I recently fitted a delayed interval windshield wiper conversion kit (part #61 31 9 557160) to my 1974 tii and ran into a perplexing problem that finally got solved with a little bit of head scratching. The kit as supplied comes with a new relay, the steering column stalk switch, a wiring harness, and a two-position pull-type dash switch. The fun started as I followed the factory-supplied instructions and came to the part that said “replace the present dash switch with the new switch and harness.” The 74 tii doesn’t have a dash switch!

After an hour of tracing wires and trying to read the wiring diagram in my shop manual, it became obvious what the factory had done. At some point in time, BMW started pre-wiring the 2002 tii for the delayed action wiper conversion. This probably happened when the dash switch was eliminated and built into the stalk control. You can convert your 2002 without the whole kit if

1. You have no dash switch for the wipers
2. Plug for wiper relay has extra pin connection unused with black-blue wire.

If this is so, buy the stalk control (61 31 1 357 004) and the special relay (61 31 1 357 913); plug them in, and you’re all set. The conversion gives you a three-position stalk switch with the two normal continuous speeds plus a five-second delay sweep in position #1. It will be cheaper to buy the two separate parts rather than the kit unless BMWNA has corrected the kit.

Author: Robert F. Murphy