How stupid am I?

Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Ok - potentially stupid question coming up, so please be gentle.

I've just gone out to my Toledo to do some work on the wipers which are seized - opened the car, put the keys in the ignition for safe keeping, opened the bonnet.... the car has locked due to that STUPID safety thing which locks the car after 30 seconds if you don't start it :)

The stupid question part - is there any way in other than smashing a window or calling someone out to break in? (stupid, as I'm basically asking how to break into a Toledo!!)

Any help or advice appreciated. Feel free to laugh.
 

Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Ok - got it sorted. An interesting afternoon!

I removed the off side small passenger window and with the help of a broom handle, managed to press the 'open' button on my keyfob. I was about to beat the car up with the broom Faulty Towers style as I could hear the button clicking, but the car was not opening, when I remember I'd disconnected the battery to stop the alarm going off as I was breaking in!!! Getting the window back in was another story altogether..!

(you may have gathered I'm not very good at this car lark :)

So - I now need help for my original task today if anyone has any advice. My wipers have been juddering for a few months and they have finally almost totally seized, moving about 1 CM with every attempt at moving the wipers.

I have removed the wipers themselves (no small feat in itself), the pollen filter and the plastic cover to expose the actuator - now I'm stuck.

I was following another thread

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=78447

but am a little lost - is the 'actuator' the same as the linkage? if so, it is attached to the chasis in the middle of the actuator as well as where the 2 wiper blades are attached.

Any help appreciated.
 

Stubill

Swine Bird !
Aug 13, 2002
323
0
The New Forest
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Probably the linkage that has seized.

I had this on my old V5.

Basically, disconnect the electrical connections to the motor, then unbolt and remove the whole linkage with motor attached. Then remove the motor from the linkage.

You will then be able to test the linkage by hand - should all move freely.

If it is OK then probably the motor - but I reckon it will be the linkage.

A new base wiper unit is what you will need if so.

The linkage arms are a push fit - you can pop them off by levering with a big screwdriver. Tricky bit I found was getting it all lined up when re-fitting to ensure the blades wipe the windscreen and not the bodywork as well :D

Good Luck.
 

Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Thanks Stubill for the reply - it was pretty much as you said - 3 bolts and 2 electrical connectors and it was off. One of the spindles was free, the other was stuck fast - it could take my whole body weight without moving, I had to bounce up and down to get it to move.

Eventually managed to smack the spindle out with the help of a vice, gave it and the housing a good sand and grease, good as new - fitted the whole lot back together and the wipers work like a charm! Only slight concern is that I couldn't get the plastic seal at the bottom of the windscreen uniformly flush, so I hope water doesn't get in to any dodgy places - time will tell, most of the seal is intact.

Anyway, thanks for the advice - wipers now sorted.
 

thesonny

UNV This
Nov 20, 2006
90
0
similar problem yesterday. opened the car to get something out of the passenger seat. left keys on seat, then shut the door and went to get something out of the boot. car locked and my dad had lost the spare key. i had to break my passenger window!! because i had no time before work to fanny around!
 

Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Ouch.

Something for next time then I guess and anyone else who finds themselves in this situation - the small rear passenger window does pop out alarmingly easily. Keys on the seat is a bit tricky though, luckily mine were in the ignition so easily 'prodable' :)

There are 4 breaking on eBay at the moment so you might be able to snap up the replacement glass you'll need?
 
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Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Tricky bit I found was getting it all lined up when re-fitting to ensure the blades wipe the windscreen and not the bodywork as well :D

Hmm. I now have a problem perhaps similar to this - due to my terrible mechanical skills, the wipers stopped working about 20 mins into my journey today, had to pull over and wait until the rain stopped - not popular at work.

My own fault though - one of the C-clips which goes on the spindles had not clicked into place, the spindle fell down and the whole lot stopped working.

Took it all apart this evening (in the pouring rain!!) and it's working again... except... the wipers are not properly aligned and I can't find a way to sort them out!!!

Here's the problem - the actual wiping action is fine: they stop at the bottom of the windscreen and correctly go to the vertical position, but when they've finished, they park half way down the screen. On the next wipe, the go back down to the bottom of the screen, all the way up then park in the middle again.

I fiddled around with the linkage itself trying to start it in various different positions, but each time the motor recognised it was out of position and took itself back to the centre of the screen again. It's driving me nuts!!!

Am I missing something obvious, or is there something specific I need to do and I just fluked it the first time?

As always, any help appreciated :confused:
 

Stubill

Swine Bird !
Aug 13, 2002
323
0
The New Forest
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Now your really testing my memory !

Apologies if I'm stating the obvious - but if it is just a case of the wipers parking in the middle of the screen - is it not just a case of popping the wiper arms off and re-attaching in the parked position onto the splined spindles ?

