Problems with Front Wipers.

[Sloth]

Hello all,

Having a few issues with my front wipers at the moment on my 2002 Toledo. Sometimes I'll switch them on, and nothing will happen, they just won't move. I'll leave them switched on, and manually give them a nudge and hey presto they start working again for the remainder of the journey. Sometimes, they'll just work fine when I first get in the car.

Any suggested diagnosis? Could it be the linkage getting a bit sticky? What's the best way of checking? Is it just worth getting another unit from a breakers, and do mk4 golf ones fit?

Cheers in advance!

Sloth

 

[Slimy]

This is something I've noticed on mine. I normally leave mine set to auto wipe, so the rain sensor can do it's job. But sometimes it doesn't kick in when it's pouring with rain. If I click them off and then back to auto though, it'll start 'sensing' and then work fine.

On mine it appears to be something wrong with the controller rather than the linkage, although for the sake of a quick 'down and up' at the start of a wet journey I tend to just put up with it.

If you have had a windscreen replaced, check that the sensor is still covered with gel as a dry sensor will not work properly.

 

[Sloth]

Thanks for your reply, unfortunately I don't have the rain sensitive wipers fitted on my Toledo as it's just an 1.9TDI SE spec!

Cheers

 

[Slimy]

In which case I reckon it'll be the switch gear in the steering column rather than the linkage. Remove the column cowls and see if the wiring is damaged or loose. It may also be the wiper relay, although I can't remember where that is.

A sticky linkage usually makes the wipers run slow, or stop in a mid position. Yours sound like they move quite freely once they start moving?

 

[AP_V5]

Its quite common on this platform for the spindles to seize where they enter the linkage, they may need stripping and re-greasing.

 

[d4n]

my linkage recently needed lubing as it had completly seized. it started by the wipers going slower and slower until they just went up 1 day and wouldnt come back down without a helping hand. if they move fine once youve gave them a nudge i doubt its the linkage.

 

[Sloth]

As some closure to this, I took the whole linkage apart and lubricated it back up again, I've not had any issues since then. Think it was just getting a little stiff and struggling to make the initial wipe. Job took about an hour in total, but did manage to smash up the clear bit of plastic that shows the VIN number which was major annoying!

 

[Muttley]

Those clear plastic windows get brittle very quickly. It's the only way of seeing the chassis stamp to verify that the tin matches the documents.

If you break it, though, you should seal the break with something like clear tape, otherwise water will get into the tray where the ECU sits: not good.

 

[Sloth]

Good advice, think I taped mine up, but better go check...

 

[dhart600]

Cheap fix for wiper problems

Hi

wiper issues with seats (most of them ---- and vw'z) are due to water ingress behind the spindle seals.

Its an easy fix, especially if they are slow (ie before the welds fail on the brackets)

Remove scuttle cover and nuts on the wiper arms

Use a puller on the arms to get them off (usually quite stiff)

Remove motor mechanism afte unplugging harness (obviously) -just a couple of nuts

Remove circlip from spindles and refit nuts to the - refit nuts to they ate proud of spindle threads the tap them through with a soft face hammer (a normal one with cardboard will do)

Clean spindle faces and grease well (any grease will do - i use copper slip)

Stick it back together in reverse order

Mine has 250k on the clock and has done over 150k since doing this and are still working perfectly

Cheers

Hello all,

Having a few issues with my front wipers at the moment on my 2002 Toledo. Sometimes I'll switch them on, and nothing will happen, they just won't move. I'll leave them switched on, and manually give them a nudge and hey presto they start working again for the remainder of the journey. Sometimes, they'll just work fine when I first get in the car.

Any suggested diagnosis? Could it be the linkage getting a bit sticky? What's the best way of checking? Is it just worth getting another unit from a breakers, and do mk4 golf ones fit?

Cheers in advance!

Sloth

 

[Nazlfc]

Hi Everyone I've just come back from 2 garages and both are saying its the motor as well as the linkage. I have the same problem where the wipers go very slowly and then stick halfway quarter way on the way down. They then don't work for about 30-40 seconds then do the same when they move again. This happens no matter what settings the wipers are set to.

Please can anyone kindly let me know if it is the motor as well as the linkage or is it simply linkage as reported in the all these forums citing this being a common fault on tollys. Mines 2001 Y reg 1.9 TDI SE.

I'm worried if is the motor as well as the linkage as it sounds as that could be quite expensive. Out of interest how much have people who have ended up buying the linakge paid for it and what would the motor cost in the event it is genuinely the motor. All the mechanics saw was the way the wipers were moving and did not do any other inspections do diagnose.

Any help and advice will greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Slimy]

I paid £25 for a motor plus linkage off Ebay. It's much more likely to be the linkage, although if the linkage is bad enough it will have burnt out the motor.

I only used the spindles in the end, the rest of it is gathering dust in the garage. If you're local you're welcome to come collect it, no charge.

 

[Nazlfc]

Thanks Slimy, may take the offer up if I'm struggling to get hold of one. I'm near Manchester so I'll see how I go nearby first.

 

[Nazlfc]

Update to the wiper problems that I have posted above from yesterday.

Drove the car on the motorway for about an hour this morning where there was persistent rainfall. I used the wipers and they appeared to be working much better I.e. They were running smoothly with a slight judder on the way down and did not stick midway on the windscreen at all (wiper blades may need changing as well as there is slight straking on the windscreen). This clearly implies to me that the motor is working (unless I've got it wrong completely) The 2 garages that I had gone to on Saturday insisted its the motor and linkage that is failing. After witnessing the wipers functionality this morning I'm unsure if the diagnosis is correct. Any ideas anyone? I'm not sure I should be opening the wiper mechanism up to clean up the spindles as I fear I may break things but the garages seem to me like they just want to replace the part(s) rather than attempt to clean and grease the spindles which has worked for many people on this forum.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Muttley]

It's not really possible to tell by remote diagnosis, we'd have to look at the parts, listen to the motor, and still end up making a guess.

Continuing to use the wipers with stiff spindles will eventually break the motor. We can't tell how far yours has gone. If it were me, I'd begin by pulling out the wiper frame, disassembling the spindles and greasing them, as dhart600 recommended above. You will be able to tell if the spindles are sticky once you've got them free of the motor.

 

[Nazlfc]

It's not really possible to tell by remote diagnosis, we'd have to look at the parts, listen to the motor, and still end up making a guess.

Continuing to use the wipers with stiff spindles will eventually break the motor. We can't tell how far yours has gone. If it were me, I'd begin by pulling out the wiper frame, disassembling the spindles and greasing them, as dhart600 recommended above. You will be able to tell if the spindles are sticky once you've got them free of the motor.

Thanks Muttley,

How easy is it to pull out the wiper frame? I'm worried that I may break something in the process of removing it.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Muttley]

dhart600 has already described it.

http://elsaweb.spaghetticoder.org/doc/S.en-GB.S01DDXX88/28689940/3

http://elsaweb.spaghetticoder.org/doc/S.en-GB.S01DDXX88/28689941/3

 

[Slimy]

It's a really easy job, usually a bit mucky as it'll be coated in god knows what muck and debris. But the whole thing comes out as one.

It's a much harder job to separate the spindles, especially if they're how we expect them to be.

 

[Nazlfc]

Thanks guys will have a look when I get a chance. Managed to find a linkage with motor nearby for £30.00. I might buy this just as a backup.

 

[Muttley]

Check the condition of the second-hand linkage - it may be as bad as the one you have now.