Help- windscreen wipers possessed!

[Sally]

Hi there, I have 2003 A3 2.0 TDI that I've had since the sumner! It has an issue with the wipers...

Every now and then they would do 2or 3 slow sweeps followed by a manic 3 sweeps, going so fast they went off the edge of the screen! This happened now and then getting more regular over, say a month, until they did it and wouldn't stop- even if I turned the engine off they kept going!

I discovered I could stop them by popping the bonnet, as it jammed them- I was going to disconnect battery otherwise! I know it's not good jamming them but couldn't find fuse at the time!

Once started the next day they were fine, but yesterday, after a month or so, it started again and wouldn't stop!

Please help- I really can't affords the audi dealer and hoping it may be simple... Though in honesty sounds expensive!!

[Audi Owners Club]

Not 100% sure on this to be honest. A bit of a strange one. My guess would be at a bad earth somewhere or something along those lines. Hopefully someone else will be able to put you on the right track.

[JustCONNECT]

Hi Sally,

 

Do you have any aftermarket products fitted to the Car?

 

iPod interface or aftermarket stereo with Steering wheel control interface?

 

This may be putting a fault on the CAN, I have seen this fault on a Pug with a iPod/Phone interface.

 

Cheers

 

Jono

[R18-Fan]

Sounds like CAN interference or bad earth as previously suggested....or even quite simply could be dirt over the rain sensor on the windscreen?

[Bald Eagle]

Hi Sally,

 

I don't want to upset you, but if you can't afford the Audi dealer, I would question if it was a wise choice to buy an Audi.  They are premium cars for a reason - because the cars and their upkeep are priced above many other brands.  There are different points of view on whether the quality justifies the price, but the simple fact is that they are expensive to buy and expensive to run.

[Sally]

Thanks for the advice- i don't have any add ons so will check sensors etc

As to not being able to afford my car, I should have said that I don't WANT to foot the bill for, what is, an intermittent fault- friends who have 'prestige' cars under warranty have spent hours in dealers trying to find similar type faults- hate to think what a bill would be! I'm sorry that you think I'm too cheap for an Audi- I assure if you met me you'd still think I was cheap! ;-))

[Bald Eagle]

Now I never said you were cheap, I just questioned whether the Audi was the right choice.  Please don't try to turn my words into an insult, as none was intended.

 

Most of my cars have been old Fords, Fiats, Vauxhalls, British Leyland etc and I fixed them myself when they went wrong to save money.  My last one was a Mondeo that was nine years old when I got rid of it.  This is my first Audi and I found out about Audi labour rates and cost of parts etc before buying.

 

I didn't say they were any more reliable that other brands, just more expensive.  I did say there were different points of view on whether the quality justifies the price, which certainly fits in with the experiences of your friends.