A few days ago I fumbled the clutch for a second, and the ESP/No Hill Start light came on. However, the next day it turned off, and I thought no more about it.

Then, yesterday, in the rain, my front wipers failed (in the parked position) as I was driving, and the ESP light came on again. I can't see any blown fuses. Has anyone got any idea what could be wrong? And how to do some diagnostic tests to confirm the problem before starting to buy bits...

Thanks.....

Dodgy Geezer said:

A few days ago I fumbled the clutch for a second, and the ESP/No Hill Start light came on. However, the next day it turned off, and I thought no more about it.

Then, yesterday, in the rain, my front wipers failed (in the parked position) as I was driving, and the ESP light came on again. I can't see any blown fuses. Has anyone got any idea what could be wrong? And how to do some diagnostic tests to confirm the problem before starting to buy bits...

Thanks.....

Click to expand...

Hi,
there is the possibility you've lost a linkage that drives the wiper arms or the motor itself..,

ASR etc can be a sign of a failing battery / weak charging system..,
what does the battery voltage read?
1, engine stopped
2, engine running

Charlie

Battery has always seemed fine - good quick starts. It reads 12.29 at rest, and 14.04 with the engine running.

The linkages look fine through the front grill, and I don't hear any motor noise when selecting the wipers - not even a click of a relay. Do you know which fuse runs the wiper motor?

Dodgy Geezer said:

Do you know which fuse runs the wiper motor?

Click to expand...

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/424410-grande-punto-faqs.html

Alas, the FAQs don't seem to give a complete wiring diagram, and I haven't got a manual. But I see that people have complained about the wiper motor before...

I've found a manual on the Fiat website - once I found out how to select my car!

It gives the fusebox fuse numbers for various items - but does not have one for the wipers - just the washer pump. Under the wiper section it says that if a wiper is obstructed - perhaps frozen - then the 'motor protection' will operate, and you should try the motor later. In other words, the wiper motors seem to have an automatically-resettable overload protection somewhere.

Is this the case? And does anyone know where it is?