Wipers do not work on intermittent.

[PetitBleu]

Bonjour!

This is my first post here, so be gentle!

My wife has a 2010 Citröen C3 1.4 petrol. Recently the front wipers have been playing up. The fault is as follows: Wipers do not work in intermittent position or no.1 position, but do work in no.2 position. However if you then go from no.2 to any other position, they just freeze in place on the screen. This can only be reset by stopping and restarting the car (not ideal in the pouring rain!). Wash/wipe only seems to work once and then gives up until the car is restarted.
The rear wash wipe seems to work fine.

I have not checked any fuses yet, as my thinking is that if it’s working in at least one position, then the fuses are fine as power is getting to the wiper motor.

I have gone through other threads on here by members with similar faults, but they all seem to be for the previous shape car. There are mentions of BSIs and Comms units, but nothing definitive.

Any help would be much appreciated

Steve

[C3driver52]

I have gone through other threads on here by members with similar faults, but they all seem to be for the previous shape car. There are mentions of BSIs and Comms units, but nothing definitive.

Hi

Your fault may not have the same cause as any of the other faults with a similar issue. COM200 and BSI both play a part in the front wiper control.

Typically the COM2000 fails like this and this could well be the cause of your problems. They are not very robust, but finding the right one can be tricky.

Some of the COM2000 can be repaired (this topic)

[PetitBleu]

Thanks for the reply. It looks like it’s probably that, but it’s just frustrating the BSI/Comms faults seem to be a complete head twister. No two faults appear to be the same, and there’s no guarantee that swapping it for another will fix the issue.
I’ve messaged a seller on eBay who says they can repair the Comms units, but have had no reply so far.

[Ozvtr]

Are you sure the wipers freeze at random positions on the wind screen? Or do they "park" in the upright position?
I don't have a circuit diagram for the later models but if the principal remains the same I don't think the problem is with the COMs unit.
It's a bit complicated but the BSM (the engine bay fuse box) supplies power, via relays, for high and low speeds (the intermittent position is low speed) and the BSI (glove box fuse box) provides the primary ground.
I say primary, because an auxiliary ground is provided for the vertical and horizontal park positions. FYI the vertical park position is used if you take your car to an auto car wash to avoid the wipers flipping up!
It's not possible for the COMs unit to cause the wipers to 'freeze' in position, only removing power can do that. However, if the wipers are "parking", that's different!
It sounds, to me, like there is a problem with the low speed power relay in the BSM.
Having said all of that, the rear wiper on my Citroen C2 ALWAYS runs if I disconnect and reconnect the battery!! It will NOT stop until I start the engine. After that it works completely fine. AND it seems nobody else has complained about this...er...behavior!!
My point is; if you turn the power off and the system resets, that could possibly indicate a software issue!? If it's not a known bug, I would go back to suspecting the BSM relay.

[PetitBleu]

Thanks for the reply.

An update:

My wife told me that since I last posted on here, the front wipers have given up completely. I’ve checked this morning and yes, only the washers work now (no wipe action). Rear wiper action is fine.
I’ve checked the fuses on the wiper circuit (F12 and F3) and both fuses are ok, and 12v is present on one side of each fuse holder.

I’ve tried a BSM reset, but that hasn’t made any difference unfortunately. So now currently the car is pretty much undrivable, and I’m no nearer to understanding or sorting what’s going on.

Any more help would be very much appreciated.

[C3driver52]

At only 60k miles, it would be uncommon for such a late model to have this problem: the wiper motor failed. It's a bit more common on the early models for the motor brushes to wear out. But of you can get to the motor, it's easier to test than the BSI or COM2000 and it would cause that wipers to stop in odd positions then give up completely.

[PetitBleu]

Thanks.

Earlier I got my wife to turn on the wipers while I listened in the engine bay for the relays to operate. I couldn’t hear anything, so I suspect there isn’t power getting to the wiper motors at all.

[Arfur Dent]

Thanks.

Earlier I got my wife to turn on the wipers while I listened in the engine bay for the relays to operate. I couldn’t hear anything, so I suspect there isn’t power getting to the wiper motors at all.

Had you heard relays operating when the wipers did work?

The Solid State Relays don't make a sound, I don't know if you should be hearing any on a late model C3.

[PetitBleu]

Ah, no I hadn’t.

I didn’t realise they are solid state relays. I thought they would’ve been the traditional kind (I had read online about listening for the relays when trying to diagnose this fault. Perhaps it was for an older model?)

So the current situation is, I have reset the BSI numerous times (Using this method: https://frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/view ... hp?t=61997 ), and have also reset the Coms unit several times. Neither has made any difference, and I am still left without working front wipers. Looks like I will have to get a decent auto electrician/Citröen specialist to have a go at it. I’m just wary of someone just changing parts willy-nilly and getting charged for parts I didn’t need.

[Ozvtr]

Have the wipers stopped at a random point on the windscreen or parked at the bottom of the windscreen.

It's a bit of a bazar arrangement. The "wiper power enable" relay sits in the BSM but is controlled directly by a wire from the BSI! The high speed/low speed relay sits in the BSM but is controlled through the CAN BUS from the BSI! Power comes from the battery to the fuse, through the power enable relay to the speed relay and then to the wiper motor. Most of the time ground is provided by the BSI. Power AND ground are switched by relays.

Have you pulled the connectors out of the BSM and looked for corrosion?