Wipers not working

UFO

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The windscreen wipers on our 2009 Fiat Ducato are intermittent - sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

It's the same on all positions (single wipe, variable time between wipes, normal wipe, fast wipe).

Have been trying to identify a pattern. They normally work when turned on after being parked for the night. They will then go off and sometimes come back on sometime later. After arriving somewhere they sometimes work when starting again but not always.

When I push the stalk up for single wipe and also all the way down for fast wipe I can faintly hear what
sounds like a relay.

Any ideas appreciated especially as it's rather wet where we are traveling in the NE.
 
Could be a fuse that isn't seated properly.
Take the fuse out and replace with a new one.
A friend of mine had a problem with his Yamaha not starting, he would take the fuse out and put it back in which sorted the issue for a few days.
After a couple of months listening to him moaning I bought him a new fuse (he was a bit tight) which proved to be a permanent fix.

If that doesn't work, take the relay out and replace with a new one

Keep us imformed.
 
I had intermittent problems with the wipers a few years back and ended up replacing the Body Control Module.

Luckily I found a place which did reconditioned ones at a reasonable price and they are easy to fit (Renault Master).
 
Could be a fuse that isn't seated properly.
Take the fuse out and replace with a new one.
A friend of mine had a problem with his Yamaha not starting, he would take the fuse out and put it back in which sorted the issue for a few days.
After a couple of months listening to him moaning I bought him a new fuse (he was a bit tight) which proved to be a permanent fix.

If that doesn't work, take the relay out and replace with a new one

Keep us imformed.
As the fuse is the easiest thing to get to I took it out and cleaned the blades, which made no difference. It's physically smaller than the spares I have so I couldn't replace it. I will see if I can buy one on our travels.

Do you know where the wiper relay is?
 
Intermittent is actually a feature of they nowadays. 🧐 Oops sorry.

The BCM , BODY CONTROL MODULE. Located in the cab area under the floor, check this first as they've been known to get water ingress and cause problems with wipers. Which are normally control by this module nowadays.
Not sure there's a relay fitted
 
I googled Fiat Ducato BCM to see what it looks like

Mine is under the dashboard by the driver's door.

Is one of the relays for the windscreen wipers?

The BCM is expensive, so hoping for a simple fix.
 
Just found this from last year
 
If I remember rightly it was going to cost me 300 quid + and a fair bit of time to get my van done.
 
The next step in diagnosis is to binary chop the problem by cutting the possibilities in half.
Plan A - when the wipers are next on strike
With ignition and wipers on (constant) test the voltage between the input terminal on the motor and the -ve terminal on the starter battery.
If 12v the fault is between the input terminal on the motor and the motor earth point (i.e wiper motor or bad earth).
If 0v the fault is betweeen the battery +ve terminal and wire going to the motor input terminal. wire / connection / fuse / switches / relay,
 
Didn’t Wully have a problem with his wipers a while back ?
I seem to think it was a fuse that didn’t look like it was blown but caused him some issues until he changed the fuse
I might be wrong but it might be worth while asking him
 
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Thank you for all the suggestions. Intermittent faults are a pain to diagnose.

It looks like the weather is getting better so I will see how it goes and hopefully leave trying the suggestions until I get home.
 
Son in law had same on his VW T5 a couple of years back . I spent an hour trying all sorts in the cold and wet . Last resort disconnected the battery ( as others have said) , had a beer and warmed up, reconnected battery and hey presto working 👍
 
I had this problem years ago on my 2007 Ducato.

All the control electronics are in the wiper motor. Once replaced it all worked again as it should.
 
Way to much cr-p in modern cars and vans, just more trouble down the line and money, just what the makers & dealers want. 😭
 
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