Dodgy Wipers

[baldy tommo]

Help required. front and rear washers stopped working but plenty off water in the bottle. then front wipers stopped working. the rear one works fine but also works when i pull the stalk towards me to operate the front one.checked the fuse for the front wipers and it is fineAny suggestions welcome before i get out my hammer and multimeter.:eek:

[TDi Vrs]

have they got filters in the washer bottle attached to the pump the bmw's have them this way and get clogged up all the time, just a thought.

[ric04vrs]

check the bonnet , it might not be closed properly

[Captain Sisko]

Not sure on Skodas but I had the rear wiper die on my former Astra once after a 2 week break but that was an easy replacement.

The wiper washers were weakening which I thought was due to me putting too much screenwash in.

[kebaros]

The exact same thing happened to me today, front wipers are dead, rear one is working fine. Thing is there is no sound at all when trying to wash the front or rear screen and the fuses are fine. Also the service spanner came on even though the car was serviced last month!

Maybe its to do with the cold weather?

[cheezemonkhai]

Suggest you top the washer bottle up with some warm water and make sure the screenwash is strong enough

[Decron]

Suggest you top the washer bottle up with some warm water and make sure the screenwash is strong enough

I was just abou to say the same. The fact it's getting down to about -5 in places seems to completely mystify some people

[kebaros]

-6 this morning here. I've dropped car off at garage so see what they make of it

[cheezemonkhai]

I had a bottle of screen wash in a tank and you could tell that was on it's limits this morning.

I've just gone and put a bottle of VAG screenwash in there and a bottle of water so that would make it about 1:2.5 screenwash to water.

Apparently that should be good for something close to -16 :eek:

[kebaros]

But why would frozzed water in screenwash stop the wipers from working? Is the water bottle not heated or is that just the jets?

Did anyone have this problem last year?

[DriveMeBananas]

I learned my lesson the first winter with my first fabia.

Strong concentration of screen wash and don't touch the wipers when it is freezing.

I went through half a dozen fuses.

I now keep the bottles topped up with the stongest premixed screenwash I can find. No water going in there until may.

The screen wash and the wipers are on the same fuse.

[kebaros]

Just phoned local Skoda dealer and they have had 10 in today with same problem

Hopefully thats all mine is!

[RiCh_vRS]

I've had the same thing happen to my car since Monday.

When i pull the wiper stick towards me i cant get any screenwash at all. All that happens is that the rear wiper turns on. :thumbdwn:

I take it replacing the fuses will sort it?

I think i will buy some proper screen wash and keep it concentrated and topped up over the next few weeks, cuz its very very cold and i cant see though my windscreen

[kwacka]

I've had the same thing happen to my car since Monday.

When i pull the wiper stick towards me i cant get any screenwash at all. All that happens is that the rear wiper turns on. :thumbdwn:

I take it replacing the fuses will sort it?

I think i will buy some proper screen wash and keep it concentrated and topped up over the next few weeks, cuz its very very cold and i cant see though my windscreen

should be fuse no 15, I think called window wiper control, older cars had 5 amp fuses, newer ones upped to 10 amps, always keep a few handy in winter

[RiCh_vRS]

should be fuse no 15, I think called window wiper control, older cars had 5 amp fuses, newer ones upped to 10 amps, always keep a few handy in winter

Thanks, will get some tomorrow morning and some for spares.

Any ideas how much the $tealers charge for them?

[mikew1973]

Same thing happened to my Skoda today - did the fuse sort it?

If so could someone tellme where the fuses are and what one i need to change, thanks

Mike

[McSwanky]

Fuse should sort it mate, you'll need a 10A mini-blade fuse which you can get at Maplins (maybe Halfords if you're lucky - I wasn't).

Fuse box is under a plastic panel inside of the driver's door, check your manual (p 232 or something) to see how to get at it and how the fuses are arranged. (NB the manual has the fuse box for a LHD car so you'll need to either reverse the diagram in your head or go to Stu's site Fabia-vrs.com - Home Page and get the useful diagram from there.) You need to check fuse 15, should be fairly obvious if its gone.

Cheers

[kebaros]

Thanks, will get some tomorrow morning and some for spares.

Any ideas how much the $tealers charge for them?

I went to a independent motor supplies place and got a few packs of mixed fuses, i think they were £3 for 15 i think or something like that - pocket change - get a few packs and keep them in your car along with a flat edged screw driver (for getting into the fuse panel). Make sure you get the mini blade fuses because i got the normal ones and had to go back and swap them (mini ones were cheaper then the normal siuzed ones )

I printed out VRS Stu's (Fabia-vrs.com - Home Page) fuse diagram too and also keep that in the car and it is fuse 15 that blows when its nippy outside.

[rallyrider]

The fuse on my wife's has blown twice in the past week. It's an x-reg and has a 5 amp fuse - would it be safe to swap it for a 10 amp one?

[cheezemonkhai]

That all depends on how thick the wire is. I'd be amazed if the wire didn't have a tollerance on it though so if you can find a 7.5 Amp fuse you could try that.

You really do however need to find out why it is popping fuses like that. I'd suggest that if it is the washer function causing it to trip the fuse then you should make the screenwash stronger.

[kwacka]

That all depends on how thick the wire is. I'd be amazed if the wire didn't have a tollerance on it though so if you can find a 7.5 Amp fuse you could try that.

You really do however need to find out why it is popping fuses like that. I'd suggest that if it is the washer function causing it to trip the fuse then you should make the screenwash stronger.

I think you'll find it's 'another one of those things'. It isn't just the washers - switching wipers on if they're frozen will do it. It's prefectly ok if everything is thawed out first, I have an older model with a 5A fuse, thought about putting 10A in but found it wasn't necessary once you know what to do.

[mattandy]

Ha! For some reason I read the thread title as Dodge Vipers. Imagine my confusion when it turned out everyone was talking about windscreen wipers

[rum4mo]

But why would frozzed water in screenwash stop the wipers from working? Is the water bottle not heated or is that just the jets?

Did anyone have this problem last year?

Spot on, the washer bottle is not heated on any car (that I know of). At this time of year you really need to beef up the concentration of washer fluid to avoid the mixture sludging or even freezing - its just common sense I'm afraid! Give youself protection down to at least -10C to keep out of trouble - premix the solution so that dilution does not "happen", all basic stuff really.

[rallyrider]

Wiper concentration thickened, fingers crossed for the next freezing weather.

Cheers

[AndyPandy]

on the subject of wire sizes , the wire fitted to the wiper circuit would handle 50 amps if required --BUT there are other things to be considered such as :-

is it in a loom with other wires- is it inside the car-how long this current was to flow. The fuse is the weakest link on purpose ,I would try and diagnose the fault before ever thinking of raising the value of the fuse. I would put a 20 D.C . ammeter (can be part of part of an all purpose multimeter) in the wiper circuit,and monitor the current.There are some diagnostic meters where the end of the lead have the same contacts and dimensions as a fuse, which makes for easier faultfinding , just remember there will be no low value fuse in the circuit at this time ,you will have to rely on the meter fuse (normally 20 amp), or at worst the meter internals !. This is still better than the car wiring being damaged. The initial current would be high to get the mechanics turning,but should drop ,shortly afterwards.