What the H?
Every time I start the car, the wipers run through a cycle, then turn off. Almost always it's both front and rear, sometimes just the back.

I did some research and seems the BCM could be bad or there's another relay wired into the wiper circuit, that could be causing the problem. I read that some have had their wipers turn on and are unable to turn them off.

Can anyone agreed some light on this?

 

Anyone have a schematic for this car? 2004 S.
Maybe that would help me.

Now they come on whenever they want.
And, when I lower the windows, the AC fan fades, then turns off.

 

You might find a wiring diagram on RealOEM.com.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do
There will be some suggestions that it could be battery related. When funny things start happening electrical it often points to the battery nearing it's end. the OBC is very sensitive and it doesn't take but a little weakness for it to start causing strange things to happen and there is nothing common among symptoms. The frustrating thing is that occasionally the battery is reported to check out pretty much OK.


On the other hand, my knuckle often touches the wiper lever unbeknownst to me when I put the key in the ignition and the wipers obey my knuckles command when I turn the key.

 

A battery? Well, it's cheaper than a trip to the dealer.

 

Rough estimate - how many years and how many miles on the current battery? If you've got in the neighborhood of say 60 to 90K miles and the long side of 4 or more years it well could be. It would be worth your time to stop by an Auto Zone or other dealer of that ilk and have them check the battery static and under load and see what it says. If needs be they can swap it out while you wait and have you on your way in no time. All they will charge you for is the battery and disposal fee.

 

It has 80k miles, probably time for a new battery.

 

After the call to your bookie and morning coffee with the coffee gang your next appointment should be the battery store for sure.

 

Are you sure you didn't just bump the stalk half a click up? That sets it on the rain-sensing setting so if it's not raining out they will wipe once and then stop until they sense rain.

 

good guess there ... do you have rain sensing??? (I never did so I'd never think of this)

if I suspected a weak battery issue (and I HAVE seen MINIs do weird things with a weak battery) I'd get a know good battery, sit it in the boot and add it to the circuit with a set of jumper cables then try some start stops.

If the 'on at start' persists it is not from a weak battery. If it goes away . . . .

I'm not saying to drive around like this .. just eliminate the idea of a weak battery and the big draw at startup . . you could even use a jumper pak . . .

 

When I start the car it runs the wipers. All the levers are in off position. Now, the wipers turn on as I am driving - randomly. Sometimes just the back wiper, sometimes both wipers.
My AC was on and I hit the switch to roll my window down, the AC fan turns off and the lights on the control console dim and turn off.

I'm hoping it's just a battery. About a month ago my power steering went out. Before that, my passenger door lock doesn't pop up and open the door.

Geez, what gives?

 

Yup, Weird electrical gremlins. It all points to a failing battery which is more often than not THE only common link to all those things and at 80k miles you've gotten your money's worth from it and more based on the averages.

 

Yep, sounds like a dead battery to me.

Power steering pump is a very known issue on these cars and the door lock might just be a case of the bowden cable stretching or popping out from use over time

 

Well, I replaced the battery with a new one, still got the same problems.

Wipers stay on.
Heater controls do not work.
Radio turns off and on intermittently.

BCM?

Any issues with buying a used one online? Other than the fact it might not work?

 

Now, the power steering is working again. It hasn't worked in two months! Wipers are still messed up, but the power steering works.

What the heck is going on??

 

Is this something the dealer could diagnose?

 

Rats! I picked up a BCM from ebay, and it does the same thing. No heater controls, wipers keep running, radio turns on and off.
Now what?

 

check you main engine ground strap... a bad ground can cause surges in the electrics ... usually it is the body side bolt working loose or corrosion.

 

The main ground strap at the battery?

 

The engine ground strap is on the passenger side of the engine, below and to the right of the upper engine mount as you are looking into the engine compartment. I check the security of that and the battery grounding strap periodically for security. Many things are written about MINI quirks if either strap loosens.

 

I know this is old but how did you fix the issue? I am having this same problem. My wipers come on when starting my car and at random times. At that time the radio cuts out and the airbag light will be dimly lit

 

I know this is really old but here is the solution for anyone else having this problem.

it's the ignition switch in the steering column, it's not feeding 12v rail to the stereo and to part of the bcm which causes it to spaz out.

buy a new one or take it apart and clean the connectors that fixed mine.

 

+1 most of the time its the ignition switch.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...on-switch.html