Peugeot 306 - Windscreen Wiper / Washer problems

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Mon 13 Dec 2010 20:44
Peugeot 306 - Windscreen Wiper / Washer problems - gavmoffat

Hi All

Been having some problems with my V Reg 306 since the cold snap begun.

Firstly, when starting up from cold, my wipers sometimes don't work, but will eventually start working after about 15 minutes. It only happens when it's below freezing outside, and since they're ok once the engine warms up, I'm fairly sure it's just because of the cold. It's annoying though and means that I have to sit idle for a while or risk a potentially dangerous journey. Any advice much appreciated.

Secondly, the windscreen washers. Since the extreme weather struck, the back one hasn't worked at all, and the front washers have only worked very sporadically. I've sprayed de-icer on the jets, and filled up the washer fluid tank, but to no avail. They last worked on Friday after about a week of not working at all, so I don't think it's the fuse.

Help!

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Mon 13 Dec 2010 22:55
Peugeot 306 - Windscreen Wiper / Washer problems - FP

Your wiper problem sounds as if the motor is dodgy and the cold is too much for it; a lot of 306 wiper problems come back to the motor unit itself, it seems.

As regards the washers, if the car has been sat in sub-zero temperatures the washer bottle will be solid, unless you've got a high concentration of additive. It can take ages to thaw out. The tank is just in front of the offside wheel and gets little heat from the engine.

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Tue 14 Dec 2010 01:24
Peugeot 306 - Windscreen Wiper / Washer problems - gavmoffat

Thanks for that, what would you advise I do next?

Looked up replacing the motor, and it seems expensive (£150 approx) from a garage. Would it be best to get one from a scrappy and get it fitted to save a bit, or get a Hayes manual and try it myself? Bear in my mind I'm a newish driver and could just make the problem worse.

Re the washers, I put in some winter fluid today, neat, but it still doesn't seem to work. It got up to about 5 celcius for a couple of days over the weekend so my feeling is it should have melted already. Is it easy to remove the reservoir itself to check?

Thanks again

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Tue 14 Dec 2010 13:18
Peugeot 306 - Windscreen Wiper / Washer problems - FP

I haven't replaced a wiper motor myself - I get my trusted indie to do that! Apparently it's not a huge job. Yes, the motors are expensive. It's up to you whether you get a second-hand one, bearing in mind these things are well-known problems and you might not get a good one.

The reservoir is hard to get at unless you remove the offside wheel arch liner. If your pump has failed you will have to do this anyway to change the pump. Can you actually hear the pump operating?

To check if the reservoir is still frozen it's easiest to get a clean length of stiff wire and poke it down the filler spout. If you suspect the jets are blocked then disconnect the pipes from underneath them inside the bonnet and see if anything comes out when you operate the control on the steering wheel stalk.

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Tue 14 Dec 2010 13:23
Peugeot 306 - Windscreen Wiper / Washer problems - TeeCee

For the wiper motor, I would suggest trying taking it apart, cleaning all the bits and reassembling with fresh grease where appropriate. I've had this happen on a few vehicles in the past and its always proved to be down to old, hardened grease in the motor gearbox assembly rather than a fault in the motor itself. The "works when it's warm" aspect is diagnostic here. A scrap one is unlikely to be much better in this regard.

As for the washers, I have found a few times in the past that mixing 'n matching fluids can cause the whole shebang to go like jelly in the cold! Try the following:

1) Stick a length of garden hose into the resevoir and siphon out the contents. If it is frozen you won't get much out, pour in some hot water (NB: tap hot, not kettle hot), wait a bit, try again, repeat until empty. Incidently, siphoning out the resevoir before filling with "winter wash" when the weather demands is a must.

2) Detach the ends of the hoses from the jets.

3) Fill the resevoir with warmed washer fluid (get 5 litres of premixed and stick it on a radiator for a few hours).

4) Run both pumps to flush the lines through. If you are lucky, the lack of restriction at the jet end combined with the pump pressure should be enough to dislodge any clag. If not, try running a bit of wire in from the jet end to chivvy it up - that usually does the trick.

5) Clean the jets. Pay particular attention to the now accessible inside of each jet.

6) Reattach the hoses and job done.

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