem?

Yes the sensor alone can be replaced.... I hope posting a link to another forum isn't against the rules I am new here so go easy on me, I am not a member of this site nor am I affiliated with it in any way, just bought my first X5 :-) and learning allot

Replacing a rain sensor - Now with pictures!! =)

Nice link...Thanks for posting:thumbup:
I will also check my rain sensor..