Wipers not working

[regnills]

hi all,

day3, snag 3

this morning going to work and my front wipers are not working. Ive checked the fuses, didnt know which one it is so checked all of them. 

undid the interior fuse panel to push the relays in but still nothing. Rear wiper works as normal and so does the front washer. 

getting a bit fed up with this car now and its due for its MOT within a month

can anybody shed so light on what to do next

cheers

[cliffcoggin]

Three electrical faults in one week has got to be record. I suspect you may have one fundamental fault that is causing all these symptoms, but I have no idea where to even start diagnosing the problems. Perhaps it's time to consult a car electrician.

[regnills]

didnt get the 3 faults in one week. got the ABS and steering warnings about the same time, a couple of months ago now. only when i took the wheels off to see if the abs sensors were bunged up with crap and possible broke the rear ones that was wednesday. only today when i turned the wipers on there was nothing

ive got ABS warning light (yellow)

Steering warning light (yellow)

flashing red brake light but i have got brakes

well the ABS is hopefully one of the sensors, going to change all 4 and change the connectors too. The steering one still stuck on that one. Didnt think the wipers would be connected to the ABS or the steering. 

really need the car for work so if it rains im stuck. 

just need the damn things to work

cheers

[Magnet]

Hello Stephen,

Simple things first:- The car is designed such that the wipers/ washers do not work if the bonnet is not closed, so could - just could ( only maybe could) be a false signal that the bonnet is open when it is not. Sorry but not sure where that ‘bonnet closed’ switching is, but you might find it if you look. 

ABS/ traction control light? Probably sensors as you say and yes replacing them all is an option - currently around £87 per wheel from Audi - um! Aftermarket? You may be lucky with them, but experience has shown that the cheap ones work - sometimes and maybe for not long anyway. My preferred option would be to plug it in and find out which wheels are at fault. 

Hope some of this helps, or it could be worth investing in an hour’s time with a trusted local autoelectrician. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[regnills]

Thanks for the info. It turned out to be a loose connection on the fuse panel in the engine bay. Number 19 fuse if anyone needs to know.

Will find out which wheels are at fault fir the abs system before changing them out. 

Just the power steering to contend with and i dont know anything about the electric power steering. Theres no loss of power assistance when turning the wheelso hoping its a wire come off or sonething simple.

Cheers

[regnills]

Hey

bit of an update. changed the ABS sensors on rear of car. OMG what a job to get them out. Ended up with me smashing them off level with the hub then using a punch to drive them out. New ones didnt want to go in.

I think water has got into the hole and rust has took hold and i think that was what jammed in the sensors and made it hard to put new ones in.

also changed the connections just to make sure in case the problem was there.

And now there is no flashing red brake light and no yellow ABS warning light.

Job done!!!

just need to figure out the yellow warning for the power steering. Is it a MOT failure with that light on?

 

cheers

ste

 

[lavalovely]

Hi, new here so I'm sorry I've not introduced myself yet but will do that in a while. 
My question is do I need to disconnect the battery if checking fuses?  Troubleshooting why my wipers are not working, thought the Fuse no.19 would be good place to start.  Thanks in advance.  BTW its a late 2003 A3.  

[cliffcoggin]

No there's no need to disconnect the battery first. In fact if you are using a meter it will be beneficial to have power to the terminals.

[Magnet]

Hello ‘C’,

It would be worth arming yourself with an aerosol of genuine contact cleaner and spraying this into the fuse box/ holders while wiggling each fuse. Although fuses may not be blown - due to a short circuit- there may be a high contact resistance resulting in an open circuit. Be careful how and where this contact cleaner gets to since I would not be convinced it doesn’t react with some paintwork. 

As mentioned earlier, check the bonnetbis firmly closed. Not sure if that applies to the earlier models, but certainly does to the later ones. 

Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Kieran11987]

Hiya I've got a a3 with same problem what did you do to fix the loose connection please was it a cable underneath or was it the fuse it's self 

[Magnet]

Hello Keiren,

The poster has not visited the forum since June of last year.

I think your best option would be to send him a PM.

Kind regards, 

Gareth.

[redjoe100]

Hi, similar problem for me...my rear wiper doesn't work when I push the stick forward, the water jet does work however....does anyone know if the wiper and jet are on the same fuse or what I can do to find the fault?

Thanks

[Steve Q]

1 hour ago, redjoe100 said:

Hi, similar problem for me...my rear wiper doesn't work when I push the stick forward, the water jet does work however....does anyone know if the wiper and jet are on the same fuse or what I can do to find the fault?

Thanks

I'd check your fuses and in failing that you could take off the boot panel to inspect the rear wiper motor and check with a multimeter.

Cheers

Steve

[cliffcoggin]

1 hour ago, redjoe100 said:

Hi, similar problem for me...my rear wiper doesn't work when I push the stick forward, the water jet does work however....does anyone know if the wiper and jet are on the same fuse or what I can do to find the fault?

Thanks

The rear wiper motor has the water pipe running inside it. That pipe has been known to leak and damage the motor. I needed a new motor when it happened to me a in 2018.

[redjoe100]

Thanks both, I'll go through the fuses and hook the motor out for a closer look.

[Steve Q]

10 minutes ago, redjoe100 said:

Thanks both, I'll go through the fuses and hook the motor out for a closer look.

Please keep us posted on how you get on 👍

[redjoe100]

After checking the fuse panel I found no fuse for the rear wiper! For my variant of A3 it's a 15A in position 41. That's sorted it.

However the rear wiper returns to the 11 o'clock position when it rests or stops....is there a way to set this position?

Thanks

[cliffcoggin]

The wiper arm is usually a spline fitting on its shaft, so take it off when parked, then refit in the correct position.

[redjoe100]

Thanks Cliff... By shifting if from where it is now l, won't that send it down the bottom of the boot or is there somekind of limiter on there? 

[cliffcoggin]

The limiter is on the motor not the arm, so you should be able to position the arm in a dozen or so angles when the motor is parked.

[Ian richards]

Hi all I’ve got a Audi a32.0tdi 2006 bought it less then a week ago and my wiper have stopped working I’ve checked the fuses bought new motor and new wiper stark and and still nothing anyone got any ideas Wa els I could check please 

[Magnet]

Welcome to the Audi Owners Club !

Good to have you onboard.

Hello Ian,

I guess you know the wipers don’t work unless the bonnet is fully closed. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Ian richards]

Yeah I’ve closed the bonnet and still nothing 

[Magnet]

New/ secondhand motor need coding to the car??

[Ian richards]

Shouldn’t need coding shouldn’t it