Fiat Wipers

[howie]

I,m sure i,ve read of this problem before, and now I seem to have it as well. The wiper blade has started to overshoot the A pillar only by a small margin but enough to drive me to distraction with the resulting clatter. It only happens now and then and seems to getting worse. The wiper is in the right position when not in use so no adjustment on the spindle. Any one out there had the same problem, and if so is there a cure. Howard.

[docted]

Try the blades with a "wing" on them it sometimes makes a difference. Docted

[howie]

Do you mean those deflecter things that keep the wipers tight to the screen. If so i,ll give it a try. Howard.

[w1ntersun]

How old is the vehicle, is there slack in the linkage due to wear, this would cause this problem.
I was once driving down the m1 in my car when the linkage failed in driving rain.
A Garage friend of mine told me to use rainx treatment on the screen. It is marvelous. It repels the rain droplets and you hardly need to use the wipers. ( rally drivers use it ).
I have applied it to my M/H and now my wife can see out of the near side windscreen when its raining. As you know there is a large unswept area there.

[barrie w]

check the tightness of the retaining nut on the arm,they can work loose & allow the arm to move slightly. it's under a small plastic cap,prise the cap out & use a 13 mm spanner.if you feel the arm would be better lower down,slacken the nut right off,give the arm a wiggle until it moves freely,reposition & tighten the nut. its worth checking the nuts anyway as they can come undone enough to let the arms tie themselves together. hope this is helpful.

[howie]

The van in question is only 3 years old with 22000 on the clock, so I doubt if the linkage is at fault. I,ve already checked the the nuts for tightness and they are o.k. as well as the park position. One other possible cause is that I changed the blades back in July and as usual opted for the cheapest I could find. These tend to screech in light rain so I plan to replace them anyway. In the meantime I,ll try Docs suggestion of fitting wings ( still not to sure what they are exactly ) and then move on to the rainx treatment until hopefully the problem is solved. Thanks. Howard.

[Brian Kirby]

Howard

But is the van more than 3 years old, and did you buy it in UK?  If UK bought, doesn't the Fiat bit have a 3 year warranty?

I don't know what the Fiat wiper linkage is, some have a Bowden cable, some use rigid rods.  However, neither is elastic, so if your blades are sweeping over the A pillar something is wrong with the linkage, somewhere, and it is doubtful changing the blades will make any difference.

I have experienced a chewed up Bowden drive, where the cable had begun to collapse, and that resulted in all sorts of wierd wiper movements, including, eventually, the blades wiping the bonnet - not much use for driving!

It could be the motor has loosened on its mount and, when the friction of the blades reduces on a really wet screen, the inertia of the blades is causing the motor to jump around, allowing greater travel, whereas a drier screen damps the inertia and the travel reverts to normal.

Whatever, the true cause should be investigated pronto since, if they go, it'll be when it's raining and you're in the overtaking lane, when suddenly you can't see any more! 

Also, unless the van has just been tested, if it shows up on test, it may fail its MoT.

[Don Madge]

Brian, The third year of the Fiat warranty is not worth the paper it's printed on 3RD YEAR DEALER WARRANTY This Dealer Warranty covers any defective parts defined below during the 3rd year or up to 100,000 miles from the date of first registration, whichever comes first. Any of these parts which fail due to faulty materials or workmanship during manufacture, will be repaired and/or replaced free of charge (except fuell. .Engine; cylinder head, valves/guides, camshaft/cam followers, camshaft housing, pistons and rings, crankshaft, con rod and bearings, cylinder block, oil pump, distributor drive, water pump, seals/ gaskets, timing belt/chains, mountings. .Gearbox; all internal parts of manual gearbox units. .Differential/Driveline; driveshafts, all internal parts of differentials, U/V joints. .Steering; steering pump, rack/pinion. .Electrical/Electronic; control units, air flow meter, printed circuit boards, relays/modules, starter motor, alternator. Don

[Brian Kirby]

Well, it must be worth asking!  The wipers are electrical, and electrical is listed.  Even if it's a slender chance, if there is a fault and remedy is accepted under the warranty, it would save Howard some dosh.  If not, it won't cost him any more.  If he doesn't ask, he'll have to pay anyhow.  He's nowt to loose!

