The front wash/wipe on Hx has always been trouble-free and only required periodic blade replacement.
Wiper blade manufacturers advise us to replace the wiper blades every 12 months regardless of usage. This is not just obviously good for business (!), but points to the degradation of the rubber blade from basking under the hot Summer sun and all that harsh UV light. Talk about Climate Change.... and the environmental impact!
All good and well, but in the real world, wiper blades only get changed when they have split or fallen apart after squealing, screaming and juddering to be replaced.
The front wiper blades in the above photo have lasted now for 4 years. They are just standard issue 'Lucas' branded replacements fitted as a pair due to the previous pair splitting from the approaching spectre of an MOT test to get through!
Spoke Too Soon..
The golden Autumn soon turned to cold rainy Winter, and right on cue I started to get 'issues' with the front wipers...
Firstly, the passenger wiper suddenly failed to clear a good third of its screen wipe area. The Driver's side was fine so venture on I did.
I carefully cleaned both rubber blades and inspected them for damage and splits. Both past muster but the passenger wipe clearance problem continued....
Then I checked the spring tension of the wiper arm. Sometimes grit or corrosion can get into the spring coils and prevent the arm applying sufficient pressure to the wiper blade.
I lifted each wiper arm in turn from the screen and it was apparent that the passenger wiper arm had next to no tension at the screen compared to the driver's wiper arm. Both springs appeared to be clean and in good condition.
Next step was to price up replacement wiper arms as the springs are integral to their construction. No point getting salvaged parts, but the new price is truly cost prohibitive!
And just what is it with that handy factory fitted wind deflector attached to the Drivers wiper arm? It ensures a good screen contact pressure at speed. How come the passenger wiper arm never had one? Hmm.., Is it the old LR ..'that'll do' approach?
A Simpler Solution..
Mechanics and fitters have a simple trick to adjust the nonadjustable spring tension. Lift the wiper arm a few inches from the screen surface and let it flop back onto the screen. I combined this little trick with fully extending the wiper arm away from the screen in order to 'loosen' that joint which only gets moved when replacing the wiper blade. And in the case of Hx, that was over four years ago.
Carefully spray lubricant into this pivot joint, but be careful, DO NOT get the lubricant on the rubber blade or the glass screen and work the pivot joint back and forth throughout its full motion a few times.
This simple bit of maintenance increased the tension to the passenger wiper blade and restored a clean wipe pattern.
Next Problem..
Almost immediately after restoring the left-hand wiper pressure, the right-hand wiper blade began smearing, juddering and not clearing its wipe area! Diagnosis was a simple split blade so I stopped by a trusted motor factors.
New Blades Please.
Vehicles of Hx's dotage never had the option of factory fitted 'modern day' flat so-called 'Aero' blades, but they are available as an aftermarket fit. Pay the money, make the choice!
I kept things as stock and decided to buy just the re-fill blade rather then splash out on a new wiper complete with its mounting frame.
There is a bit more work required when fitting a refill blade as the old worn rubber blade needs to be removed from it's mounting and the new blade teased back into the same mounting.
Refill blades can be supplied simply as a curled-up piece of profiled rubber to be cut to length or like the refills I fitted from 'Truparts', mounted on a rigid plastic extrusion base strip. Again, they needed to be trimmed to length, but that was easy enough to do.
It Never Rains, it Pours..
Whilst I was sorting through these mechanical wiper problems a new issue arose with the wiper stalk switch. The 'single wipe' function stopped operating and I never realised how much I used it till it was gone.
Fortunately (so far, so good), all the other wiper functions still work, so it kind of points to a fault in the switch stalk contacts.
Research online quickly pointed to a common problem with the switch contacts gumming up and causing these control problems. Remedy is replacement, or for the inquisitive a careful strip-down and internal contact clean should restore the service.
For the moment, I am happy to continue without the single swipe option, but I know its just a matter of time before the other functions drop out!
Downloaded some photos from the web to light the way..
Access to the wiper switch stalk can be achieved with a bit of steering lock and the removal of the plastic column shroud. There is no need to remove the steering wheel or SRS airbag as Rave would have you do.
The two cross-head screw bolts visible above and below the stalk need to be removed..
Careful prising of the locating/locking clip will ease the switch out. Disconnect the electrical loom.
Two photos of the disassembled wiper switch. Clean all that gunky goo from the contacts, reassemble and refit using the notes and photos taken during dis- assembly.. (!!)
There is a special electrical contact grease to be used.. Good luck with finding it!
