Hi, this is my first post here but I have used Briskoda for a long time and have found it an invaluable source of info and how-to guides and thought it was about time I gave something back

Even though I always use VAG screenwash at the correct mixture which prevents the washer bottle freezing, sometimes the washer jets eventually freeze up So before winter is upon us I looked into this and now have heated washer jets with an OE-style harness fitted to my Octavia MK1 vRS.

Found it strange that Skoda didn't offer it as an option in the UK or as an after-sale upgrade even though they sell the necessary parts.

Thanks to Savilles Skoda (Kidderminster) for giving me a wiring diagram for the heated washer jets. It shows that they are connected to switched-live with a 5 Amp fuse in postion 17 of the fusebox.

First off, please take precautions with cars electrics and if in doubt get someone qualified to do it for you if unsure. Do this at your own risk. I find an electric multimeter very useful.

List of parts used:

2x 5J0 955 986 -heated washer jet (£8.75+vat each)

For harness sockets:

2x 1J0 973 702 -flat contact housing (£1.95+vat each)

2x 000 979 131A -repair wire (£1.77+vat each)

4x 3B0 972 742B -yellow wiring seal (£0.41+vat each)

Pic of jet

Pic of socket parts

To make a socket cut one of the repair wires in half so that you now have two wires each with a contact on the end. Then slide the yellow seals over each wire and up to the connector. They are a very tight fit but they will go on. Or forget about them and seal with a bit of silicone. Next the wires need to go into the housing. There is a purple lock clip in the socket which needs to be unlocked. Use a small flat-tip screwdriver to move it a couple of millimeters. Push the wire in and return the purple clip to the locked position.

The completed socket, note that the yellow seals should go in further than this and should be flush. Just make sure that the seals are right up the wire before pushing the wire home.

Once you have two wired up sockets they can be connected up to some wires to make the harness. I used 6 Amp rated wire.

Then wrap the harness with insulating tape to tidy it up.

Next up, to allow easy access to fit the jets and harness I removed the wiper arms and pulled the plastic scuttle plates off. No pics, sorry, but I am sure there is info around on how to do this.

The old jets just push out easily, disconnect the hose and fit the new jets. Connect up the harness to the plugs on the jets and secure the harness with cable ties keeping it away from the wiper mechanism.

The ends of the harness now needs to get through the bulkhead. I tried to get them down the grommet for the bonnet release cable but could not do it. Instead I pierced the big cable grommet to the right of this and fed the wires through to behind the dash. Put some silicone sealant around the harness cable to seal the hole you have created in the grommet.

Another option would be to run the cable to some grommets that I believe are on the bulkhead behind the glovebox. This would mean removing the glovebox and running the harness behind the centre console to get to drivers side.

Make sure the washer hoses are fitted and if everything connected and tidy. Put the scuttle plates back on, followed by the wiper arms.

Because I was looking for an OE setup I wanted to connect my harness to the fusebox. But it could be done by using an in-line fuse connected to switched-live and finding a good ground point.

To enable access for wiring up the harness I removed the under dash panel (2 Torx screws).

Then removed the headlight switch (push in and turn to lock and then pull out) and pull off the connector block.

Ease out the dash illumination/headlight adjuster dials and pull off the connector.

Then remove the plastic surround that these switches sat in, this allows access to a Torx screw which should be removed. There are another three Torx screws , one underneath and two more behind the fusebox cover. There are also two more Torx screws holding the fusebox which are located at the top and bottom of the box.

The lower dash panel can now be removed.

I used a different Repair Wire 000 979 133 (£1.77+vat), cut it in half to provide two connectors and a 5 Amp mini blade-fuse(N10261501) to fit into an empty fuse slot, location 17 on mine.

These Golf Mk4/5 guides show how to unlock the connector block to fit the wires. Thanks to these posters

Golf MK4 fuse box

Golf 5 fusebox

Then connect one of the fuse wires to the live harness wire, and the other fuse wire to a switched-live cable. I tapped into the black and red cable on the headlight connector block. The blue wire-tap connector in photo.

The ground wire from the harness was connected to the large nut grounding point in the photo.

All connected up, pic of under dash before tidying up and putting panels and switches back in.

Well all put back together and everything working, now ready for winter and no more frozen washer jets

As I said this is my first post here and I hope that the photos and links work, and that someone will find this useful.

Cheers

Bloody brilliant write up well done.

Question for you. Are you Rob or bowders undercover lol

Bloody brilliant write up well done.

Question for you. Are you Rob or bowders undercover lol

Thanks

Nope, just me, but nice to be considered in such good company

Excellent write up.

I will just have to see how much my dealer wants to shaft me for the parts. Given their recent pricing structure of £3.00+vat for an o-ring, when someone else got one from their local a Skoda dealer for £1+vat :-(

Excellent write up.

I will just have to see how much my dealer wants to shaft me for the parts. Given their recent pricing structure of £3.00+vat for an o-ring, when someone else got one from their local a Skoda dealer for £1+vat :-(

Thanks very much

The prices I quoted were from the Skoda dealer named in the guide. When getting prices for the repair wires check it is for a single wire and not for a minimum quantity of five. My local dealer sold them to me individually even though he had to buy five at a time

Thanks very much

The prices I quoted were from the Skoda dealer named in the guide. When getting prices for the repair wires check it is for a single wire and not for a minimum quantity of five. My local dealer sold them to me individually even though he had to buy five at a time

I will have to give my dealer credit for ordering a pack of 5 bolts and then selling me only 2 of them...

Only had a quick glance at the wiring side, I assume you are sourcing an ignition +ve feed from the headlight switch, and then routing that via the fuse panel? Does anyone know how long these units last before they fail? I am wondering if an additional switch (or even pulling the fuse during the summer months) might be worthwhile?

I will have to give my dealer credit for ordering a pack of 5 bolts and then selling me only 2 of them...

Only had a quick glance at the wiring side, I assume you are sourcing an ignition +ve feed from the headlight switch, and then routing that via the fuse panel? Does anyone know how long these units last before they fail? I am wondering if an additional switch (or even pulling the fuse during the summer months) might be worthwhile?

That's how I wired it up. I believe a seperate switch isn't required because the heating element reacts to the ambient temperature. A property of the PTC material as described in this I copied from wiki:-

PTC ceramic: This material is named for its Positive Thermal Coefficient of resistance. Most ceramics have a negative coefficient; most metals, a positive one. While metals do become slightly more resistant at higher temperatures, this class of ceramics (often barium titanate and lead titanate composites) has a highly nonlinear thermal response, so that it becomes extremely resistant above a composition-dependent threshold temperature. This behavior causes the material to act as its own thermostat, since current passes when it is cool, and does not when it is hot. Thin films of this material are used in automotive rear-window defrost heaters, and honeycomb-shaped elements are used in more expensive hair dryers and space heaters.

Therefore it should only heat up when it gets cold

As for lifespan I would think the wiring is more likely to corrode before the ceramic breaks.