Wipers won't work while engine running

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Steve Loft - 04 Dec 2008 08:58 GMT

1995 Ford Maverick 2.7 TD. Wipers, radio etc work fine until engine is
started, then they go off, and back on again when engine stops. Does
anyone have any suggestions as to what I should look at?

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Steve Loft

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Dave Liquorice - 04 Dec 2008 10:03 GMT

> 1995 Ford Maverick 2.7 TD. Wipers, radio etc work fine until engine is
> started, then they go off, and back on again when engine stops. Does
> anyone have any suggestions as to what I should look at?

Weird. Weird faults in cars tend to be down to duff earth connections. Do
you have a circuit diagram? The earths from wipers radio etc may all go
through a common earth point somewhere.

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Cheers
Dave.

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Steve Loft - 04 Dec 2008 11:33 GMT

> Weird. Weird faults in cars tend to be down to duff earth connections. Do
> you have a circuit diagram? The earths from wipers radio etc may all go
> through a common earth point somewhere.

Thanks Dave, I'll check. I do have a circuit diagram of sorts, but it's
not of the type I'm used to. It was working fine first thing when I
turned then car around so Mrs L could drive to the ferry, then when she
got in half an hour later the wipers wouldn't work after she started the
engine, and I noticed the radio was also off.

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Steve Loft

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Steve Loft - 05 Dec 2008 10:25 GMT

> Weird. Weird faults in cars tend to be down to duff earth connections. Do
> you have a circuit diagram? The earths from wipers radio etc may all go
> through a common earth point somewhere.

It turns out that it's simply the ignition switch. I hadn't realised
that the wipers were on the accessories circuit, which gets switched off
when the starter operates. It looks like it doesn't re-make the
accessories circuit correctly when returning from the 'start' position.
Jiggling it fixes the problem, I think maybe a squirt of something is
called for.

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Steve Loft

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Dave Liquorice - 05 Dec 2008 12:45 GMT

> It turns out that it's simply the ignition switch. I hadn't realised
> that the wipers were on the accessories circuit, which gets switched off
> when the starter operates.

I don't think I've ever had a car were almost everything isn't switched
off when going into "start". Not had a failure to remake though, take a
good look at the connections and soundness of the switch body. I don't
like squirt as a cure for things, it may work short term but almost
invariably to much is applied and this gets dust and much stuck in it
leading to more wear and failure again.

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Cheers
Dave.

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