Rear wiper not stopping

[BAZ911]

Hello I am new to this part of the forum as I have just bought a 2003 A4 Avant. My wiper problem is the opposite of most peoples as in the rear wiper will not stop as soon as the ignition is turned on. I pulled the fuse but that stops front and back. Is the rear wiper controlled by a relay and if so where is it hidden? Car is not on the road yet as I bought it as salvage and am waiting for a log book. Regards Baz

[dstv]

Had the same problem. You need a complete wiper motor, as water has got into the one you have causing the failure. You will need to remove the inside of the boot, there are instructions on this forum for that and undo the wiper motor and swap it out. Takes about 20 minutes, and be patient.
Basically what happens is the wiper motor has some pretty bad design flaws, and eventually the washer pipe in the middle of the wiper arm spindle corrodes. Water gets in to the motor and the grease inside all hunks up and the controls on the motor get wet and go crazy. You are right as pulling the fuse stops both front and rear wipers. . What I did was remove the wiper motor and wiper arm from the car till I got the new motor. To close up the hole through the glass, a synthetic wine cork is a perfect size for the hole. Hopefully you can get it sorted out soon!

[BAZ911]

dstv Thanks for the info will have a look around for one, any idea on price for new? Regards Baz

[dstv]

Think it cost about £100 from the dealer. But make sure that you give them the exact part number. There are a few motors with very slight variances such as spindle length and diameter.

[keicar]

Got the same problem, surely it must be possible to strip the motor down and give it a clean? Failing that just disconnect the wiring at the motor?

My washer nozzle was replaced at the last service (a new spindle I think) so its unlikely to be leaking? Any ideas??

[BAZ911]

This is a known problem with these cars the spindle passes through the middle of the wiper motor and when it rots the water gets onto the printed circuit board, might be possible to dry it out but probably easiest to change the whole unit, that is what I am going to do with mine. Regards Baz

[Dave Avant]

I'm sure I only paid about £85 from an Audi dealer for the motor.

TIP: when you get the new one, what I did was to drill a couple of small holes in the bottom of the unit (bottom, when fitted) so if any water gets into the motor casing it will drain out avoiding shorting the motor circuitry.

[keicar]

Take a look at my post here http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?91302-how-to-replace-a-Avant-rear-wiper-motor/page2, I did manage to fix it, but probably as it only started happening yesterday, ie the moisture was not allowed to corrode the control PCB, but before replacing give it a go nothing to loose!

Making some holes in the bottom is a good idea, but could leave to other problems such as leaking onto the boot lock switch causing random alarm activations, as happened on my OH's A3.