E61 M5 Tailgate wiring issue.

[ecain63]

Took the car into the stealers yesterday in a bid to get the tailgat glass 'random opening' issue resolved. They said, despite the common fault, that it wasnt a problem with the switch under the rear wiper (tested the switch). Instead they are pointing the finger at the wiring loom. Is this going to lead to a horrific disembowelling of my cars wiring and result in further problems, or is there an easier solution? ie can they replace the tailgate loom as a whole rather than pulling it apart and trying to repair the existing one?

Ive heard on the grapevine that the tailgate loom is actually too short and breaks when the tailgate opens. Any truth?

Anyone had the same issues?

My main concern is that its draining the battery at night and not letting the car go into 'sleep mode'. Im also getting fed up with having to keep re-entering the time and date.

Eddie

[530dTPhil]

This is a fairly common problem that can be fixed by repairing the breaks in the wires rather than replacing the loom. I believe that access is gained through the speaker holes in the back of the roof. Search on BMWland.co.uk; it's been discussed many times.

[ecain63]

Thanks mate. I'll have a look. Are the speakers easy to remove?

[tinker-27]

Mine had a central locking fault that was the rear wiring , it was a pain to do as hard to get to , took a couple of hours to do but all worked after !! , take out the rear right speaker snd lower the head lining down at the back , take off the boot trim as well , mine had one broken wire and six more hanging on by a couple of strands !!!!

[ecain63]

I attempted the repair today but only got as far as the removal of the roof speaker. I can see the wiring loom behind it but i think im best leaving it to the pros to investigate. The glass switch now doesnt work at all but it is still opening by itself from time to time. Im amazed how badly designed the tailgate wiring is. Who could have come up with such a st idea? 'I know, lets route the wiring through the boot hinges and cover it in sharp metal so that when it opens it gets chopped'!! Plonkers!!

[Broccers]

I have this issue too, its bloody annoying.

Did you get it sorted?

[ecain63]

Yes mate, sorted last week. If you look up the 'E61 Red Cog No Symptoms' topic below, the answer is there.

Eddie

[Broccers]

Ta.

Local sytners have quoted 200 quid to sort the wiring which is probably expensive but not compared to overfixing it with a new loom etc.

[anonymous-user]

Easiest fix is to pry the top off the switch below the wiper - inside you will see what looks like a plastic flexible circuit board. Grab with pliers and pull the whole thing out. This will break the switch and stop the switch firing. Downside is you won't be able to open the glass. Tailgate, wiper will carry on working as normal and no alarm codes. Takes less than a minute and costs nothing. Redoing the loom / repairing chaffed wires is is a fiddly and long job. And testing switch is not reliable - the fault is intermittent and normally due to water ingress so it could still be a faulty switch....
At least do this while you make up your mind how to proceed - a new switch is around 20 quid and takes 10 mins to fit.

Edited by drmark on Sunday 16th January 18:25

[ecain63]

drmark said:

Easiest fix is to pry the top off the switch below the wiper - inside you will see what looks like a plastic flexible circuit board. Grab with pliers and pull the whole thing out. This will break the switch and stop the switch firing. Downside is you won't be able to open the glass. Tailgate, wiper will carry on working as normal and no alarm codes. Takes less than a minute and costs nothing. Redoing the loom / repairing chaffed wires is is a fiddly and long job. And testing switch is not reliable - the fault is intermittent and normally due to water ingress so it could still be a faulty switch....
At least do this while you make up your mind how to proceed - a new switch is around 20 quid and takes 10 mins to fit.

Edited by drmark on Sunday 16th January 18:25

Classic case of not reading the whole thread but thanks anyway. Problem was solved last week as per my 'red cog, no issue' thread.

No cost to me either.

[anonymous-user]

My post was aimed mainly at Broccers who doesn't seem to have the benefit of a warranty. Glad you got yours sorted - ironically I didn't even know you could open the glass bit of the hatch until mine went wrong so don't miss it.

[ecain63]

drmark said:

My post was aimed mainly at Broccers who doesn't seem to have the benefit of a warranty. Glad you got yours sorted - ironically I didn't even know you could open the glass bit of the hatch until mine went wrong so don't miss it.

No worries mate. Yeah, suppose if you didn't know then you wouldn't miss it. I never use it to be fair, but its annoying when its opening by itself.

[Broccers]

Cheers for that.

I may just bite the bullet after seeing if my local garage can fix it cheaply, yanking it apart would certainly be satisfying as this fault is the most annoying thing Ive ever known on a car other than it breaking down.