75ZT Community

On a saloon 2004 CDTi Connoisuer SE (facelift CDTi with under bonnet pump) 86k miles - the windscreen wipers have started going when parked. Yesterday at first it was intermittent but now today it was intermittent but now continuous. I quickly disconnected the earth on the battery without raising the bonnet too much.

It is the switch? Or should I swap the whole wiper unit by the plennium? Or is it water relays? Or relays?

I am searching the web and found incomplete threads in that it does not share the outcome and solution. The usual is wipers will not switch of when driving and they say:-
If the washer does not work (my washer also does not work) a thread says the wipers may think the washer is working and keeps trying to clear the windscreen
Another says of a wire rubbing by the passenger side front strut and try moving the wire.
And one says of a bad earth connection near the front passenger strut

I had wipers running front and rear, (its a tourer) was down to water in the spare wheel well. There is wiring in there, if you have hiline satnav.

Thanks Duncan. I don't have sat nav. But the feel of the car (that is new to me) is of previous owners not familiar with our TLC tricks and there will be leak in all sorts of places. I have just stripped the boot of carpets and sealed the side vents and rear lights. The board covering the spare wheel was very poor condition.

The only thing in this boot is the parking sensor module and DIY towbar wiring

I have been using a hose pipe to clean the rear arches and rear suspension arms where I have used Black Hammerite on the one side and doing more. I thought the wiring looms are the same on all models and so the wiring for sat nav would be near where I used a hose pipe around the rear arches and suspension arms? Also I was moving the rear bumper off to seal the rear side vents.

My battery is 11.7 volts from the wipers on when the car is parked so I have that off to charge with my 1990s charger.

look for water in the wiper motor connector just under the driver side plenum guard, unplug the wiper clean out with contact cleaner, and maybe put some grease over when you have plugged it back in, but Duncan is most likely on the right track.

Thanks Duncan and Steve, it fts with the last thing I did was to continually flush the rear wheel arches and suspension with a hose pipe trying to clean mud off to paint back Hammerite before waxoyl.

Satnav wiring is inside the car so not directly in the wheel arches. But the vents may have let water into the spare wheel area. Could also be water in the PDC connector.

Thanks Duncan, This evening I refitted a charged battery and relay and it has been fine. I leave a tissue on the wiper to know of movement when I am not there.

By 10pm there is slight condensation on the very top inside of the boot carpet exactly above the PDC. I now have a duster above the PDC to catch any water. I think that condensation high up in the wing has been a real long term issue for previous owners. Early yesterday I painted some black waxoyl high up inside the wing and need to put more to reduce condensation.

The other area I will try to improve is the o/s rear wheel arch wiring that goes under that narrow long metal shield and into a wide pipe under the rear seat and down. The ig hole to the pipe at the front of the wheel arch is exposed and will allow road water in with the wiring - and my hose pipe wet it yesterday.