Washer motor turns on by itself

Wed May 18, 2011 1:01 pm

Recently, whilst the wipers have been on, the washer jets have fired up for about 10 seconds on their own, and then stopped.

It was kind of entertaining to start with, but it's starting to get a bit annoying now!

Waggling the stalk doesn't seem to make any difference. I'm guessing perhaps an iffy relay. Anyone got any ideas?

Wed May 18, 2011 1:12 pm

There's no relay to control the washers, but the washer signal is used to trigger the wiper control module in the fusebox. The usual cause of what you are reporting (I'm assuming it's the normal washers, and not intensive washers that are running), is that something metallic has lodged under the module in the fusebox, and is shorting the trigger pin to earth.

Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:12 pm

Thanks for the reply Brian. Only just got round to checking this out. Reseating the relay caused the wipers to work only on one speed to start with, and no washer jets. Reseating again and everything's back to normal. The problem hasn't come back since. There was no sign of debris or metal below the relay. It perhaps could have been sticking relay contacts.

Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:25 am

cheesebox wrote:Thanks for the reply Brian. Only just got round to checking this out. Reseating the relay caused the wipers to work only on one speed to start with, and no washer jets. Reseating again and everything's back to normal. The problem hasn't come back since. There was no sign of debris or metal below the relay. It perhaps could have been sticking relay contacts.

No relay contacts to stick. The wiper module doesn't and can't control the washers - the washers control the wipers.

Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:33 pm

Wise words, and confirmed today in heavy rain. Ironically the problem seems to occur when it's really wet. ie when you least need to use the washers... A clue, I think - but only someone with an in depth knowledge of the e30's electrics could appreciate ;)