I have just bought a fiat brava 1.4s r 1997, nice car apart from problems with the wipers.
the rear one doesn't work at all, the front works on fast or manual wipe, nothing else, can someone advise me if there is a relay in the fuse box that could be faulty.

Regards

Hi and welcome to the forum

The wiper problem is likely to be the steering columm switch block. A quick clean may help. Remove the (3) screws from under the steering wheel cover and give the switches a spray with an electrical switch cleaner whilst jiggling the switches. You may need to drape a couple of sheets around first.

Let us know how you get on.

Rear wipers are always a problem with these. As Dave says it could be a problem with the electrics but for the rear check out the contacts in the boot lid as these can corrode to stop it working. Often the motors go duff altogether and the only thing to do is replace

The manual wipe has two speeds, slow if you 'blip' it up and release and fast if you hold it.

Will try that first, if no joy with it, is there a relay and where do I find it.

Thanks again

Peeyabbs

Polecat, tried the switch cleaner, but still the same, anymore help would be appreciated.

Ok, sorry that did not work

I'll go through what I know and hopefully something will work.

The wipers and washers should be on the same fuse so its unlikely to be a fuse issue. Only other thing on switches could be the connector block.

As Helz says it is worth checking the rear contacts. Check that they are clean and that the springs are ok. Check that the rear door closes properly. Check behind the trims on door and body as you can get corrosion and/or loose connections. Finally check the earth connection, left rear.

If you can get a spare battery or a meter, try putting a direct feed onto the motor or measure its winding resistance. Rear wipers on early models tend to fail a lot.

Front wiper. Check earth, left front. Check connections at motor/plug and inspect the loom for wear, etc. as far as possible. Again if you can, put a direct feed on the wiper to see if it works at both speeds.

Thats about as far as I can help you. The wipers are connected directly through the switches. If the wipers work with a temp feed then it is likely that the switches or through connections are gone. Rear wiper failure and rear door connections are fairly common faults. I'm not aware of any major electrical issues with front wipers.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

Rear wiper sorted, just replaced motor, still have a ticking noise but can sort that.
Front wipers still a problem though, can you just clarify for me, as my wipers work on fast or manual only then the motor itself should be alright, that points to the switch on the steering column, have tried spraying with contact solution but no change, do I have to remove steering wheel, etc to get switch off?

Cheers

Cannot help you with your prob Peeyabbs as I'm having a similar prob with my windscreen wipers, I've got two settings of constant and one of fast plus the wipers are not parking themselves. I've been pointed in numerous directions, the relay, the wiper switch itself and worse of all, it's been suggested that I may need to replace the wiper motor itself.

Peeyabbs, glad you're getting there. Switch cluster change is a wheel off job.

jip, wipers are wired direct, no relay, so its either switches, wiring or motor. The parking circuit is in the motor, can you strip it and check?

Cheers, not being very tech minded I was led to believe there was a relay there somewhere. I plan to check it out over the weekend, although I have a feeling I might as well be looking into a black hole !