BX wiper blades tearing.

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tomsheppard
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BX wiper blades tearing.

Post by tomsheppard »

I'm getting fed up with wiper blades failing.
Bosch from a/s- three weeks
Bosch from Halfords- three weeks
Unbranded refill from local accessory shop- three weeks.
They all start to smear after a week, despite the screen being cleaned with the sort of solvents that you aren't even allowed to know about prior to fitting the blade.
They all tear after three weeks.
Any ideas why?
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Post by RichardW »

Tom,
My DTR used to eat wiper blades (not as fast as yours though!). I reckoned it was due to the windscreen being quite heavily scratched by the wiper blades. This has been borne out by our ZX which suffers the same. You can only really see the scratches at night (oncoming lights defract). The Xantia, which had a new screen about 20,000 miles ago, does not suffer the same (that just has juddery wipers....). My suggestion is to put a hammer through the screen and get a new one. Oh, check your insurance first [8)]
The best thing for getting rid of smearing on windscreens is the Clearalex powder you put in the washers - I have no idea what's in it, but it really works - even on heavily scratched BX screens [}:)] I used to clean the screen every week or so, but never did it all in the 8 months after I started using Clearalex (it takes a while to clean the screen back at first though!).
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Post by Kowalski »

If you're going through wiper blades in quantity, Lidl had horrible cheap ones in as a special for £1.49 a pair.
Personally on my Xantia, I use nothing but Bosch blades with the spoiler, but I get a reasonable life out of them. I've not had any other brand of wiper that was as good as the Bosch, and I've tried a few different brands.
If you're using a petroleum based solvent to clean your screen, it might be leaving a residue that damages the rubber of the wiper blades. Isopropyl alcohol or meths would be the best thing to clean the glass with since both are water soluble and can be cleaned off completely before the wiper gets coated in it.
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Post by bxbodger »

I solved this problem by getting rid of the absolutely useless wiper mounted spray bar, and fitting two proper twin-jet washers to the bonnet- with a daily motorway commute they are essential on winter nights- probably the best cheapo improvement you can make to a BX.
I think what happens is that the spray-bar can't shift enough water for a wash'n,wipe of a dirty screen, and a lot of the wipers arc is done dry-no good for the wiper or the screen!
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Post by Kowalski »

Spray jets get a big area of the the glass wet before the blades get there, the spray bar only sprays a small distance in front of the wiper so you get a wet stripe.
The Xantia has Jets on the front and a wiper mounted spray at the rear, the rear takes quite a few wipes before it gets the whole width of its wipe wet and a bit longer to get it clean where as the fronts will be wet and clean within two strokes.
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Post by bernie »

I've got exactly the same problem with my BX TZD.[}:)]
I tried PJ's and Bosch from GSF as you say perfect for a week then downhill rapidly till I would not go out on a drizzly night.[}:)]
I've recently gone over to contact lenses from SPECSAVERS and that made it worse.[:(!]
I then tried a new PUG 405 wiper blade c/w new spraybar from GSF £6 (fits straight on and gives a bigger sweep) at first brilliant[:)], more screen wiped and a better water spray but then that too started smearing.[}:)]
I've tried alsorts of cleaning, halfcut potatoes works best[:0], but still smeared.[}:)]
My screen was/is badly pitted.[xx(]
I came to the conclusion about 6 months ago that a new screen was required.[:(!]
Soooooooooooooo
I went and bought a Xantia and my wipers are perfect[:)]
Tom, either replace your screen(which does go on your insurance record,I know) or buy a XANTIA[:D]
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Post by tomsheppard »

OK, that makes some sort of sense. I have screen cover and needed to claim on it once, two years ago. Now my insurers add a very hefty excess on the screen.
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Post by pwatson »

I had terrible problems on my TGD with smearing, to the extent that at night the car was virtually undriveable. Worst was in France on a long wte journey (drizzle rather than heavy rain)and despite stopping to clean screen several times on one journey it got no better. I had always used Bosch wipers. Next day in desperation I went to French supermarket, bought some of their own brand wipers and had no problems - lovely clean screen. A year later I replaced these - with Bosch - the terrible smearing returned. I've never used Bosch since and have never had any problems with smearing - except if I use Halfrauds screenwash! Now use Carplan - v. cheap from Woollies! Excellent stuff. And I change blades every 6 months whether needed or not - but then French supermarket blades are only about £4 per set
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Post by alan s »

