Octavia I 1999 - Front wipers only work when it's dry (Solution)

Hello.

I have a 1999 Octavia 1, and the windshield wipers only work in dry weather; they don't work at all when it's raining. It's a station wagon.
The connector at the back, in the lower left compartment, is dry. This car does NOT have a rain sensor; it's the basic equipment version!

Does anyone know this strange phenomenon?

Hi TauBär!

Stupid question: Are the windshield wiper arms stuck?

Best regards from Munich!

No, it's free-moving. No fuse blows, or it moves very slowly, like I'm used to seeing with stiff rods.
It's crazy, in places where you don't need windshield wipers, they work, but in places where you do need them during rain, they don't work.

I can't think of anything else right now, except maybe testing with a watering can to see when and where they suddenly stop working.

Best regards from Munich!

Hey D-Bear, yes, that's what I have planned next, let's see if I can even provoke it, and whether it will work with Grandma's G-spot flask .

Hello.

I seem to vaguely remember having a similar issue with the rear wiper on an Audi A3 8L. There's a small electronic circuit directly connected to the wiper motor, and when water gets in, it causes the thing to malfunction.

Best regards, Rainer.

Thank you, I had forgotten to mention that I checked the connector that goes to the trunk and of course also unplugged the connector, but the error persists. I guess I'll have to wait for better weather for it to work again, and I'll test it with a water hose to see if the problem occurs when, for example, I wet the windshield from the front. The water tank had very little foliage, and the drainage outlets were not blocked.

Hmm, so, is it only the rear wiper or the front wiper, or both, that aren't working when it's raining?

Best regards, Rainer.

Okay, both wipers never work when it's raining! Even if the connection to the tailgate is disconnected, the front wiper still doesn't work! Both windshield wipers will start working again only after it has been dry for a while.

Is the rear washer nozzle spinning?

Okay, I'm ready. Please provide the German text you want me to translate.

Then the rear windshield wiper is the problem. Due to this defect, it tends to swing over and beyond the Wupper River. In this case, the entire wiper system fails.
As Rainer already mentioned, the electronics are located at the back and are submerged in water, which makes it impossible to verschandeln them.

Bertil, thanks for the tip, I'm very familiar with that issue, which is why I disconnected the connector located in the trunk compartment, on the left side, near the bottom.

The windshield washer nozzle has been disconnected directly from the pump at the front for years. The hose is secured to the back with a screw.

I think I vaguely remember...

...that there is always voltage at the wiper motor terminal; check the connector on the front of the wiper motor to see if there is a black/gray (??) wire connected (a switching contact between ground and 12V), and whether this is the case in the event of a fault.


It would be beneficial to print out any relevant documents, ideally from the workshop itself. (Please note!) They are not allowed to do it "normally"!

If there is voltage at the motor - even if it sounds strange: the switch on the steering wheel is then highly suspicious.

If not: Error in the central electrical system.

Quote:

..... there's something very suspicious about the switch on the steering wheel...

I was just thinking the same thing... or maybe its power supply. The wiper motors always have terminal 15 connected, which allows the wipers to return to the resting position.

Now I'm further along, after the Octavia stood in the dry garage for 1 day, both wipers are working.
This afternoon, I took the car out and only sprayed the front with a garden hose. After about 10 minutes, the front and rear wipers went to their extreme positions and then stopped working completely.
So, the problem is likely located somewhere between the cable and the windshield wiper motor. I will expand on this tomorrow and take a closer look!

Quote:

This afternoon, I took it out and only wet the front with a garden hose, but after about 10 minutes, the front and rear wipers went to the end position and then stopped working completely!

It would be interesting to see if they would still stop after 10 minutes if they were running "dry," meaning without artificial irrigation.

Once all the water has evaporated, the wipers will start working again!