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Rear windscreen wiper not working

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Rear windscreen wiper not working

I think i've understood the fuse/relay diagrams bit I thought I would post just to double check. It's a 1983 golf gti y reg i have . Rear windscreen wiper doesn't work, the rear water scoosher does work though. From the diagram in the relay board position 11, there should be a relay marked number 72 for rear wiper intermittant. On the guide it also says relay number 20 for moving the wiper once.
   So does this mean you need both relays to make wiper do both actions? Also does the wiper only use the relay and not any fuses? The fact that the rear scoosher works, doesn't mean anything in regards to the wiper working? tempted to get the torch out and have a wee look to see if these relays are there. Wouldn't imagine it would be this simple though.
    Just want to check before i drag one of my friends out looking for broken wires. It's never worked since i had it. would be nice to get it working. Cheers in advance

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Will have a fuze , washer is separate wiring , most problems caused by siezed wiper spindle .

Might be worth checking the linkage to see if it all moves .

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1st off, make sure you have a relay in slot 11, should be 20 or 72. then check the fuse, its #12.

Next up have a look at the wiring where it runs thru the rubber boots between body & tailgate, often breaks here.  Last of all if that all checks out, try another motor. a MK2 Golf one will fit if you unbolt the motor part and bolt it to the MK1 bracket, iirc the wiring plug differs sho chop the plug and some loom off the MK2 motor and splice it to your car plug.

As above check the linkage hasn't siezed as well

Hello my name is John and I'm a dub addict.



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The wiper moves by hand so would I be right in thinking the spindle can't be seized then, Also would i not hear some sort of noise if any power was going to the motor, even if it wasn't moving the wiper?
   On closer inspection of the fuse relay box, it seems to have a later series one style fuse box with extra relay and fuses mounted on top. There are 5 relay spaces from left to right. In the first space there is nothing, the second space there is a silver box with no number on it, the third box is two wire with connectors using two of the pin spaces. the fourth space is the first official vw relay doesn't have a number on it but working it out from the vw part number(321955531a) it should have 19 on it. Taking it out the box meant only the top speed worked. So thats' fine. The 5th space has a FORD relay in it with the words ford flasher on it!
     What i would like to know is where the rear wiper relay should be I can't see any boxes with 20 or 72 on it. Also could anyone tell me what the 5 relay spaces should actually be for. This is a mk1 with a kr 16v conversion, which probably accounts for the homemade wiring. The rear wiper never worked since i got the car a year so it's not just happened. I can't seem to follow the mk1 sticky on the series 1 fuse box.Any help appreciated

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if its the fusebox with the ceramic fuses, the rear wiper relay is above the fusebox I beleive, it was on the one I worked on anyway.

first off, if the wiper moves by hand that isnt right, the motor should stop that. might be worth a look to see if the motor is even there :lol:

Hello my name is John and I'm a dub addict.



My wiring diagrams and other documents have moved here:

VAG Documents & Downloads

You'll need to sign into google/gmail for the link to work! (its free!)

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Great info, thanks RJ!

I had no rear wiper working, checked the fuse, all good, no relay clicking, low and behold the relay was missing!

Got a relay from an old CE2 fusebox I had and away she went!
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