Intermittent wiper not working

[DaveW]

On the way to the MOT test the intermittent wiper control on the Xantia quit (MKII 1.8, 16v, W reg) .
Not a great worry as I knew this was not an MOT fail but I would like to get the function back.
Anyone know which of the relays (under dash) is the one responsible for this?
All the other positions on the stalk work OK.

Dave.

[Old-Guy]

Oh, Fun! Oh, Joy! Been there done that (on a S1 estate). The layout of the 'relays' on the under-dash panel on S1 cars is not reliably documented anywhere as I know to my cost. It took me months to sort out this problem on my car. The only reliable indication is the colour of the front wiper relay/timer unit - you're looking for a bright blue one. You'll have to remove the trim panel to see all the units - mine is hidden away attached to the forward edge of the relay plate, somewhere beyond and above my right toes.

I've uploaded two PDF files (Relay Identification and Wash/Wipe Relay Repair) to my Xantia web page (http://www.attfield.dircon.co.uk/xantia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) which should explain all the essentials. Beware, I can't stop the idiot link generator from 'correcting' the spelling of xantia with a capital X to create a non-existent page address, just edit the URL to replace the capital X in Xantia with a lower-case x.

[DaveW]

Old-Guy,

Many thanks, that's excellent.
I shall don my contortionist persona (creaky joints permitting) and dig out the relay at the earliest opportunity.

Dave (another 'old guy' !)

[NAM]

My intermittent function works some of the time but I have to move to the regular function and then drop it down and it works. There is a clicking noise but to be honest I haven't investigated. Am I heading for the same problem?

Nige

[CitroenCrazy]

I've had 2 estates with the same problem vis a vis intermittent rear wipe that's even more intermittent than it should be.
The fix is free, as long as you have a soldering iron.

Mounted on the wiper motor assembly is a blue relay. This develops dry joints around the solder tags on the base of the relay.
All you need to do is re-solder them & normal service is resumed.

I have some pictures, which I'll post a bit later on

[DaveW]

Well I had a poke around under the dash and found the relay. Problem is that it is mounted behind, and is separate from, the main relay frame (though the socket appears to be attached to it), almost touching the wheel arch, and the mount for the socket has a lot of flexibility. There does not appear to be any clip holding it into the socket but, due to the flexing, all of my attempts to pull it out failed - normally you can wiggle as you pull to help break the grip of the socket.
The good news is all the jiggling about must have moved the relay's contact 'pins' in the socket enough to clear any oxidation/corrosion (or re-establish an internal connection) and this has restored the intermittent wipe function. This may only be temporary so I will have to sort it out properly at some time.


Dave.

[Old-Guy]

Sounds like the same arrangement as mine - I seem to remember that I had to unplug several other relays (take a photo first) to get at the mounting screw through the metal tag of the wash/wipe relay, then when I'd undone it, I lifted the tag out of its slot, then pulled the relay with plug down so I could get a hand on each to pull them apart.

The good news is all the jiggling about must have moved the relay's contact 'pins' in the socket enough to clear any oxidation/corrosion (or re-establish an internal connection) and this has restored the intermittent wipe function. This may only be temporary so I will have to sort it out properly at some time.

I fear all you've done is get a broken solder connection to touch (very temporarily). I bet by the time you read this, the intermittent wipe function has stopped working again!

[DaveW]

The relay has a different casing to the one illustrated on your Xantia pages - does not have a metal tag so that's not the problem. There is a lime green coloured relay in front of it but even with that removed I still could not pull the blue one out. As I explained, the socket flexes up, down and sideways and there is no way to get a grip on it when trying to remove the relay. Next time I'm under there I will see if I can get a small screwdriver blade between the relay and socket to lever it out bit at a time but it's in a really awkward position as you know. Looks like it has been added as an afterthought despite the fact that there are empty sockets on the main relay board.
Just got back from a 50 mile journey and the intermittent still works but I'm half expecting it to quit again sometime.


Dave.