[howie]

The van is just over 3 years old Brian so warranty is not an issue, and yes, it was bought in the U.K. I did have a quick look under the bonnet, but access looks difficult to say the least, so if all else fails i,ll let my local garage sort it out. One possible solution is to shorten the wiper arm (not the blade arm ). I,ve worked it out on the drawing board that shortening the length by half a inch will reduce the sweep by over a inch. While this may solve the problem, it does not find the cause and as you say the last thing you need is failure when you need it most. Don, I have to ask. Satnav is for dummies. I do not have this, and having heard various opinions, don,t really care either way, it just seems out of character from your usual style. Perhaps you could explain. I was taught to map read a long time ago, and this along with a tounge in my head, is usually enough to keep us going. Even abroad, where you invariably find places filled with foreigners, and only a few having the decency to learn the Queens english has caused us no problems. Nothing better at the end of a long day touring than to sit down with a map and plan the next days route. Right. thats enough. Anyone wishing to point out the error of my ways, please do so in large print as I have a slight problem with my hearing. Howard.

[Don Madge]

[QUOTE]howardtcz - 2006-09-03 1:28 AM Don, I have to ask. Satnav is for dummies. I do not have this, and having heard various opinions, don,t really care either way, it just seems out of character from your usual style. Perhaps you could explain. I was taught to map read a long time ago, and this along with a tongue in my head, is usually enough to keep us going. Even abroad, where you invariably find places filled with foreigners, and only a few having the decency to learn the Queens English has caused us no problems. Nothing better at the end of a long day touring than to sit down with a map and plan the next days route. Right. that's enough. Anyone wishing to point out the error of my ways, please do so in large print as I have a slight problem with my hearing. Howard.[/QUOTE] Howard, I'm a paper map and Mk1 eyeball man. I've used that system for the last 54 years so I think I will manage for my few remaining years. I just thought I would change my signature to see if any body would comment, I change it quiet regular so I'll dig another one out now. I have looked at many sat navs and was not impressed, they don't cover the far flung places we like to visit so for us it would be a bad investment. Now if I was a multi drop white van man a sat nav would be brilliant. Don

[howie]

The wife works part time at the local Red Cross shop, and their van drivers have recently been given satnav to help with pickups and deliverys. Talking to our driver, I was supprised at how large a area he has to cover, and even in the short time they have had satnav he now finds it indispensable, and along with reps etc. I see their value. At least I now know what " signature" means. Anyway, it looks like this sort of equipment will be standard issue before long. Perhaps Starspirit could write up one of those fancy Portuguese sayings for me. In the meantime i,ve opted for the classical approach. Howard. --------------------------------------------- Hold these two horses while I count them

[George]

Hi Howard, we have the same wiper problem on our Fiat based Kon Tiki. I've changed the wipers to ones with the integral wind deflectors, unfortunately this did not solve the problem [although they clear the screen efficiently] I've also tried moving the arm by loosening the nut but this didn't work either. The driver's wiper overshoots by a small amount and the regular noise can be quite annoying. The problem is worse when the wipers are switched to the fastest setting. I'm going to ask at the Fiat dealers next month when a service is due, to see if they have an answer- if they do I'll let you know. Just hope for a lot of dry weather! George.

[howie]

I,m sure this problem was featured in one of the magazines some time ago George but so far I have been unable to track it down. I doubt if Fiat would advertise a fault on one of their products, but if quite a few have had the same problem then this may be the case. Shortening the wiper arm should in theory solve the fault and may even be the cause. What if the arms fitted by Fiat were to long in the first place. But then again, why now after 3 years, unless the margin of error is so slight that just a small amount of wear somewhere along the line could be causing it to happen. Anyway, the answers out there somewhere and if I find it first I shall let you know as well. Howard.