PS. Go careful with the splined spindles if you are taking the wiper arms on and off - if you manage to strip the splines / grooves off the spindles then you really are back to square one !

Cheers.

EDIT : Sorry forgot to say - I remember (quite amusing really) sticking a lolipop stick with a blob of bluetack to one of the spindles when re-fitting - just to check the movement and park location before I put the wipers back on, to stop any risk of damage until I was happy it was correct. Maybe worth trying something similar.
 
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Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Unfortunately not - I don't think I described it well enough, but basically the arc and boundaries of the wiper blades are completely correct, it's just the park position that is wrong.

For example, if I did as you suggested, the arc would then be between somewhere nearing the top of the bonnet, and half way up the windscreen :)

Here's another way of putting it - imaging the wipers were continuously on i.e. not on intermittent - to look at them, they would appear perfectly normal. Turn them off however, and they'll park in the middle of the screen.

What I don't understand is how I got them back on the first time around with no problems at all!
 

Stubill

Swine Bird !
Aug 13, 2002
323
0
The New Forest
Visit site
Unfortunately not - I don't think I described it well enough, but basically the arc and boundaries of the wiper blades are completely correct, it's just the park position that is wrong.

For example, if I did as you suggested, the arc would then be between somewhere nearing the top of the bonnet, and half way up the windscreen :)

Here's another way of putting it - imaging the wipers were continuously on i.e. not on intermittent - to look at them, they would appear perfectly normal. Turn them off however, and they'll park in the middle of the screen.

What I don't understand is how I got them back on the first time around with no problems at all!

I'm with you now :D

I *think* I recall the linkage arms (the pop fit bits that turn the circular movement into lateral movement) being horizontal in the parked position.
Did you try that ? And, as the linkage translates one single full rotation into an up then down stroke did you try them in 'both' horizontal positions ?

Cheers.
 

Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
I think I see what you're getting at - the problem is, when I play around with the position of the linkage arms and move them from the last position the car set them too, as soon as I turn the ignition on it assumes that the wipers are in 'mid wipe' and resets them back to the middle of the screen again.

Now I'm an expert at taking the linkage out (!) I might wait until the weekend and see if there's something obvious I've overlooked - at least the wipers are working for the time being, albeit causing an obstruction on the window.

Thanks Stubill, for the suggestions so far.

EDIT: Thinking about it, the current wiper action (start at midway, down to bottom of the screen, up to top of screen, back to midway) is explained perfectly by the 'parked' position at present - the linkage arms are at the highest position (with the motor arm pointing to 12 o'clock as you face the windscreen of the car) so when doing one complete rotation, the downward action is explained by the move from 12 to 3 by the motor arm, then the rest of the rotation fits in to place.

The question is, how do I force the motor to start at the 3 position, without them thinking they are in the midst of a wipe and resetting to 12? The interesting thing is that when the wipers broke yesterday after my initial attempt at fitting them, the position they broke at (e.g. where the wipers were left on the screen after the pin fell out) is the same as the parked position I have now.
 
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Stubill

Swine Bird !
Aug 13, 2002
323
0
The New Forest
Visit site
No problem.

Always better when you have a bit more time - and as you say at least they are working of sorts. (just have to perform a comprehensive screen wash should you encounter a police patrol with nothing better to do ;) )

Just one train of thought then - would it be worth unhooking the linkage - turn on ignition and let the car take itself to what it thinks is a finished cycle then re-attaching the linkage without turning off the ignition ? Just a thought.
 

Timmyboy

Former Cupra Owner
Aug 27, 2005
108
0
Bristol
Fixed!!

It took me this long to free up some time to look at the car again, but after 5 mins of head scratching I realised what the problem was - completely obvious really, but one of those things that if you don't think about it the answer eludes you.

So - when I was re-conditioning the pin (the original goal) I took the wiper motor off the linkage for convenience. When I re-attached the motor to the linkage and put the arms back on, I didn't give it a second thought and simply bolted everything together as I found it - the cause of the problem.

To make sure everything will be realigned when put on the car, the metal arm (the one which is directly attached to the motor and does the 360 degree movement) must be attached to the motor in the 3 o'clock position (as you look towards the back of the car from the bonnet) - as Stubill correctly said earlier, this will leave the arms in the horizontal position to the right-hand-side of the whole assembly.

The easiest way to do this is just before attaching this arm, plug the power back in (the lead is long enough to do this with the motor just sitting in the engine bay), turn the ignition on to accessory power and the motor will reset itself to the correct starting point - take the power back out and then stick the arm on in the 3 o'clock position - doesn't matter if you move it after this point as the motor will reset itself as soon as it gets power - the crucial thing is to NOT move the motor position until the arm is fixed back on in the correct position.

Probably seems obvious to anyone reading this now, but hope this helps some mechanically challenged people such as myself :)
 
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