lets talk about windshield wipers

99 rover 115k miles 4.6

well so far my biggest problem seems to be with my windshield wipers typically when I get in they do not work but...

a few storys:

I get in try the wipers and as usual nothing (turn them to the off position) - i drive to my local fast oil change joint and while waiting at the baydoor outside vehicle running I'm sitting there and all of a sudden one swipe. So I try them and they work perfect.

other night I drove a 5 minute drive over to my mother in laws try the wipers as soon as i got in and as usual they dont come on (turn them to the off position) - im in my mother in laws for a few hours - my wife and I come back out and she reaches for her door handle and pulls her door open and before i can even pull my handle to open the door the wipers come to life and make one swipe - i open my door and get in turn the car on and try the wipers and they work perfect

ok what is going on?

Do you have the RAVE Manuals??

RAVE is the name for the collection of Workshop Manuals for the Rover/Land Rover Group (Rover Automative Vehcile Encylopedia - or something like that)...

Download from here:

land rover service factory manual RAVE download land rover resource, service manual, workshop factory manual, download, rave, vehicles including discovery, series, defender, range rover, freelander, LR3, Handbooks, Catalog, Catalogue, Land Rover Inte

You will find the Electrical Trouble Shooting manual in there with all the circuits etc....

My first port of call would be to check the wiring and to see if you get power to the Motor first....

It could be the power gets to the motor correctly, but the motor is knackered in someway....or if you don't get power to the motor, you can trace the wiring back to I suspect the BeCM. and check the connections there too.

If the cabling checks out OK, I would then look at the control stalk to ensure it is switching correctly....

I believe the Wipe cycle and frequency is controled through the BeCM so if the stalk is fine, the connectors are fine, the motor is fine, and the cabling in between is fine, then it would be time to get it onto a full-fat diagnostic device such as the Autologic, T4 Testbook or the Faultmate Extreme(s)....

Let us know how you get on.

i am downloading the manual now thank you lets see what i can uncover

Sounds like you have a bad connection on the park contact. Inside the wiper motor unfortunatly.

First place I'd look is the underbonnet fuse box for signs/smells of burning. The park contact should only come into play when the wipers are turned off mid sweep to ensure the sweep finishes and the wipers park in the correct place, unless the imbeciles who designed the P38 have done something unusual with it.

becm

UPDATE: i flipped a few ---> Relays <--- around and they work now! so that means something else isnt working now - looks like ill have to go buy some relays on ebay saw them for $6 each!

RELAY!!!! woohoo !!! thought I was gonna have to get a new becm!! wrong!!!

babytoes said:

UPDATE: i flipped a few ---> Relays <--- around and they work now! so that means something else isnt working now - looks like ill have to go buy some relays on ebay saw them for $6 each!

RELAY!!!! woohoo !!! thought I was gonna have to get a new becm!! wrong!!!

Click to expand...

Check the pins on the relay you took out for signs of heating.

yes the pins have a bit of corrosion on them (very little) anything i can spray down in the terminals to loosen that corrosion up? maybe take a relay and stick it in and out about 20 times to get it worked off?

also it looks like about 6 of the relays are all the same is that correct?

Range Rover Wiper Ignition Windshield A/C New Fan Relay | eBay

btw here is my baby

babytoes said:

yes the pins have a bit of corrosion on them (very little) anything i can spray down in the terminals to loosen that corrosion up? maybe take a relay and stick it in and out about 20 times to get it worked off?

also it looks like about 6 of the relays are all the same is that correct?

Range Rover Wiper Ignition Windshield A/C New Fan Relay | eBay

btw here is my baby

Click to expand...

It might be just the relay, but the fuse boxes are prone to failure, if it were me, I would pull the fuse box out and check it before you have more trouble

False alarm folks...Sorry

@datatek I think you are right however I havn't had time to remove the box - I got a feeling I was wrong about the relay because they are still acting funny. I think just tinkering with that fusebox fixed it for a shortbit and now its back - at least I have gotten closer to the solution. Will post later if I find out anything new.

sorry this response is kinda late - been just dealing with it and not fixing it

ok guys I got an update: started removing the fusebox under the hood and found my problem right away. The green colored plug that plugs into the bottom of the fuse box is covered in white/blue corrosion. The female parts of the plug and the male parts under the box are both covered. I'm assuming cleaning the male parts on fusebox will be easy but the female parts on the plug will be a challenge.

I need advice on what to do from here.

Blue/white corrosion?
The contacts are copper so I'd expect green.
I'd stick with Datatek (the old goat's right most of the time) and keep going and see what else you find. Look for heat damage and/or cracking in the plastic around the relay sockets, especially the heater blower ones.

Where are you?

Im in the US Kentucky to be exact

Before I started this adventure I started the vehicle to test the wipers and they didn't come on. So I turned them to the off position - popped the hood and took my knuckle and tapped on the fuse box and when I got back towards the green plug and tapped it the wipers came on.

Once I get this cleaned out we will know for sure. I am almost certain this is it. With the amount of corrosion on that female plug I doubt it was getting good connection. I didn't see anything burn wise or crack anywhere. But when I found the corrosion I stopped looking. One of the yellow relays in there seemed like it had a slight burnt color on the top of the relay. But that's not related to the wipers. So ill cross that problem when it arises.

yea its white/green lol dunno why I said blue

I bought a can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner(came with the little red nozzle tip). It actually has a picture of a male and female plug on the label - I'm gonna blast that female connector like a mad man and hope for the best.

dogsbody said:

Blue/white corrosion?
The contacts are copper so I'd expect green.
I'd stick with Datatek (the old goat's right most of the time) and keep going and see what else you find. Look for heat damage and/or cracking in the plastic around the relay sockets, especially the heater blower ones.

Where are you?

Click to expand...

What's all this with the old goat then:crutch:

Check the rest of the fuse box and all the relays for corrosion or signs of burning, you need it working now it's hurricane season:rolly:

lol thanks for all the posts folks - I have yet to clean out the plugs cause I kinda lost the cleaner for a while. Just unplugging the underside or the fuse box and plugging it back in has removed enough corrosion for my windshield wipers to work properly. Maybe one day I'll get bored enough to actually get back in there and spray it out... problem solved

babytoes said:

Im in the US Kentucky to be exact

Before I started this adventure I started the vehicle to test the wipers and they didn't come on. So I turned them to the off position - popped the hood and took my knuckle and tapped on the fuse box and when I got back towards the green plug and tapped it the wipers came on.

Once I get this cleaned out we will know for sure. I am almost certain this is it. With the amount of corrosion on that female plug I doubt it was getting good connection. I didn't see anything burn wise or crack anywhere. But when I found the corrosion I stopped looking. One of the yellow relays in there seemed like it had a slight burnt color on the top of the relay. But that's not related to the wipers. So ill cross that problem when it arises.

yea its white/green lol dunno why I said blue

I bought a can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner(came with the little red nozzle tip). It actually has a picture of a male and female plug on the label - I'm gonna blast that female connector like a mad man and hope for the best.

Click to expand...

IMHO get a new fusebox.

do NOT wait for something else to go wrong! how long will it take for you unplug and spray "like a madman" anyway? i would say do it now. also a very common fault in the p38 is corrosion / breaks / dry solder joints on the fusebox circuit board. however you can't just take the board out and look at the bottom because its a sandwich design, its basically two boards back to back with a kind of spiral binding along the edges to hold it together. you have to carefully take the two apart and then fix anything you find. or as someone else said, just get a new fusebox. its definitely a worthwhile spend.