Hi! This is my first technical question on this forum. I posted my introduction here a couple of weeks ago. My car is a 2007 Fabia Mk2 1.6 BTS Petrol, and i am having a few hiccups here and there on my car at the moment.

 

The most pressing one right now is a problem that the front windscreen wipers suddenly stop during the sweep in the middle of the windscreen and will no longer react to the stalk being moved. Some times if I wait a few minutes, I can get a 1 second response from the stalk to bring the wipers back down to initial position, but not long enough for a full sweep. Mostly the wipers don't react at all to the stalk being moved to any position after they've stopped. This has happened twice now, and both times, the next time i have started the car the problem has been gone. Needless to say, this is an absolute no-go when it rains properly. I am suspecting one of 5 possible causes for this:

 

1. Loose or corroded contact somewhere
2. A fuse about to burn out
3. The stalk going bad
4. The wiper mechanism is getting hard to turn causing some part to trigger an overload protection (other than the fuse)
5. An electrical component on some circuit board going bad

 

Anyone else had similar issues or a suggestion on where I'd be most likely to find the root cause of this? I did check the fuses that looked to me like candidates from the manual (if I remember correctly number 40 and 44) and they were fine.

Hi, I've never had this problem on a VW Group car, but to cover some of your list 2) fuses are either okay as far as the fusible part is concerned or it has blown open circuit. 3) stalks can go bad, but I thought that this applies to newer cars usually. 4) when the spindle bearings start to run dry with age etc, the wipers usually start to slow down quite a bit before thermal overload etc kicks in - have you noticed that the wipers sweep a lot slower than they used to, if so that would be a very cheap and easy fix to make?

Also as no doubt you know, there is a remote controller that switches the voltage to the wiper.

 

I think that you will need to work your way through all your listed options, all you need to do with respect to the fuses is to make sure that they are all fully seated in their slots, maybe a bit of a worry that you have had a major power issue though, hopefully that has not caused this (controller).

Check motor operation by connecting 12V directly to the appropriate pins. May be easier to do this from the cabin end of things, rather than in the scuttle area, will look at pin numbers/connectors later for you.

If that works on both speeds it may be the relay on the PCB of the onboard supply control unit:  https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/473170-wiper-relay-replacement/

 

 

I'll try this on my own car - tomorrow or Saturday - before suggesting anyone else does; but testing the motor appears to be as easy as unplugging the connector from this socket of the onboard supply unit, and connecting pin 3 to pin 4 on the loom connector with a (thickish) link wire for slow/normal speed wiper action, and pin 3 to pin 5 for high speed.  If you do decide to try this please note: pulling that connector does deprive the control unit of its main earth, so do it with engine off, keys out of ignition to minimise 'system confusion'. 

 

This unit lives above the accelerator pedal on RHD cars, above clutch pedal on LHD.

 

Edited 5 March, 20215 yr by Wino
Correcting pin numbers/speeds

To slightly undermine, albeit unintentionally, rum4mo's comment about fuses, (Sorry, run4mo) I have had MANY fuses and sometimes soldered joints, that when heated a little, expand and the contact is broken- no power! Cools again, -power is back so don't overlook the obvious. Change the fuse prior to any other work. Its a tiny, inexpensive item of which, most owners may already have a spare and/or they can be found in many shops, easily. Just be sure to check there is not more then one fuse serving the system. I doubt there are two but you never know. 

All tips appreciated. I did measure continuity on fuse 44, and could not spot a blown fuse. Will change it just in case as you say, mrgf. I was worried about the same thing.

 

@wino, just to make sure I haven't made myself unclear in the first post; the wipers will turn on and stay on for at least 10 minutes when I move the stalk after starting the car now. I am just worried it will fail after a random time running again since it has now done exactly that twice. I am quite sure the motor would turn on when given 12V directly. I'd still test it though, if you think it makes sense, but in my mind this would be more interesting at a moment when I have managed to provoke the failure again?

 

I had looked at that post, but it was in the mk1 section and was not sure the same wiper motor/supply unit solution was used in the mk2. I am no master solderer but know my way around, so I'd definitely try this if I could find a way to properly identify the failure.

if its running that long before stopping then its heat related.

swap the fuse for a known good one and see what happens

15 hours ago, Heis said:

but in my mind this would be more interesting at a moment when I have managed to provoke the failure again?

