Wiper issue!
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:20 pm
Hey guys would like your thoughts on what might be going on with my wipers!
Jeremy passed his MOT two weeks back and I've been merrily driving him about in this glorious weather we've been having. However, I realised the day after the MOT pass that his wipers are on the blink. Took him for a half hour drive with them on (the joys of summer showers) and they worked fine, parked up for a while, then set off again only to find them gradually getting slower and slower until finally stopping all together. We had a look at them, tried some of the suggestions we'd stumbled across on the forums (tightening the nut connecting the cable to the wiper motor, replacing the brushes, giving the motor a general once over.. Etc..) But each to no avail, they worked for a few swipes then gradually slowed to a halt again. We also found that using the wipers drained the battery extremely fast.
Now, the fun part. I took the old boy out for a drive Tuesday morning, and was hit suddenly by a heavy downpour of rain. Not good. Tried the wipers and they swiped twice, slowed and finally stopped in the middle of my view, then the car began to lose power and that was it, dead. In the middle of rush hour. On a busy road. Joy.
There was absolutely no power going to the ignition, so I called a friend to help, and they turned up with a charged battery. We replaced the old one, no difference. Waited three hours for the recovery guy and worked out a fuse had blown - turned out the wipers has shorted somewhere and had blown the ignition fuse.
We're going to take a look behind the dash sometime over the weekend to see if the wiring is okay, but to be honest, I think it's the motor. It's not the original, I think it's a two-speed that the previous owner had fitted, and the switch isn't original, it's some ghastly, ruddy huge knob that looks like it's been ripped out from a Land Rover.
Suggestions as to the cause of this issue would be more than appreciated, 'cos I'm pretty stumped!
Jeremy passed his MOT two weeks back and I've been merrily driving him about in this glorious weather we've been having. However, I realised the day after the MOT pass that his wipers are on the blink. Took him for a half hour drive with them on (the joys of summer showers) and they worked fine, parked up for a while, then set off again only to find them gradually getting slower and slower until finally stopping all together. We had a look at them, tried some of the suggestions we'd stumbled across on the forums (tightening the nut connecting the cable to the wiper motor, replacing the brushes, giving the motor a general once over.. Etc..) But each to no avail, they worked for a few swipes then gradually slowed to a halt again. We also found that using the wipers drained the battery extremely fast.
Now, the fun part. I took the old boy out for a drive Tuesday morning, and was hit suddenly by a heavy downpour of rain. Not good. Tried the wipers and they swiped twice, slowed and finally stopped in the middle of my view, then the car began to lose power and that was it, dead. In the middle of rush hour. On a busy road. Joy.
There was absolutely no power going to the ignition, so I called a friend to help, and they turned up with a charged battery. We replaced the old one, no difference. Waited three hours for the recovery guy and worked out a fuse had blown - turned out the wipers has shorted somewhere and had blown the ignition fuse.
We're going to take a look behind the dash sometime over the weekend to see if the wiring is okay, but to be honest, I think it's the motor. It's not the original, I think it's a two-speed that the previous owner had fitted, and the switch isn't original, it's some ghastly, ruddy huge knob that looks like it's been ripped out from a Land Rover.
Suggestions as to the cause of this issue would be more than appreciated, 'cos I'm pretty stumped!