Any French electrics gurus?

[Timewaster]

Can anyone help, hopefully beyond the obvious petrol/match combo..

 

The delightful Mrs Tops 206 rear wiper has given up the ghost.

 

The fuse is fine and comes live when you turn the switch but only for 10 seconds. There is a relay sounding click and the power to the fuse goes off.

 

As far as I can tell there is no relay and it is all switched via a control unit of some sort. I have tried the reset procedure that I found on the interweb to no avail.

 

There are 3 wires to the motor. 1 is a good earth, one seems live at all times and the other is dead.

 

Any ideas what I should look at next?

 

It is a 2006 1.4 Hdi. Oh and it is Mrs Tops that is delightful. The car is a modern Peugeot.

[Albert Ross]

It could be the stalk unit/Cim unit. Either way, £££. Paint the rear window black or tint it. Job done. Visibility is over-rated anyway.

[blackboilersuit]

No direct experience of such a modern Pug but my old 306 went through 2 rear wiper motors during my period of ownership. The thin copper switch contacts for the park function sat right at the bottom of the motor assembly so when water got past the shaft seal it soaked these contacts and they rotted out. The first time the motor went I drilled out the case rivets to attempt a repair but couldn't do anything with the gooey green fur that once was the switch contacts. When the replacement went the same way several years later I just put up with no rear wiper as by that point the car wasn't worth chucking £100+ worth of rear wiper motor at.

[Pillock]

Is there the expected amount of resistance between the live that comes on briefly, and earth?

Sounds like there's a "soft fuse" in the control unit that's tripping.... 10 seconds, too much current flowing, flick off. A lot of electronic gizmos use these instead of a hard fuse that needs replacing when it blows - cutting the power for 5 seconds resets it. This stops the situation I had with my Mk2 Golf - I flicked the rear wiper on, it jammed, I ignored it for a few miles and then bombed across a dual carriageway to tear frantically at the inner boot trim to disconnect the motor which was now billowing smoke.

 

Disconnect the motor and check you get infinite resistance between "wipe" and ground. Plug motor back in and you should still get a fair old bit of resistance. I think.

[Richard]

I reckon the wiper mechanism has seized solid, probably at the spindle, and it's some kind of thermal cut-out that's cutting the power after ten seconds.

[ruffgeezer]

Try the motor by powering it directly first, then worry about OMG BSI FALE!

[Richard]

Another possibility is that the wire has broken where it bends when the tailgate is opened and closed.

 

The wire that's always live sounds right, it'll be for the self cancelling.

[nigel bickle]

Had similar on loads of old chod.Wwater will have got down the spindle & seized it solid. Lots of easing fluid may eventually free it off- followed by grease & new gaskets. 50/50 -at best

[Cavcraft]

It's a Peugeot, it'll probably start working again tomorrow then pack up whenever it feels like it. The one on my 306 is intermittent at best, mostly working though after it came on one day.

 

Don't knock those 1.4 HDi 206s by the way. I had the van version and it was great: enough poke to cope, nice interior and probably the most economical motor you could ever have. I think mine did mid 60s mpg without even trying. Time was I couldn't stand 206s but after owning a couple for a few months I started liking them. They do have problems of course, most notable Pug's standard fare 'door hinges made out of Brie' arrangement.

[RedSparrow]

Try replacing the stalk switch. They have a pretty hard life so it seems to me a reasonable place to look.

[R9UKE]

The unit behind the steering wheel that the stalks are part of is a very common failure - Tyre "Comms 2000" into Google and you'll see plenty of evidence. My mum's 206 used to put the dipped beam headlights on when you indicated right, and there were times that the back wiper just wouldn't switch off. What you describe sounds like the beginnings of it's meltdown, my money is on it. Steering wheel removal to get it out, and no point in buying a second hand one as they ALL fail.

[Timewaster]

It was the motor!

 

Thanks for your input guys, I thought I'd take a punt on a 2nd hand motor off ebay for £20 before I got in too deep or and end up paying £££ for a profesional diagnosis. Plugged it in and Hurrah!

 

The motor is held on with enormous rivets which needed drilling out and then it took me over an hour to get the wiper arm off the old spindle, by which time it had got dark and I cant find any bolts to refit the motor.

 

Tommorow it is then. Looks like I will have to buy some nuts and bolts - whick irks me somewhat as my work van must have a hundred suitable bolts in it!