Rain Sensor & Engine Fan Noise

S

scottish69

Member
Hi guys - couple more questions for you //M owners!

1. On my coupe ive noticed the engine fan seems to come on after all journeys over 20 minutes ish - is that normal? I assume its the engine fan anyway!

2. With the rain sensor - can you just keep the right hand stalk in "position 1" all the time and it will automatically activate once the rain starts - or do you have to select position 1 on the right hand stalk as it rains - or change the sensitivity to get it to activate. Just seems to me Ive had to alter the sensitivity before it starts working in the rain.... and the manual seems to suggest thats normal. On my golf i just left it on "rain sensor" mode and it just activated when it rained, no faffing.

Cheers,
S>
 
1 - dont know

2- yes, you need to adjust the stalk to position 1 each time you start the car (and also have the intermittent adjuster up one notch). This is on purpose so that the wipers dont just start for example when the cars windows are frosted up - thus possibly causing damage.
 
scottish69 said:
Hi guys - couple more questions for you //M owners!

1
2. With the rain sensor - can you just keep the right hand stalk in "position 1" all the time and it will automatically activate once the rain starts - or do you have to select position 1 on the right hand stalk as it rains - or change the sensitivity to get it to activate. Just seems to me Ive had to alter the sensitivity before it starts working in the rain.... and the manual seems to suggest thats normal. On my golf i just left it on "rain sensor" mode and it just activated when it rained, no faffing.

Cheers,
S>
Click to expand...

I suggest you don't keep it in position 1 all the time - It activates the brake drying feature and you'll feel the car tug all so slightly at regular intervals as the pads quickly contact the rotors even when dry.

Db
 
Caddyshk said:
scottish69 said:
Hi guys - couple more questions for you //M owners!

1
2. With the rain sensor - can you just keep the right hand stalk in "position 1" all the time and it will automatically activate once the rain starts - or do you have to select position 1 on the right hand stalk as it rains - or change the sensitivity to get it to activate. Just seems to me Ive had to alter the sensitivity before it starts working in the rain.... and the manual seems to suggest thats normal. On my golf i just left it on "rain sensor" mode and it just activated when it rained, no faffing.

Cheers,
S>
Click to expand...

I suggest you don't keep it in position 1 all the time - It activates the brake drying feature and you'll feel the car tug all so slightly at regular intervals as the pads quickly contact the rotors even when dry.

Db
Click to expand...
Didn’t know about this is it just on the ///Ms
 
wow.. is that written somewhere ? i've done 23,000 miles with it on 1, assumed it was a bit more complex than that, how it dried the pads.

/me goes to garage and turns it off..
 
When i say my engine fan comes on - i mean whilst i'm driving.... like after 15 minutes!

Maybe its not a cooling fan but somthing else...? Ive only had 4 cylinder cars before.....

It goes off as soon as i stop the car...
 
• Brake Drying. Acting on input from the windshield wipers’ rain sensor, the brake pads are periodically brought up to the rotors – just enough to eliminate any film of water between the pads and rotors, but not enough to cause any brake applications. This improves brake readiness in wet driving conditions.

You'd think it was only when the screen sensed rain though.. not when the wipers were left in auto ?

Have never noticed an engine fan - does it always stop when you do ? can you hear it slowing when you pull up?
 
Andy said:
• Brake Drying. Acting on input from the windshield wipers’ rain sensor, the brake pads are periodically brought up to the rotors – just enough to eliminate any film of water between the pads and rotors, but not enough to cause any brake applications. This improves brake readiness in wet driving conditions.

You'd think it was only when the screen sensed rain though.. not when the wipers were left in auto ?

Have never noticed an engine fan - does it always stop when you do ? can you hear it slowing when you pull up?
Click to expand...
Many have commented on boards that they've felt the slight braking even in dry - owner diagnosis was always the wipers left in auto -I've felt it too.
 
No the fan noise doesnt sem to lessen when i stop at lights etc. It goes off when i turn off the car too....

Maybe its just cos im not used to the 6cyl?
 
scottish69 said:
No the fan noise doesnt sem to lessen when i stop at lights etc. It goes off when i turn off the car too....

Maybe its just cos im not used to the 6cyl?
Click to expand...
I've never noticed the fan - must be a rag top thing.
 
Mines a coupe... ill keep an eye on it this weekend and see whats happening...

Prob nothing wrong, just wondered if anyone else had noticed it.
 
Well i listened to the car this weekend after a few short drives. Basically whilst the engine fan doesnt come on straight waway when i start the car its nearly always on after around 10 minutes of driving. Then the fan goes off shortly after i turn the ignition off. Not sure if this is an issue - any others have experience with this in an M coupe? None of my other cars had the engine fan come on during their lifetimes! I though they were only supposed to come on if the car was in danger of overheating?

Its probably not something to worry about - bit noisey when i get it in the garage after a journey though.

I'll mention it to the garage when i go in to have my keys programmed.
 
I always have my wipers in position so that they auto come on when it rains. Never noticed any sort of tug or application of the brakes when dry or wet, I dont think it applies hard enough?

Is it def the fan and you dont have the air-con on? I noticed its a lot more noisy when I pull up and the air-con is switched on. When I turn it off the noise kicks right back
 
No i dont use the air con..... i thought it may be that too... !

Seems to be jus tthe engine fan. And my wipers dont come on if i leave them in position 1 - only if i tweak the sensitivity or reselect position 1 when its raining.
 
scottish69 said:
And my wipers dont come on if i leave them in position 1 - only if i tweak the sensitivity or reselect position 1 when its raining.
Click to expand...

that is how it is supposed to be...
 
Well thats worth checking actually. Only had it a couple of weeks so you'd think it would be ok - but then the tyres were all down at 27psi....

Ill look into that - would make sense if its low!

Cheers.
:thumbsup:
 
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