C5 left wiper broken

[hdi_man]

finally got around to fitting new motor. problem fixed, both wipers now operating properly at all speeds again!

interesting thing was that when passenger motor had gone the drivers side wiper was also playing up intermittently and occasionally the wipers would collide

[rustypanda]

where did you get your wiper motor from my 59 plate c5 is doing exactly the same.

[Archibald]

I had the same problem. Issue is with water getting from the sound deadening mat, attached to the bulkhead behind each motor which is in contact with each motor and gets wet every time it rains. Water gets through corroded aluminium body and sealant causing ECU to fail.
Each motor is fitted with a separate ECU and both are interconnected, so any failure with one causes the whole system to stop.
The only way to resolve it is to purchase replacement motor. There are no aftermarket replacement, so either new unit from Citroen for £250 or second hand.
I was mislead by one dealership to purchase O/S motor, where it was actually the N/S. There is no other way to find out which one is faulty except opening the box and inspecting it, so be careful.
Second hand units are usually sold for £80-110 with no warranty, so they might also fail. Also continental units will not fit UK cars, wiper arms are aligned differently (each type has drivers arm above passenger and this motor starts first).
I was lucky enough to source few UK models which I have opened and inspected for no water damage. Each unit was then sealed with professional silicone and tested. Those are now surplus to my needs so I can sell O/S and N/S units and install them free of charge (if you care to come to Basingstoke). Please let me know.
Photos of the damaged unit are available is someone will show me how to add photos.

[wurlycorner]

when I get new wiper motor and replace it I will need to glue the windscreen seal back down, what kind of sealant is used for this ??

Not familiar with your c5, but as a general rule, for anything window sealing related on cars, it's polyurethane sealant.

[xantia_v6]

Photos of the damaged unit are available is someone will show me how to add photos.

Photos can't be directly uploaded to the forum, but can be displayed in-line from an external photo hosting site. See for example: http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 19&t=35470

An alternative (which would be very suitable in this case), would be to do a small write-up for our wiki http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/wiki/Main_Page , and upload the photos there (the wiki does provide a photo upload facility for photos related to articles. If you want to do that, then send me a PM and I will create a wiki editing account for you.

[Stickyfinger]

Email me the images and I will host them for you till your sorted....PM sent

[GiveMeABreak]

+ 1 Here on my 2009 Exclusive. On the way home from work, the drivers side wiper decided it was going to play up. Started intermittently wiping and stopping at it pleased. After switching the wipers on and off a few times, it finally decided it was going to give the finger to oncoming traffic and that is where it stayed!

As stated by others here - new motor at over £250, but was done under extended warranty (thank you , thank you ).

[gromit]

Apologies for resurrecting this thread (and a new time poster - hello!) but I've got exactly the same problem. 2009 C5 passenger side wiper has generally given up. In April too!
Is there a guide anywhere to show how to get access to the motor?

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi - It might help you if you have a look at this thread - as this was recently covered by another member and will save repeating the info. In a nutshell - check if your vehicle was part of the recall programme and that it was done; next don't be fooled into thinking it is the passenger motor - it is controlled by the Driver's motor ECU and this is the one that fails. All details in the post, but read through from start to finish.

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... er#p483220

I put an X7 recall table on the Forum Wiki site here for you to see if your car is included:

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/wiki/Ta ... ty_Recalls

[RichardW]

It could be the pass motor though... need to Lexia it to find out.

[GiveMeABreak]

It could be the pass motor though... need to Lexia it to find out.

Yes, as Richard says, pays to double check first to be absolutely sure. The other member went straight out and bought the left-hand motor when it was the driver's, appearances can be deceiving!

[gromit]

Thank you both.
Looks like my car just falls outside of the wiper recall. Are the recalls hard and fast, or will a dealer do cars near the manufacture dates?
The drivers side wiper seems to be well behaved, so I'm assuming it's either the passenger motor/ecu or the connection between them.
I'm praying that it's just a bad connection that a bit of WD40 would fix, though I suspect it's going to be more expensive than that!
I suspect a trip to my local independent garage would be a start to let them take a look at the errors on Lexia.

[GiveMeABreak]

A quick check with Lexia should determine the culprit - the Driver's motor has the ECU in that also commands the passenger wiper although they have independent motors. Usually, it is the contacts that get corroded causing the intermittent faults. As far as recalls go - they usually keep to the defined VIN numbers as replacement parts are usually fitted at the factory once an issue is determined. Yours could be a 'wear and tear' fault - although again, you wouldn't of heard of these sort of things failing years ago in the volumes they are today!

Most of the components today have their own ECU built into the unit to communicate with the BSI or central computer - and as these are inherently more sensitive than the component they are controlling, they usually fail before the actual equipment does! The thing to watch as per the previous thread, was the tool to remove the wiper armature - these are not one size does all, so watch the garage doesn't cause any peripheral damage to windscreen or other areas if they are going to do this for you.

[RichardW]

It could be the pass motor though... need to Lexia it to find out.

Yes, as Richard says, pays to double check first to be absolutely sure. The other member went straight out and bought the left-hand motor when it was the driver's, appearances can be deceiving!

Despite having a Lexia, I changed the battery, the brake light switch, 'repaired' some wires behind the battery, and fitted a new underbonnet fuse box to our Picasso in an attempt to fix the handbrake warning light coming on. Then I finally believed the Lexia and changed the EGR valve which cured it

Only the French could come up with a software design which puts the handbrake warning light on when the EGR valve is faulty!!!

[GiveMeABreak]

I know - it does make you start double guessing Richard! That's why I left a list of about 4 codes with the Citroen Service Manager that I was always getting despite clearing them on Diagbox, in order for him to check if they were 'ghosts' - I'll ask Wednesday (when it's in for the window regulator warranty job) if he managed to find out or not.