wipers BMW 323Ci CONVERTIBLE 2000 E46 Owner's Manual

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IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
Turn signal indicator/Headlamp flasher Washer/Wiper system 1 High beam
(blue indicator lamp)
2 Headlamp flasher
(blue indicator lamp)
3 Turn signal indicator (green indicator
lamp accompanied by periodic click-
ing sound from the relay).
If the indicator lamp and the clicking
from the relay are both faster than nor-
mal, one of the turn signal indicators
has failed.46cde094
To signal brieflyPress the lever up to but not beyond
the detent. It then returns to the center
position when released.
0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent wipe or rain sensor
*
2 Normal wipe
3 Fast wipe
4 Brief wipe
5 Automatic windshield washer
6 Rotary dial for control of the wipe
interval or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor
*
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Washer/Wiper system1 Intermittent wipe or rain
sensor
*
Intermittent wipe:
You can use rotary dial 6 to select from
four wipe intervals.
In addition, the wipe interval automati-
cally adapts to variations in road speed.
Rain sensor:
The rain sensor is located on the wind-
shield, directly in front of the interior
rearview mirror. When the rain sensor is
activated, the windshield wiper is con-
trolled automatically, depending on the
degree of wetness of the windshield (in
both snow and rain). You do not have to
be concerned with switching the wind-
shield wiper on or off or adjusting the
wipe interval between intermittent and
full wipe. Instead, you can concentrate 46cde095
fully on the traffic conditions. This is
especially important under adverse
weather conditions.
To activate the rain sensor:
From ignition key position 1 and up,
move the lever to position 1. The wipers
travel once across the windshield, re-
gardless of the weather.
You can leave the lever permanently in
position 1. It is then only necessary to
activate the rain sensor from ignition
key position 1 and up. To do this,
>turn rotary dial 6 briefly or
>use the automatic windshield
washer 5.
To adjust the sensitivity of the rain
sensor:
Turn rotary dial 6.
Turn the rain sensor off when
passing through an automatic car
wash. Failure to do so could result in
damage caused by undesired wiper
activation.<
2 Normal wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the
wipers switch automatically to inter-
mittent wipe (not on vehicles with rain
sensor).3 Fast wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the
wipers operate at normal speed (not
on vehicles with rain sensor).5 Automatic windshield washer The system sprays washer fluid against
the windshield and activates the wipers
for a brief period.
If you only pull the lever briefly, the sys-
tem sprays washer fluid onto the wind-
shield without activating the wipers.

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Rain sensor
*
Depending on how wet the windshield
is, the rain sensor controls the opera-
tion of the windshield wipers.
Infrared light is carried along the sur-
face of the windshield in an optical con-
ductor in such a manner that it is re-
flected completely when the windshield
is dry. The quantity of reflected light is
measured.
If there is moisture on the glass, the
amount of light reflected is reduced
since the infrared light at the surface of
the windshield can escape. The quan-
tity of reflected light is thus a means of
gauging the degree of wetness on the
windshield.390de133
When the system is set to the "Intermit-
tent" wiper speed, the wipers react im-
mediately – if water is splashed onto the
windshield by vehicles traveling ahead
of you, for example. As a result, the rain
sensor contributes to driving safety and
comfort.

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Self-diagnostics All of the important electrical and elec-
tronic systems in the vehicle are tested
regularly and automatically; the driver
does not have to perform any extra
operations or adjustments.
The indicator lamps come on briefly
when the ignition is switched on.
While you are driving, the functional
status of the actuator motors (for the
windshield wipers, power windows,
seats, etc.) is constantly analyzed by
current measurements in their relays. 46cde052
In the same manner, the electrical re-
sistance of the airbag ignition genera-
tors and all of the remaining airbag
components is measured at all times.
Any fault in this system would be de-
tected immediately by a current fluctua-
tion that would necessarily accompany
it. The fault would be indicated immedi-
ately by the airbag warning lamp.
Even after you shut off the engine, the
overall functional status of your vehicle
is being monitored. For example, all of
the flaps for the heating and ventilation
system travel to the nearest limit posi-
tion. This action ensures that in any
case, the defrosting function will remain
intact, even if a malfunction in the auto-
matic climate control should occur dur-
ing the night while the vehicle is parked.
A calibration cycle runs every tenth time
the engine is shut off. During this cycle,
the actuator motors of all the heating
and ventilation flaps travel to their limit
stops in both directions. The limit posi-
tions and the return travel paths are
checked in this manner in order to en-
sure that appropriate adjustments for
the operating elements can be made at
any time.The sounds the automatic climate con-
trol makes as it carries out its self-diag-
nostics are noticeable because of the
noise that the ventilation flaps make af-
ter the ignition has been switched off.
All of the other self-diagnostics func-
tions operate silently in the back-
ground.
Any possible defects detected during
these self-diagnostics can be read out
by your BMW center and quickly cor-
rected during the vehicle's next regu-
larly scheduled maintenance.