E34 Touring - electrical problems ... HELP!

[parkerwilson]

I have a 1993 E34 5-speed TDS (it's a diesel). I'm in the states, car came from Italy.

When I first bought the car, the rear hatch opened in two sections: There are separate handles to open the whole trunk, and one to open only the glass. I noticed that sometimes when I put the car into reverse, the hatchback latch would release (electronically).

Then I had wiring put in for a trailer, and now EVERY time I go into reverse the hatch opens. Also, I can no longer open the glass by itself, only the hatch.

The other day something in the back of the wagon forced the glass hatch open, and since then my windshield wipers are acting . They don't go on at intermittent or slow, only on fast, and when I turn them off they stop wherever they happen to be, not going down like they should. Another thing that's new since the glass opened is that the window switches no longer power the windows up or down.

At first I thought I blew a fuse, so I checked all the fuses, and they're all fine. I unhooked the battery for half an hour and re-connected it, and nothing has worked.

PLEASE HELP@!

[gtopaul]

I have a 1993 E34 5-speed TDS (it's a diesel). I'm in the states, car came from Italy.

When I first bought the car, the rear hatch opened in two sections: There are separate handles to open the whole trunk, and one to open only the glass. I noticed that sometimes when I put the car into reverse, the hatchback latch would release (electronically).

Then I had wiring put in for a trailer, and now EVERY time I go into reverse the hatch opens. Also, I can no longer open the glass by itself, only the hatch.

The other day something in the back of the wagon forced the glass hatch open, and since then my windshield wipers are acting . They don't go on at intermittent or slow, only on fast, and when I turn them off they stop wherever they happen to be, not going down like they should. Another thing that's new since the glass opened is that the window switches no longer power the windows up or down.

At first I thought I blew a fuse, so I checked all the fuses, and they're all fine. I unhooked the battery for half an hour and re-connected it, and nothing has worked.

PLEASE HELP@!

The first place to check, and the most common problem area, is the wiring harness for the hatch in the upper left corner with hatch open. Check for bare or broken wires. They usually can be repaired but sometimes a harness is required.

Paul

[Herb98CQB]

As far as your wipers acting up, I would check the module under the rear seat and see if it is broken. The wiper problem may be seperate from the hatch, I had the exact same wiper problem a year ago. Herb

[SharkmanBMW]

ditto the wiring harness issue... something is shorting out, maybe with the reverse lights coming on in the hatch is making the glass pop.

Are you sure this started before you had the trailer hitch install done? It could easily have been them who mixed things up!