V70 Rear Wiper Not Working, except for a tiny bit.

Discussion in 'Volvo V70' started by dransfield, Dec 11, 2007.

  1. dransfield

    dransfield Guest

    We have a 2001 V70 and the rear wiper doesn't come on when requested.
    However, it is parked, the fuse is fine, and when I've fiddled about
    with it/slammed the tailgate / forced the wiper out of park it has
    sprung into life a bit, and returned to park.

    From googling this group I'm suspecting the wires that get bent every
    time you open & close the tailgate are failing, but any other ideas of
    likely suspects? Or sensible diagnostics?

    TIA

    Dz
    London
     
    dransfield, Dec 11, 2007
    #1
  2. dransfield

    dransfield Guest

    I forgot to ask: Is there a logic / relay whcih stops the wiper
    working when the tailgate is open?
    This appears to be the case, judging from the times I have actually
    got the wiper to work, but it may just be further evidence of a
    cracked wire near the hinge.

    Dz
     
    dransfield, Dec 11, 2007
    #2
  3. The rear wiper on my '03 V70 went the same way last year. It turned
    out to be road dirt/gunk within the sleeve (which passes through the
    glass) causing excess friction on the wiper shaft. As the gunk builds
    up over time, the motor runs out of torque to overcome the friction.

    In my case, the cure was judicious use of lubricating oil to try to
    flush out as much of the gunk as possible, together with a bit of
    wiggling to free-up the shaft. It's been working perfectly ever since.

    I did attempt to strip the mechanism off the tailgate before trying
    the above method, but gave up due to developing a crick in my neck. ;)

    Cheers, Steve
     
    Steve Woodford, Dec 11, 2007
    #3
  4. dransfield

    dransfield Guest

    Thanks for experience Steve, but after further investigation:
    If I switch on the wiper then open the tailgate and then close it
    slowly, when its about 1.5' open the wiper comes into life. If I hold
    it there it continues to work, mainly, but if I continue closing it
    stops (without parking).

    Therefore this leads me to suspect a broken wire near the hinge. Both
    hinges have wires running along them - any ideas whether its left or
    right side, or colour coding?.
    I'm suspecting that the break itself is well inside roof, and that
    this is could be a time-consuming job.

    Dz
     
    dransfield, Dec 11, 2007
    #4
  5. Certainly sounds like a broken wire. Afraid I can't help with the
    wiring loom details though. :/

    Cheers, Steve
     
    Steve Woodford, Dec 11, 2007
    #5
  6. It sounds like your problem is definitely a broken wire in the hinge.
    The wiper motor has a switch internally that creates the parking place
    for the wiper. An old problem that I haven't seen on more recent Volvos
    was grease from a worm gear in the wiper motor getting on the switch
    contacts and fowling up everything including the parking and general
    operation. That was very easy to fix by taking the cover of the gear
    mechanism and wiping off excess grease since the switch was an simple
    open contact on a rotating plate.
     
    Stephen Henning, Dec 11, 2007
    #6
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