Wipers need to be "rebooted"

[ed325i]

My wipers behaved strangely today. I have rain sensing wipers, and today, while driving home, they decided to stop suddenly and refused to restart. It was raining fairly hard, and the windows were getting fogged up as well. I turned the wipers off, and after 30 seconds to a minute, they started up again. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks.

Ed

[sp330i]

I've had a different problem. On about 5 different occassions, my wipers have decided to cycle once across the windshield on their own. This has occurred on sunny days, when I haven't touched the wiper stalk or switch since turning on the ignition.

[Terry Kennedy]

I've had a different problem. On about 5 different occassions, my wipers have decided to cycle once across the windshield on their own. This has occurred on sunny days, when I haven't touched the wiper stalk or switch since turning on the ignition.The design of the rain sensing wiper control is that it will remain inactive after the car is restarted until it gets input from the wiper control stalk. This is to prevent it from activating in carwashes, etc.

I'd suspect a problem with the wiper control stalk. This is a relatively inexpensive part, but you do need to remove the airbag and steering wheel to replace it. The handle, switch, and connector are all one assembly (61 31 8 363 669 on my car, ... 664 is used on more E46 models)

[sp330i]

I'd suspect a problem with the wiper control stalk. This is a relatively inexpensive part, but you do need to remove the airbag and steering wheel to replace it. The handle, switch, and connector are all one assembly (61 31 8 363 669 on my car, ... 664 is used on more E46 models)
Thanks Terry. If it continues to happen, I'll request a replacement from my dealer. Interestingly, it has only happened on a few occassions, not really enough to raise a fuss over. More importanly, the dealer will probably give me one of the following answers:

1. We can't reproduce it.
2. You probably hit the stalk and didn't realize it.