Headlight wipers -- 1985 535i US

[wbmunroe]

Hey all, new member here. I own a black, us model 535i. I've owned it for probably 6 months so far, and its been a great car when its been running. I busted an oil pan on some chunked up construction, and it was out of commission for a couple of months. It's now repaired.
So now, I want to add some things. New shocks, wheels (I'm riding the stock 390mm atm), an intake, and some cosmetic stuff.

I want to find and add some headlight wipers to my US 1985 535i.
I was reading , and the thought occured that if I could find a euro wiring harness, I could swap it in, and have the wiring for the wipers, and a few other things.
Assuming that works, now I just need the wipers. Can I find them new, or am I limited to junkyards? How hard is it to actually add euro headlight wipers to a US model? Does the new wiring harness change anything with the battery?
I'm looking at this from a novice perspective, and I've had little experience doing serious work under the hood, but I'm fairly comfortable in my engine bay. Hopefully I can do it myself.

[Bill in MN]

Welcome!

I've only ever seen them with Euro lights. Finding them in a US junkyard would be pretty difficult unless someone had retrofitted them onto a car that has been junked.

The lights pop up from time to time on ebay but the wiper assy's are few and far between. As for their wiring, perhaps one of the guys that have them ont thier car are best off chiming in.

You might want to check the archives. There have been several threads regarding wipers over the past few years.

[wbmunroe]

Thanks for the reply, and the welcome.

Am I missing where the archive is? The old forum seems to date back to Nov '03 as far as I can see, and only a couple mentions of headlights, neither pertaining to wipers.
I count myself as forum competent, but I cant seem to find much on these. I've not yet gotten the chance to feel my way around, heh.

Edit: Found the search options, but more replies are very welcome =)

[Edit by wbmunroe on [TIME]1130858181[/TIME]]

[Shawn D.]

I'm no Euro light expert, but I think they'll be a PITA to fit. For one, the lights are different diameters, and thus the mounting locations, arm length, and wiper length are designed for the larger diameter, and the arm swing will probably be wrong as well. There are also blade stops to fit.

[Jon in Richmond]

Check out this thread and/or contact some of these guys:

http://forums.mye28.com/e28/messages/75278.html

[rs4pro3]

You need the wipers, headlights, buckets, wiring, fluid tank, pumps, control unit, Fuse box control unit, and plumbing. I retrofitted the full setup onto my 1985 325e, it wasn't realy hard at all. I purchased a harness from the UK and a control unit, but ended up making my own harness when I found out the control unit was dead. The wiring for the wipers is realy simple, but if you want them automatically controlled you'll need the harness and 2 control units.

[Shawn D.]

[QUOTE="rs4pro3"]You need the wipers, headlights, buckets...[/QUOTE]
The way I read his post, he was wanting to install wipers on US lights.

[rs4pro3]

Won't work, as the U.S. lights have a domed face, and Euro's are flat.

[Shawn D.]

[QUOTE="rs4pro3"]Won't work, as the U.S. lights have a domed face, and Euro's are flat.[/QUOTE]
Stock US sealed-beam headlights are domed, but my Hella H4s are flat.

[KillerPM]

Welcome to the forum.. you came from genmay right?

[wbmunroe]

Indeed I did.
TehPyro on genmay, wbmunroe on Bimmerforums

rs4pro3, where did you buy the uk parts?

[rs4pro3]

a guy over on www.e30zone.co.uk The control units are the same between the E30 and the E28. So you might find some there. In total it was $30 shipped for the control unit and wiring harness.

[cgraff]

You need the wipers, headlights, buckets, wiring, fluid tank, pumps, control unit, Fuse box control unit, and plumbing. I retrofitted the full setup onto my 1985 325e, it wasn't realy hard at all. I purchased a harness from the UK and a control unit, but ended up making my own harness when I found out the control unit was dead. The wiring for the wipers is realy simple, but if you want them automatically controlled you'll need the harness and 2 control units

Basically this is right. You need A LOT of parts to correctly retrofit the wiper/washer kit to the E28. From the stalk on the steering, to the wiring that runs out to the front of the car, to the fuse box relay, to the extra wiring harness, to the tank and control unit, to the motors and wiper arms, to the Euro headlights and grills, to the hoses and nozzles.

I have on my website, some wiring diagrams and other information that may be helpful, including an E30 installation description.

http://www.m535i.org/officers/ra/articl ... electrical

-Chris

[wbmunroe]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. Between my AutoMay thread and this one, I think I'm set. I'll let you know how it turns out.