C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

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C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by Peter.N. »

I've got the silver one off the road still trying to fit a thermostat - another story. The red one is now playing up. Start up, drive off, switch on the wipers, nothing, sometimes. It seems though if you leave it off long enough for all the electrics to shut down and then start it again they work.

The washers still work as does the rear wiper.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Try pulling the wiper fuse (in the engine bay fuse-box on a Mk1). Mine stopped working, and pulling the fuse allowed them to reset, so when I popped the fuse back in they started working again.
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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by petef »

Unfortunately the intermittent nature of the wipers working may be part of the lingering death syndrome. On my car they recovered several times but in the end stopped working completely and I had to replace one of the wiper motors - and not the first one I tried. This, and other peoples' experiences, are to be found in this thread
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=59504&hilit=Wiper+motor
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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by GiveMeABreak »

That link isn’t working Pete, but it might be part of this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=59504

Peter, of the various wiper settings, are you saying with engine running that there is no movement on single speed, fast speed or intermittent?

It may be, as Pete says that it is the start of motor failure. Mine started going out of synch first of all. One wiper arm would stay vertical with the other one working, and then they would work again, but I didn’t hang about and for the motor replaced.

Diagbox should be able to tell you which one is playing up as they have a master controller and slave relationship between the two motors.
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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by Peter.N. »

When they do work they work perfectly on all functions. It seems that after you have left the car and come back they don't work but if you turn the ignition off and wait a few minutes they work again next time you start it.

Read some of the links, seems to be another nightmare. I will check to see if water has got in, I may be able to repair it, I was an electronics engineer for 50 years - but that was before the digital age. :?

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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by GiveMeABreak »

There'sno much you can do to repair these Peter, the water gets in and does it's damage to the electronics and ECU - which of course controls the slave ECU on the other motor arm. Easier to replace - and there is a video I linked to showing you how to do this on the other thread IIRC.

I just want to be clear on the operation, becasue if you have the wipers on the auto setting, and switch off the engine after a journey, the next time you start the car, the AUTO wipers will not re-engage until you swipe the stalk down again - for obvious reasons of a potential frozen windscreen where starting the car would possibly tear the rubber off or worse damage the wiper motor, so makes sense.

But if you are saying when you start the car and put them onto manual sweep that they are not working then yes you do have the starting of a problem I suspect.

Having said that there are specific faults (driver's wiper only working, passenger wiper only, or random activation of auto wiping), but all the functions can be tested with Diagbox. Because of the nature of the system, you could be talking a bout a short circuit, loose earth, PSF (engine Fuse Box) supply issue, BSI, harness or of course the aforementioned wiper motor ECUs in eiother unit or the communication between them).

I suggest you get Diagbox hooked up first and run the actuator tests after doing a Global test (to see if there is a fault already recorded for the wiper ECU). Run the tests and see if the wipers correspond to the commands. This can be done in Diagbox via testing the steering wheel control module and the BSI as they both have an input to the function.
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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by Peter.N. »

Thanks Marc. I will have to get my Lexia sorted - another job. :(

There are no functions at all when they don't work but if you switch the ignition off for a couple of minutes until everything shuts down, next time you turn it on they work and are fine until you leave it parked and try to switch them on again, although today they have come on every time.

I did find a video on you tube to get them out, looks easier than I thought. Someone did mention repairing the electronics, might be worth having a look at. Corroded tracks I am familiar with, so if its possible to get them apart I suppose I have nothing to lose.

Peter
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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by GiveMeABreak »

In that case, I doubt it is a problem with the motors Peter.

It is more likely to be engine fusebox related or supply - switch module at the steering wheel perhaps, but cannot be sure until a diagnostic is done. I've never had this behaviour at all, when mine went it was synchronising issues and the wiper arms were behaving erratically, but never the none functioning bit.
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Peter.N.
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Posts: 11563
Joined: 02 Apr 2005, 16:11
Location: Charmouth,Dorset
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In the past: 3, CX td Safaris and about 7, XM td estates. Lovely cars.
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Re: C5 X7 again - intermittent wipers this time!

Post by Peter.N. »

Seems more like an ECU issue Marc, I wonder if doing a reset will help. I know I have cured a few odd faults on other cars by just disconnection the battery for a bit.

Peter
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