1. Home
  2. Car Maintenance
  3. Mk 4 Fiesta Rear wiper

Mk 4 Fiesta Rear wiper

Hi all,

Having solved the over rev we move on to the next question:

The rear wipe on my 1998 Fiesta works only intermittently. Sometimes it's fine, other times it doesn't move at all and sometimes it will work with a _very_ gentle push (as if it's not getting enough current to move on its own). The blade is new and the rear screen is clean. I've cleaned the contacts in the hatchback lid that contact onto the cotnacts on the sill (which I've also cleaned) but to no avail. Some days it's fine, other days it just won't work at all.

Have others had similar and where did you find the problem? Was it an earth problem or something more subtle? Does the tailgate earth through the 4-pin connector mentioned above or is there somewhere else I should be looking? It feels like a loose connection as driving normally makes the wiper work eventually, especially on bumpy roads!

The front wipers are just fine.

Advice welcome as ever!

Tony

Reply to
Tony Brett
Loading thread data ...

It earths through the hinges and they're rubbish.

Make up a U-shaped loop of 30A cable ( colour to match car ;-) ) with a round connected crimped to either end and fit between body and tailgate. Better still put one on either side.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Cap

Andy,

I suspected that might be the case!

Thanks I'll do that.

Cheers,

Tony

Reply to
Tony Brett

Assuming that the motor works ok if you give it another feed/earth then the problem is obviously poor connections.

However, from your description the problem may be that the motor spindle has seized up, it is a fairly straightforward job to remove , dismantle, lubricate and reassemble.

But first just try powering and earthing it to prove that it isn't a wiring problem, if it will move slowly then you could try using a light oil on the spindle to see if that frees it up, rather than remove it in the cold weather.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Hi,

I had the same problem on my Mk4 fiesta (and also my previous mk3 - must be a typical fiesta thing). And yes cleaning up the boot lid connectors didn't help.

As mentioned before it's earthed through the hinges. All I did with mine was clean them up and spray with wd40 to get rid of moisture and it's worked fine for well over a year now. I haven't done anything more complicated.

Reply to
loony

Thanks loony, I also had a similar problem with my Mk 3 Fiesta!

Tony

Reply to
Tony Brett

Had this one on my MK4 Fiesta as well, it was the earthing problem. For some unfathomable reason, there is provision for an earth connection on the spring loded connectors, the slightly longer one looks as if it is meant as the earth but for some reason it is not connected. If you strap both sides of it to earth, it works fine.

Strange to fit the connector and not use it.

CK

Reply to
CJK

Weird..!! I was wondering what that connector did!

Seems to be a very common fault with fiestas, I wonder if the Mk 6 is the same- though with such a total rehash of the car you'd hope not!! I guess at least it's a fairly minor fault!!

Reply to
loony

Well so far the WD40 on the hinges had cured the problem completely. Let's hope that's the end of it...

Thanks all,

Tony

Reply to
Tony Brett

hooray - sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective. At least you know what to do next time.

Enjoy your fiesta!!

Reply to
loony

Cheap skate :-))

Andy

Reply to
Andy Cap

No point in making work if a bit of WD40 will fix it in 10 seconds! I'll put an earth strap on if the problem comes back but so far so good... :-)

Cheers,

Tony

Reply to
Tony Brett

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.