Bit of a strange one.

If i put my window wipers on so they're not intermittent there's never an issue.
When i put them on for intermittent intervals they act strange on all of the delay settings

Lets say it's the slowest setting. You usually get a few normal sweeps with correct delay but they all of a sudden rather than 1 sweep ever 6 seconds it'll do 4 all in a row then stop for 6 seconds again and it does this on and off.

When on the intermittent setting the dashboard will occasionally flicker in sync with the wiper swipe. If i have cruise control or my rear heated window on, this flicker / power issue causes them to turn off.

Has anyone else had or heard of this issue before? I'm suspecting it's the wiper control stalk.

There is a switch on the bonnet lock that prevents intermittent wipe working when the bonnet is open. Might be worth checking it's not causing problems with bonnet closed as they have been known to fail.

The flickering and 'self' switching off of things sounds like a low voltage thing. Do you have a battery charger you could use for a top-up? Does the battery light come on with ignition and then go out when engine starts?

Not sure you can hear it on a Fabia, due to extra under-dash trim, but on the Polo you can hear a relay clicking on and off within the onboard supply control unit when the wipers are on intermittent, try to listen for that and see if the clicks match the odd behaviour of the wipers, if so, the relay may be sticking in the 'on' position sometimes?

Edited 2 March, 201610 yr by Wino

There is a switch on the bonnet lock that prevents intermittent wipe working when the bonnet is open. Might be worth checking it's not causing problems with bonnet closed as they have been known to fail.

That's for the advise and picture. What would be the best way to check if it's failed?

I opened the bonnet a little and tried the wipers and they don't come on. Closed bonnet and they work fine so assuming it's ok?

 

The flickering and 'self' switching off of things sounds like a low voltage thing. Do you have a battery charger you could use for a top-up? Does the battery light come on with ignition and then go out when engine starts?

Not sure you can hear it on a Fabia, due to extra under-dash trim, but on the Polo you can hear a relay clicking on and off within the onboard supply control unit when the wipers are on intermittent, try to listen for that and see if the clicks match the odd behaviour of the wipers, if so, the relay may be sticking in the 'on' position sometimes?

I don't think it's a low voltage thing with the battery. Battery light comes on with the ignition only then goe soff when i start it. Always turns over quickly even with lights, heated seats etc on. 

Sometimes when i turn on the rear wiper, the fronts will come on for a few swipes as well, that's what got me thinking dodgy stalk.

I can hear the relay clicking on the intermittent setting but when the dash lights dim and when they don't dim the relay click sounds the same.

Thanks for the responses

That's for the advise and picture. What would be the best way to check if it's failed?

I opened the bonnet a little and tried the wipers and they don't come on. Closed bonnet and they work fine so assuming it's ok?

 

Yeah, sounds like the switch might be OK then. As you say, it might be the stalk.

My 2006 Fabia 1.2HTP does exactly the same thing.

Not any help to you but mine does this to a lesser degree

Mine will sometimes do 2 or 3 sweeps instead of 1 on intermittent wipe and dash will flicker but will be ok 90% of the time.

Oddly enough mine has also started doing this, flicker of lights on wipe with an extra couple of wipes for good measure.

 

I have got used to it now and will probably leave alone unless it gets worse.

 

I have a 2006 1.2 HTP.

That's for the advise and picture. What would be the best way to check if it's failed?

I opened the bonnet a little and tried the wipers and they don't come on. Closed bonnet and they work fine so assuming it's ok?

I don't think it's a low voltage thing with the battery. Battery light comes on with the ignition only then goe soff when i start it. Always turns over quickly even with lights, heated seats etc on.

Sometimes when i turn on the rear wiper, the fronts will come on for a few swipes as well, that's what got me thinking dodgy stalk.

I can hear the relay clicking on the intermittent setting but when the dash lights dim and when they don't dim the relay click sounds the same.

Thanks for the responses

Not quite what I meant with the clicking.

Each time the wipers do an intermittent wipe the relay clicks once at the start of the sweep and again at the end. When it misbehaves and does more than one wipe, presumably you don't hear that second click? (Until it's done as many extra sweeps as it feels like).

Edited 5 March, 201610 yr by Wino

Thanks, and yes you're right.

When it decides to do many sweeps, rather than just 1 it doesn't click until after it's finished it's last sweep and it's when i get that click the dash flickers and cruise control / heated rear window cuts off.

The reason i was thinking it's the stalk is because when i put on the rear window washer sometimes, the front wipers come on for a few sweeps also.

It does sound like there's something funny going on with the stalk, but I'm not convinced that that isn't unrelated.

I think the relay contacts that switch the intermittent wiping on and off may be a bit worn out. Trouble is, that relay is soldered onto the circuit board of the onboard supply control unit and isn't straightforward to replace, unless you're pretty handy with soldering/PCB rework.

Think I'd try a different stalk first to see.

Edited 5 March, 201610 yr by Wino

Hi, 

 

I can see, that this thread is at bit old by now - TS, did you ever find a solution/fix for your problem? I am experiencing the exact same thing, and the flickering of dash lights, the turning off rear window heater and the extra wipes I can live with - my biggest problem however, is that occasionally it takes out the cruise control as well. Two days ago I was going uphill with a fully loaded trailer with a bunch of cars behind me, when all of a sudden the cruise control went out of service. And that I cannot live with. 

As far as I can tell, it is always (strangely enough) when the wipers come to a halt in intermittent setting, I hear the click from the relay, but the wiper instantly takes one more sweep after that. 

 

Regards, 

 

Simon, Denmark

Mine does strange things with the rear wiper, it comes on sometimes and just keeps going for some reason

The front wipers cause the interior light to flicker slightly when on intermittent wipe

 

And its a 2006 1.2 HTP