I only seem to have these kinds of problems every few years; when it rains [:D] but when we have them, we have them in a big way due to the time lag between rain and the ferocity of the rain when we get it.
I've found a couple of things; more often than not, the smearing is caused by the water flying back off the bonnet onto the screen containing a residue of the polish used on the car. This not only creates smear but also builds up on the wiper blades and reduces the effectiveness of the wipe. I think it also has a perishing effect on the blade materials and so can both destroy the blade as well as leave an ever increasing thickness of film on the screen.
I've foiund that a few drops of ammonia in the water used to wash the screen (not in the washer bottle) can tend to break this film down. After using a rag to wash the screen, I use either paper towels or at times newspapers to wipe it dry. I keep wiping until I can actually see the film start to break away from the windscreen and keep rubbing until a bright shiny glass surface when viewed from a side angle is all that remains. Wipe the blades thoroughly with the water & ammonia mix.
In cases where the scum is thick and won't come off even after a couple of applications of the water & ammonia, try "cutting back" the surface of the screen using corn flour on a dry screen but applied with a slightly damp rag but rubbed off with a dry one. Be sure to remove all excess as this can get a bit messy after rain otherwise.
Just my two bobs worth based on results following some very frustrating drives in the dark on a wet night.[}:)][:p]
Alan S
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Post by NiSk »

Have you tried using Rain-X? It relieves the wipers by keeping the screen clear at higher speeds and also seems to lubricate the wipers at lower speeds Muy wipers last very much longer since I started using Rain-X (or a similar product).
//NiSk
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Post by uhn113x »

Slightly off-topic, but I gave up on screenwash additives years ago - all the ones I have tried eventually turn into a layer of jelly at the bottom of the reservoir and start to clog things, especially peristaltic pumps as fitted to BX.
I use a great combined washer antifreeze and screen cleaner. Methylated spirits.
BTW, Tom, when I had a BX I always found that Valeo wiper blades lasted longer than other makes.
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Post by jeremy »

I've had similar problems and thinking back 20 or so years I'm sure I didn't get them then. I've used Bosch baldes - no use at all, valeo, Dissappointing - still show yellow on the wear indicator and nearly useless for the last 6 months, accessory shop on the ZX - bit better. I recall replacing the original Bosch replacement with a Halfords refill which lasted well so I'm off to get another.
Good tip about the ammonia - will try that as well - will also clean the reservoir which grows algae rather nicely, blow out the pipework and try and get enough distilled water from the tumble drier. I keep having the spray bar block due to limescale!
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Post by NiSk »

Rain-X isn't a screen washer additive - its a product you apply directly to the windsheild. It origianlly came from Boeing who us it on the screens of their jets.
//NiSk
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Post by DLM »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I've recently gone over to contact lenses from SPECSAVERS and that made it worse.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Bernie - dare I suggest you SHOULDN'T gave gone somewhere ..... Tom, I seem to remember hearing of a local source of brand new BX screens. I'll check it out.
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Post by prm »

Quite agree Bernie -- with visibility through a wet, well worn screen, with less than 100% eyesight.-- And P-P headlamps.
I will get round to that wiring this year
Tried various mods to improve spray bar efficiency. Ounce the wipers are operated, there's a slight delay from pump to lubricate screen forward of blade, causing scratching, especially on upper section. Found by redirecting spray pattern well ahead of wiper blade helps.
Slight improvement with water displacement, connecting both washer pumps together to supply front screen and installing a MK 1 pump into top of n/s tank for rear wipe.
Tried a few specialised cleaning products and screen wash aditives, with little success. Found an upholster foam cleaner/degreaser works well. Applied with a shoe polishing leather type pad.
David/Tom
Put me down for a blue tint screen -- if available.
R
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