Front windscreen Wipers Stopped Working Properly

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wiper
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Front windscreen Wipers Stopped Working Properly

Post by wiper »

Hi,

I have been running a Renault Clio 1.2 16V Rip Curl 5Dr Petrol Hatchback (2008) for over a year without issue, until now.

Recently I had my windscreen wipers on low/slow intermittent setting, then suddenly out of the blue they stopped in the middle of my windscreen.
I tried moving the stick down to try a faster setting and it also doesn't work.

The only way I can get my wipers to work is to set the on the fastest setting then they start moving quickly.
But as soon as I move the stick back up to the lower/intermittent setting the wipers stop (sometimes in the middle of the screen) and do not park/return to their start position.

I’ve also noticed now that sometimes when I leave the wipers set on the lower setting they tend to jerk a few cm every few seconds as if they want to move?

I am unsure what is causing the problem.

All I can think of is there’s something wrong with the wiper park sensor or maybe a dodgy relay or connection on the control stick?

I have had a look in the fuse box that is on the right side of the battery (under bonnet) to see if water had got in but it was dry as a bone. As I was worried the electrics may have got wet due to the ridiculous amount of rain we’ve had.

Has anyone had a similar problem. Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated! :o
uncle buck
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Joined: 10 Jan 2008, 19:53
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Re: Front windscreen Wipers Stopped Working Properly

Post by uncle buck »

Hi,
remove the plastic covers at the bottom of the windscreen and make sure the drain holes in the scuttle panel are clear and that the wiper rack isn't sitting in a pool of water. If it is or has been the motor part of the rack will have to be removed & dried out. Also the electrical connections will need to be dried and best give them a smear of grease to stop corrosion taking hold.


Cheers.
2006 C4 1.6 HDi 16V (92) non FAP
2001 Xsara II 1.4 LX
2001 Renault Laguna II 1.9dCi Sport Tourer
wiper
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Re: Front windscreen Wipers Stopped Working Properly

Post by wiper »

uncle buck wrote:Hi,
remove the plastic covers at the bottom of the windscreen and make sure the drain holes in the scuttle panel are clear and that the wiper rack isn't sitting in a pool of water. If it is or has been the motor part of the rack will have to be removed & dried out. Also the electrical connections will need to be dried and best give them a smear of grease to stop corrosion taking hold.


Cheers.
Thanks for the reply!

I'll give it a go tonight. Do I need to mark the position of the wipers relative to the wiper mounting points so that I can put them back on in exactly the same position?
Also do you know of any guides on how to take the scuttle panel off on a 2008 Renault Clio?
uncle buck
Posts: 591
Joined: 10 Jan 2008, 19:53
Location: UK - North east
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Re: Front windscreen Wipers Stopped Working Properly

Post by uncle buck »

As your wipers aren't self parking yes I would mark their position.

The wiper arms can be a very tight fit onto the splines and a puller tool is often needed to remove the arms.
Please be careful when working around the windscreen area, the last thing you need to to smash the screen !

I'm not sure how the plastics covers come off at the bottom of the windscreen as I've never worked on a Clio.

From what I've read on the subject of wipers problems on the clio, the wiper motor has normally been sitting in a pool of water and the water has got inside it. The pool of water is because the drain holes get blocked up easily, quite often the water gets into the car and causes problems with the electrics so you need to clean out the drain holes every now & then!

I found the article in the link below showing the problems with the wiper motor...its in french but you get the idea. The good news is if you dry the motor out they normally work again.

http://www.forum-auto.com/pole-techniqu ... 567140.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Same link but through google translate

http://translate.google.com/translate?s ... 567140.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Cheers.
2006 C4 1.6 HDi 16V (92) non FAP
2001 Xsara II 1.4 LX
2001 Renault Laguna II 1.9dCi Sport Tourer
Ronaldadams1
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Joined: 26 Aug 2018, 10:11
Location: Poitiers
My Cars: 2007 Clio dci

Re: Front windscreen Wipers Stopped Working Properly

Post by Ronaldadams1 »

I had the exact same problem with the wiper motor sitting in a pool of water but I drained it and the same problem happened with the wipers but only started months later. Anyway I did what was suggested and cleaned the contacts and added new grees and now they work like they should.

Thanks a lot for the info
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