Clicking at start and end of intermittent wipe, 2019 1.0tsi se-l

[Ceej]

Hi. Suddenly noticed this after 6 months of ownership back in October. It started after we put the heated seats on I think? Suddenly noticed a clicking at the start and end of the wiper stroke. Almost like you'd get in an older car?😀 Any thoughts? It doesn't make the click when the wipers are on constant. But it now does it every time we use the intermittents and it's blinking annoying. Thanks!

[nta16]

HI, welcome.

 

Are the heated seats factory fitted?

 

Do you get the clicking when the heated seats are switched but no clicking when heated seats are switched off?

 

Side note, do bear in mind when on the heated seats will put additional load on the alternator and battery so do keep an eye on your battery state of charge so that you don't get unexpected warning lights or messages, don't wait for the stop/start not available all the time because the battery is too low.

 

Internment on my 1973 car that I had up until a couple of years ago was pushing the dashboard rocker switch on and off.  😄

 

[Breezy_Pete]

It's the relay.

[nta16]

Relay was first thing to come to mind but AFAIK I've never heard/noticed any relay in my wife's 2015 Fabia, perhaps the 2019 car has a louder relay and less insulation to the sound on the car..

 

Unless you are hearing the relay with the engine and perhaps nothing else running at the time and your mind has locked on to this sound so you always hear it.

 

If you don't think it is the relay then perhaps posting a recording of the audio of the clicking.

 

Edited 23 January by nta16

[Ceej]

Hi. Thanks both. I remember being in cars in the olden days (:-)) and being told about relay noises and this does sound like that. It happens when the factory fitted heated seats are off too. 

Have read about the need to watch battery health. How do you do that?! Replace the battery every four years or something perhaps?

With regards it probably being the relay, is that something I can or need to fix? 

Thanks again. 

[Breezy_Pete]

7 minutes ago, Ceej said:

With regards it probably being the relay, is that something I can or need to fix? 

No; the relay will be soldered to the circuit board inside the BCM, and there's very little chance that replacing it would change the sound, in my opinion, it's just what relays do. 

 

Try to use continuous wiper mode whenever possible, as that eliminates the annoyance and reduces the wear and tear on that relay's contacts enormously too.

 

 

[Ceej]

By the way, will check the battery from time to time with a voltmeter. Thanks for the heads up. 

[nta16]

1 hour ago, Ceej said:

Hi. Thanks both. I remember being in cars in the olden days (:-)) and being told about relay noises and this does sound like that.

Depends on the old cars I would guess but for me I would have to had my head near the relays as general car noises or level of insulation would cover such a quiet noise, but I never had VW brands.

 

You could lift the wipers off the screen (follow instructions in Owner's manual to do this) then put the ignition on without the engine running and try to locate the area the noise originates from and if that is where the relay is located you have conformation.

 

1 hour ago, Ceej said:

Replace the battery every four years

If you want to, that is what VW want you to do.  AFAIK car batteries remain one of the most oversold car parts in the UK.  Batteries are expensive here and they are to be 'coded' in, more expense possibly.

 

46 minutes ago, Ceej said:

By the way, will check the battery from time to time with a voltmeter. Thanks for the heads up. 

Best to do it on the battery terminals 2 hours, 5 hours or next day (longer the better) from since you last ran the car.  Make sure all electrics (that can be) are turned off and allow for a drop of about 0.2v or 0.3v for any stuff the computers don't let you turn off.  An acceptable reading depends on the type of battery fitted (EFB/AGM) and a few other minor factors.

 

1 hour ago, Ceej said:

Replace the battery every four years or something perhaps?

The something else - something from the very olden days that will be making even bigger return as cars from 2019 and later age - battery chargers.  Now you would have an appropriate battery charger and maintainer and (as it always has been) best to do preventative charges when required rather than waiting for the battery to get too low.

 

There are loads of posts on this, many from me, on here and the site generally about this but if you want I can copy and paste some info here for you.  If you can take a landscape photo of your battery top that can help with battery type and its figures but it is not needed for general advice.

 

BTW for future posts or threads if you want to you can add your engine, gearbox, trim level and location, as for example only. -

Edited 23 January by nta16
typos

[Ceej]

Hey, thanks for all that. Much appreciated. 

[nta16]

What was the outcome, was it the relay clicking - or have you just learnt to live with it and no longer notice?

 

[Ceej]

Hi. There has been no change but as the noise is very similar to intermittent wiper clicks I heard in cars about 30 years ago I'm putting it down to the relay. Sure we had a very similar noise in an Austin Metro! But yes, a bit annoying but not the end of the world. The car came with a 12 month warranty from a Skoda garage so will book it in after 11 months (in April) and will update then. 

[Breezy_Pete]

Adding some sound insulation around that control unit is probably the best approach to minimising the annoyance.