Yeah try it when they stop working next, you're effectively 'externalising' the relay operation by linking wires, so if it's the motor at fault, it still won't work by linking wires, but if it's the relay, it probably will. The wipers won't park by linking as described, they'll just keep running for as long as the link is there. Can't be done as an 'on the road' fix though, because pulling that connector does deprive the control unit of its main earth, so do it with engine off, keys out of ignition to minimise 'system confusion'. 

 

Have a look what access is like to the unit/connector. On mk1 Fabia it's a pain to get at cos of dash undercover trim, but on 9N Polo and I seem to remember mk2 Fabia it's not as covered up?

 

I did try it on my Polo (same wiring, same control unit as mk1 and early mk2 Fabia) this morning and it worked.  I got the speeds the wrong way round, it's pin 3 to pin 4 that gives normal speed, and that would be all you'd need to try I think.  I see from your intro that the car's done quite a lot of miles so it might just be the motor.

Only unexpected thing on mine was that the radio came on as soon as I unplugged that connector, off again when refitted. Haven't worked that out yet. 

 

 

Edited 18 December, 20205 yr by Wino

I am sure the failure will happen again any day now since it's been raining, so I will try connecting the wires then (of course with keys out). If I understand correctly, this connection will be live immediately even if the ignition and keys are off and out since pin 3 seems to go straight to fuse 44 and pin 4 goes through the wiper motor and ends up at "earth connection 6 at the main wiring harness" according to the wiring schematics.

 

Might even be an idea to pull fuse 44 before unplugging and using it as a switch?

8 minutes ago, Heis said:

If I understand correctly

Yep.

9 minutes ago, Heis said:

Might even be an idea to pull fuse 44 before unplugging and using it as a switch?

Could do, if you mean pull fuse, put link wire in between  connector pins 3 & 4, then refit fuse to test? 

Don't be surprised by a little arcing and sparking, especially on breaking the circuit, if the motor runs.

The wiper motor does have a bimetallic strip type thermal trip near to the brush connections, but I would expect that to self-reset fairly quickly after the motor stops, and the stalk is put back to the off position if it were that triggering.

Edited 18 December, 20205 yr by Wino

You are providing priceless info! Thanks a lot! I actually think this might be the solution. It does seem to reset, also during driving although usually I have probably not waited long enough for it to have prolonged function and would just trio again

was mean to say "trip again".  Was on mobile and I think I am not allowed to edit my posts yet. Sorry about that

I think there's a chance it really was the bi-metal thermal trip. I picked it all apart a few days ago, brushed off some rust and checked that the assembly was moving freely. I could not find any problems with the linkage itself, and put it all back together. What I did notice when picking it apart, was that the driver side mounting spike for the wiper arm was touching the edge of its hole in the plastic trim. I think my workshop may have put the trim on a bit out of position the last time they had it open. I clicked the trim back in in a better position. I had recently switched wiper blades to an off-brand, and maybe the combined resistance from the trim and the new blades was enough to trip the overheating protection in the motor. I have not been driving the car over Christmas, so I a not sure about this, but will report back. Thanks for all replies here, you provided some excellent information! If the fault returns, I will be sure to check the pins as suggested above

 

Wish everyone a happy Christmas still!

Hello Heis -

To revive an old thread... Did your fix turn out to be permanent?

I have had a very similar issue with 2008 petrol fabia mk2 - at first the front window wipers started to slow down and then cut out mid-swish. Like yourself, when I left the car turned off for a while the wipers would be working again for 10/minutes ish, then slow and stop again. Having left the car for a week or so, the wipers now don't work at all. (I took the wipers apart to look under scuttle and inspect motor - the wipers weren't working after I replaced them but I hadn't checked if they were working before I took them to pieces).

I have checked the fuses mentioned above and also used a multimeter to measure voltage in DC from the connector to the motor - it was showing around 12V at one contact. Am I right to think that this rules out relay/switch/electical issues and is more likely a linkage/motor fault, or could it still be the relay?

Note: The washer fluid skooshers work, but the rear wiper hasn't worked for a while (but sometimes turns on when I go over a bump). I couldn't hear any noise from engine when I had the scuttle off to look.
Thanks,
F

Edited 3 October, 20253 Oct by westofskoda