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Windscreen wipers


Mickydripin

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Hi all, I have a 2004 Fiat Ducato tribute campervan and I have problems with the Wipers clearing the near side bottom of the windscreen and on the last 2 MOTs they have told me that i need new wiper blades.

On looking at the past history for the MOT they have said that they need replacing every year (considering the use the vehicle has)

Surely they should last longer has anybody else had this problem or any ideas how to bend the last 5 inches of the wiper or is that a quirk of this vehicle.

Mike.

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FWIW...may or may not help?

I had a 2002 version which had wiper problems on the drivers side...it used to fly past the pillar on the odd occasion and not always clear the screen......after messing about with new blades etc a new wiper arm solved it!

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Are they suggesting you change them because the wiper isn't clearing the last few inches of the screen, or because the rubber has deteriorated generally?

 

If the latter, its possibly due to the continual pressure of the blades against the glass and wipers being unused for much of the time, whilst collecting crud from the atmosphere that causes the rubber to degrade. Try placing a couple of corks under the wiper arms when parked up for any length of time to raise the blades away from the screen, which relieves the pressure and allows dust and grit etc. to run down the screen with the rain.

 

If the former, has the wiper arm spring lost tension over time? Fitting a new arm, or experimenting with bending the arm slightly might fix it.

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The attached image is of the windscreen of a 2004 Trigano Tribute like Mike’s.

 

As Deneb says, if the nearside wiper arm’s spring had lost its tension, a replacement arm would probably be needed.

 

My motorhome is out of use for long periods and - rather than use the corks ploy - I protect each blade with foam pipe insulation (advert here and example on RV screen in 2nd attached image below)

 

https://www.diy.com/departments/climaflex-pipe-insulation-l-1m-dia-22mm-t-13-mm/5413257001150_BQ.prd

 

As long as the blades are protected when a motorhome is long-term static, it should not be necessary to replace blades annually, but it might be worth Mike swapping to ‘flat’ blades that will better follow the curve of the windscreen. For example

 

https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/fiat-ducato-years-2002-to-2006-wiper-blades/bosch-aerotwin-ar22u-and-bosch-aerotwin-ar22u-twin-pack-wiper-blades

 

https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/fiat-ducato-years-2002-to-2006-wiper-blades/wbtr-22-retrofit-aero-and-wbtr-22-retrofit-aero-twin-pack-wiper-blades

1629222769_2004tribute.png.3b000f40d3fe4d5ee0d1db11f6c31a88.png

1118221938_foaminsulation.jpg.d954c9fa1964d003babf13919a4ce62a.jpg

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Hi all, looking at the old MOTs they have been changed each year and on my MOT this year they told me i must change them or fail.

I have not used the cork advice but I put pipe insulation on both wipers(as Derek suggested ) before parking up last year O and I had a full silver screen over the top of them as well and they still failed the MOT if I did not change them, the wipers looked perfect and cleared the windscreen everywhere but the bottom N/S.

I have checked the wiper arm and that looks ok maybe I will have to change that to see if that makes any difference.

Thanks all. Mike.

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The length of the wiper blades of 2006-onwards Ducato X250/X290 models is 26” (650mm) on the driver side and 22” (550mm) on the passenger side.

 

However - for Mike’s 2004 Ducato - the driver and passenger side blades are both 22” (550mm) in length.

 

The relevant MOT inspection manual advice is here

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/3-visibility

 

and I’ve copied the section below.

 

It seems that the MOT tester would fail Mike’s motohome on the basis that the nearside wiper is “obviously not clearing the windscreen”. But if it’s the wiper arm that’s causing this (and Mike says that the blades themselves look perfect and clear the screen everywhere except on the bottom nearside, plus Mike takes care to protect the blades when his motorhome is out of use) replacing the blades should not address this issue satisfactorily.

 

It’s usually fairly easy to detect when the tension of a wiper arm is below par as, on a curved windscreen like Mike’s, the blade won’t be able to follow the curve. I use Bosch “Aerotwin” blades on my motorhome and car, but even these won’t ‘sweep’ properly if the arm is under-tensioned.

1127828079_motblades.png.0d340bf4da0320da7b42a420800548ca.png

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According to this seller they are 24" and 23" which is what I used to fit on my Ducato of that age.

 

https://www.topwiperblades.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/WooCommerce-car-filter/include/product_filter.php?make=15&model=212&syear=335&xmake=Fiat&xmodel=Ducato&xyear=...%2003|1994%20-%2008|2006

 

There are other sellers who say differently though. That is why some research is needed before buying.

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The link youve provided quotes a 550mm (21.6535”) blade for the Driver’s side and a 525mm (20.6693”) blade for the Passenger’s Side when the search criteria are set for a Fiat Ducato 03/1994 to 08/2006. I note that other vendors also specify that a 530mm blade (21”) be used for the Passenger Side and - if that’s the correct length - it MIGHT explain why the nearside blade of Mike’s motorhome fails to clear the screen properly.

 

On the other hand, as the outer half of a 550mm blade will be just 10mm longer than that of a 530mm blade, provided that the blade does not hit anything (eg. the windscreen surround) it should be OK.

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