General Front wipers turn themselves off while driving

[davbryn]

Hi guys,

Hoping someone on here more knowledgeable than me might know what could cause this? Whenever I'm driving and need the front wipers on they work fine for a short while, but then suddenly stop completely and can't be turned back on. Sometimes I can restart them by pushing the stalk all the way up a few times but eventually it stops altogether. I have to stop the car and restart the engine for them to come back on. The rear wiper ALWAYS works however.

Any help GREATLY appreciated - it isn't fun when it happens somewhere that I can't pull over

 

[Ziggy122]

Sounds like the front wiper motor/spinning connector is getting warm and becoming harder to complete a circuit

Were the wipers juddery before?
Do they work on top speed but nothing else?

I'd be tempted to remove the wiper unit and inspect whats going on....

Ziggy

 

[davbryn]

Were the wipers juddery before?

Not that I'd noticed; I only bought the car 2 weeks ago and we had our few days of summer so I've not really tested them for a long period of time.

Do they work on top speed but nothing else?

From starting the engine I can put them on any speed and they work fine until they decide to stop. Once that happens I can usually restart them once, maybe twice but then it is an immediate need to turn the engine off and on to kick them back into life. They cut off on me leaving work a few minutes ago on the interval setting, but lasted all the way home (15 mins) on high speed without cutting out.

Sadly, I'm not much of a mechanic,so can't see me removing the unit going too well.

 

[Dcthebear]

Motor as Ziggy states or relay over heating by the sounds of it. As an advisory I would also check the fuse to make sure its the correct rating. If the system is faulty the fuse should blow to protect it if not the motor will burn out or worse it and its cabling could catch fire. Always a big mistake is people putting any old fuse or paper clips etc as a temporary repair and then forgetting them.

 

[AndyRKett]

What year make model etc? has it got auto wipers or anything like that ?

 

[s and b]

i would ask
do they park properly?
my thinking is wrong wiper mechanism fitted prior to being sold to you
ie mk 2 and mk2b are incompatable just like the giant and likkle red riding hood

 

[MEvans2104]

I seem to be having the same problem. I have the 2003 1.2 punto 8 valve. They work best on full speed, they work 2nd best on next lower speed, and they work for about 8 wipes on intermittent setting. I took the motor to pieces with help from a guide on here, wiped all the connections they looked alright and regreased them with some grease already there (there was loads). The connections didnt look rusty or in bad condition so not sure if they could be faulty. Is it possible theres an error with the switch next to my wheel? I have checked the fuses and all fuses are correct. It seems to be random sometimes they stop and i get angry pulling the lever up and down and it does nothing at all they are dead, then sometimes i move the lever and it reactivates them.

 

[homeward]

Is it possible theres an error with the switch next to my wheel? I have checked the fuses and all fuses are correct. It seems to be random sometimes they stop and i get angry pulling the lever up and down and it does nothing at all they are dead, then sometimes i move the lever and it reactivates them.

I had the same problem when I first got my Punto: but a good clean of connectors, linkages, and removing all the crud from around the motor and scuttle, etc., and they now work fine... (for the moment, anyway...) -- although I must admit that I'm tempted to replace the motor (and get some better/stronger linkages), as winter is on its way....

This is what a mechanic friend (who's also an auto electrician) had to say, when I asked him about the stalk:

As a guess, the wiper problem is more than likely the motor or the wiring connector to it? I say that, because once switches pack up, they tend to just pack up -- the only variable in them is working/not working! Motors and connectors, however, are subject to variable conditions such as heat and moisture -- so can misbehave depending on a combination of the two. Or even just one!​

 

[Brendan W]

You could try opening the motor. Mine was full of water and the brushes had jammed sideways in their slots. The wipers would sometimes only work at full speed but there was no predictability to it. Cleaned out the motor , sorted the brushes and they've been fine for years.

 

[MEvans2104]

Sounds like i need to go back to the motor and connections then