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Well, you’re in luck! I popped the cover off this morning before leaving the house and took those exact photos. Mine appears clipped and not bonded.
There’s a metal bracket bonded to the windshield, and the sensors appear to be clipped into it. Whether they’re bonded in addition to being clipped was not immediately obvious from where I was in the time available, but I was able to confirm my part numbers at least.
Awesome, that looks exactly like what I remembered seeing. I guess RealOEM is wrong this time?
Ok the RLS was the one I didnt know which one you had. Your glass type was going to dictate that. From the original windshield pic it looked like the circle one but didnt want to guess at it.
If I'm not mistaken you can also tell by whether someone has heads up display, no? I believe I read HUD has a square RLS and non-HUD has a circular RLS.
Yes you are correct. There's 4 things and those 2 are the main indicators. I don't know off the top of my head what they are. I do know the windshield type and HUD.
So I guess you'll be ordering the clipped on sensor. I might as well do that as well. I wish I could tell if mine were actually bad or if it would improve if I put some form of adhesive on it. Interesting that BMW clips some on and not others, seems like that would definitely affect how it detects humidity if it is not bonded.
The options that dictate the sensor pack are green windshield (listed as an option, but seems like the default), HUD, lane departure, "climate comfort laminated glass", and automatic climate control. Mine has neither HUD nor lane departure or the comfort laminated glass.
Meanwhile... I just got home to where I can look at anything informative. The part number on the sensor is (6135)9131980. RealOEM says I need 61359248398 based on my options, which supersedes 61359131979... Searching RealOEM for my part number (one off from the superseded part) DOES come up as a Rain - Light - Solar sensor, but says that the specified part is not found...
I haven't figured out how to decode BMW part numbers yet... 6135 seems to be assumed for some reason since it's missing from the part number on the part, but it doesn't seem to correlate to model or anything
(Minutes pass...)
I called a parts counter on the west coast that's still open, and got the guy to talk my ear off. Learned a fair bit. Long line of part supersession: 61359122432 (older than mine), 61359131980 (what came with the car), 61359174999, 61359191046,61359201989,61359212917, 61359218701, 61359234088, and the most current part number I need is 61359254026... The RealOEM part number is just the COVER that goes around the PCB that is the sensor itself, and RealOEM doesn't serve up that part number, is aware it's a rain-light-solar sensor, but doesn't have much or correct information on it. The cover is for if the windshield is replaced, and the gel that mashes up against the glass is compromised. If you buy the correct part number, it comes with the cover/gel pad thing.
Looking back at the photo of the outside of the windshield now that I've seen the inside, what I thought was a sensor with a rock chip over it is actually just a REALLY BAD rock chip that's separated the glass from the frit. This windshield is totally hammered. It's shocking that it hasn't managed to crack from side to side.
I'm going to dig around a bit on the line of supersession for this part to see if I can find a good deal. Tomorrow morning when it's cooler, I'll go out there and pop the cover off again and see if I can remove the sensors easily since they supposedly just clip in. If they are easily manipulated, I will wait to see if the new windshield fixes my problem. If they can't be easily replaced, I'll order everything to get here before the glass guy...
Sorry for the borderline stream of consciousness post here... The world is burning just a bit around here...
The 9CC5 code says "Light Module (LM), no message, LIN (RLS)", and that's even less helpful. Digging around shows that it comes up frequently with myriad other unrelated codes, but every time it comes up, it's pretty much never addressed directly. I found one person on some forum or another saying "the dreaded 9CC5", but I don't see any other such references. Finally, I found a few references to it coming up, but never being resolved. I truly don't know what to do about it. The only clue I have is that the two sensors are, I THINK in close proximity, and my windshield (also in the same proximity) is in extremely bad shape. The rain sensing wiper function does work. I don't know if it's working as well as it should, but it works well enough to say it works.
I've seen a lot of this too, and in fact have the error myself. I wonder if it's related to the auto-dimming mirrors, which is an option my car has. At sometime in my cars past it has had one of the wing mirrors replaced for one without this (less wiring and different glass) and I wonder if this is what is causing it. Far too many other more persistent problems to fix first before this one though Ahh E60/E61 life!
It's possible that the sandblasted windshield might have affected those sensors, especially if they're exposed. When it comes to windshield replacements, it can be a good idea to consult with professionals like Dr. Rock Chip in Seattle. They're known for quality work and can advise on sensor replacement if needed. Here's their link: https://goo.gl/maps/a2VPJ6ytVyk8Lmmx5.
Sometimes, the sensors can be transferred, but it really depends on their condition and compatibility with the new windshield. Safety and functionality are key, so it's worth discussing with experts to ensure everything works seamlessly. Good luck with the replacement! 🌟