Intermittent wiper problems ................. first port of call is always the bonnet switch. When this switch plays up it affects the wipers.

 

.... then the steering column stalk. I'm sure you could pick one of those up quite cheap off the likes of Ebay. The stalk is a unit which includes the left-hand stalk as well, either way it's a steering wheel off job.

 

Think it's relay19 tucked underneath the battery

 

first place to look is bonnet switch. we replaced a wiper stalk for this very problem last friday but we had the luxury of substituting it with a known good one first.

 

Hello all, thanks for the replies. The bonnet switch is fine if the bonnet is open the intermittent doesn't work, if you frig the switch then they start (well in a fashion?!?) In response to stiggy, I'll check teh relay near the battery if there is one, but why is they a clicking coming from the plastic box under the dash and why do VW tell me that there is no relay. Oh lordy why!!!

 

There is a Control Unit, (J519) under the dash, driver's side, just above & to the right of the throttle pedal, which seems to control most electrical stuff on the T5. It's most likely the relay for the intermittent wipers is inside this unit & if so is unlikely to be changeable. I seem to remember seeing two or three relay looking gadgets close by the last time I was messing around that area so it's possible one of those could be the item you are looking for.

The relay 19 in the E-box under the battery, (J317 in position #6 on the relay carrier) is a "terminal 30" relay, i.e. a live feed off the battery presumably giving a supply to the Control Unit (J519) for maybe the intermittent wiper & no doubt other circuits.

Fuse SB10 is for the intermittent wipers.

 

Cheers CAT3, Its deffinitely the relay which is soldered to teh board which is clicking. I can get the box down far enough whilst the engine is running to press my ear against it. Do you reckon its worth checking relay No.19 the one under the battery? Will have a ganders tomorrow if you think it maybe this, could be water in there? Seems odd that everything lese works fine though if this controls power to the other board. If it doesn't make any difference it looks like I may have to have a courtesy van for a day whilst the 'experts' take a look!! I'll let you know either way, just in case anyone else gets the same issue at some point. Cheers

 

Maybe the steering column stalk is worth checking before going to a garage.

Another fuse you could check is fuse SD9. It's a 5A jobbie located in small fuse box forward & to the left of the battery in the engine bay. It's also for the engine ECU so I'd expect it's OK if your van runs, but still worth checking.

Relay 19 is actually numbered No.6 on the relay carrier inside the E-box & has the VW item designation J317. If there was a problem with this relay I'm sure the engine just wouldn't run & a whole host of other circuits wouldn't work. Having said that I guess if you check it at least you'll be sure it's OK, or not !

 

Thanx very much, changed my bonnet swithc and everything was back to normal. Nice one.

 

Hi,the same intermitent wiper fault as lots of others, Loads of sugestions but no conclusions, checked the bonnet catch which is ok, now gone to the control unit under drivers side dash, the wiper relay was the middle one of 3, I found it a bit awkward to un solder it from the board and i will solder the new one in tomorrow when it arrives, the relay is a tyco V23084, C2001 A303, Just bought 2off E-bay @ £ !3.95 del. I will post the outcome in a few days when I have had time to prove the remedy.

 

Great post, just ordered the Tyco relay off eBay, my wipers have just started to develop this fault. T:

 

Changed the relay in the control box, opened the old relay up and found 1 of the contacts very badly burnt, this would have been the cause of the intermitent fault on the wipers, where they would go off and not come on again until the relay would have cooled down. When you think how many times this relay has operated it is no wonder they fail but shame on VW for not having them a simple plug and play like they used to be !!!!!!

 

Great post. I'm going to give that a go.

 

Hi
All still good with your wipers? I have a fault (seemingly common) where they will stop working after a while on intermittent.
The relay which you changed - is it just for the wipers - if I balls it up will it affect more than just the wipers? I have to do a bit of soldering for work, so have a steady hand and thought I would give this a go if its not too technically demanding...
Thanks in advance! JP

 

I have the same problem Jay! Caught me out driving down the lanes the other day, not cool. Im going to try tackle it at the weekend, let me know how you get on!

 

HI,

Please could you let me know how you got on un soldering the relay from the board --- I purchased a relay but could not un solder it.

thanks

Matt

 

Hi Harrison, how did you get on in the end with the wipers ? My wipers only switch off when they feel like it, and as I live in oz,we don't need them that much !!

Barry

 

been covered to death before,but still no 100% fix .change this that and the other no fix guaranteed.
someone was doing a list of all the t5's chassis no's to send to vw about this common fault.:*

 

wipers stopped today in mine in terrential rain had a scarey 35 mile drive
do you think it just be the bonnet switch or the controler module 7h0 937 049 T have cruise control

vagcom it and am getting these codes
00909 - windsheild wiper motor (v) stage 1/2
012 - electrical fault in circuit

 

Very unlikely to be the bonnet switch, as that only takes out intermittent. All other speeds should still work Ok.

 

thanks ,any idea what to check

 

If you've got VCDS I'd start by checking the appropriate measuring blocks to be sure that the column switch is working properly.

 

i can hear the relay clicking when i move the stalk and wipers all work when i first startup the van but if i switch them off they may work but most of time they dont

 

measuring block 006 wiper speeds 1,2,3 when colum switch moved become active and the stage 1,2,3,4 seem to work aswell when tested ,relay is clicking but wipers still work or not when they feel like it
what measuring block is it for the wiper motor or any ideas what else to check

 

Hello, has anyone got any further with this problem. I have a 2003 VW T5, panel 85 Bhp model, which has a serious issue with the wipers. They work fine on 1&2, though do not work at all on intermittent or quick wipe when you push the stalk down, they do not park. I was not aware until reading this article they need the bonnet to b closed when you Oporate them, when people talk about th bonnt switch, is this h bonnet catch? If not we're is it located?

I have changed the wiper motor and now fitted a brand new indicator/wiper stalk, all to no avail, as the van has failed MOT for his issue any further guidance would be greatly appreciated

Please feel free to text on 07725 619373 if you can think of anything I have not tried, getting desperate.

Regards

Dave

 

The bonnet switch is I believe built into the catch, but I doubt it's the cause of your problem. If it's not working properly you won't get any wipers on the intermittent setting, but they should work properly in every other way - they should certainly park properly.

Please don't take offence at this, but have you checked ~every~ fuse? They can sometimes fail in a way that is not apparent visually without taking them out, and even then a break can be hard to see. Note that you should disconnect the battery if you are going to remove them to avoid possible airbag error lights.

If not a fuse, the next probability will be the main control module - the relay in this can go faulty.

 

No offense taken, I have found and cleaned the bonnet switch. Which fuse is for the wipers intermittent? Is is situated in the main fuse board in the cab or the one under the bonnet near the Battery.

Again many thanks for all assistance offered, as this is the only thing I need to do now to get the vehicle through MOT