Hi All, Not used my Mk1 track car since a 'Ring trip last month, went to it and the battery was flat. Charged it up and reconnected it but the wipers and heater blower didn't work - everything else seemed fine. I stopped and restarted the car (reboot and try again!) and they worked! Not sure why but obviously something is intermittent. Left it with the battery disconnected for a week as it wasn't in use. Just connected the battery back up and it's back to the wipers and blower not working at all, though the car will start, lights all seem to work etc. My question is - do the wipers and blower share any common connections, earths, fuses etc? I noticed when they didn't work that the VDO gauge for oil temp stopped working too. There are a few extra earths on spade connectors direct to the battery negative which look a little suspect so I'll start with them but wondered if anyone had any tips of what to look at next? The wipers and blower functioned fine for over a thousand miles in June to Germany and back so not sure what's gone wrong, or what caused the battery to go flat - perhaps it's related? The car is an '82 Mk1 GTI with a 2.0 16v conversion if that makes any difference. Any tips appreciated Stu
Hmm... cleaned up the earth connections to the battery today, re-terminated and soldered the joints where necessary - still the same, no blower or wipers. I'll investigate the earthing behind the dash next I think unless anyone's got any ideas?
check relay number 18 clicks with the ignition, give it a wiggle. this is what powers all the above bits you mention, it gets a feed direct from the ignition switch pin X. if the headlights work then its not the ignition switch at fault because the light switch gets a feed from the same ign switch pin
Hi Rubjonny - thanks very much for the reply - I was hoping you'd spot this thread! I can't find relay number 18, well - there doesn't appear to be one with 18 stamped on it and I can't see that the relay slots are numbered in any way? I took a photo which will hopefully help identify the problem. Does that all look right for an '82 Mk1? I think this is the original Mk1 fusebox as it has the old fashioned type fuses. Wish I could find my Haynes manual for this car, I seem to have one for just about every other model! Which relay should I be investigating? I removed them all earlier one at a time and re-seated them but the problem remains, the fuses all appear fine visually though I haven't tested them yet. Cheers Stu
Doing some searching on this problem, definitely sounds like it's relay 18 related but whereabouts is it in my Mk1 fuse box (which I gather is the early type)? Nige had the same problem with his Mk2 here: http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186869&highlight=relay+18 Edit: Found this thread: http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120940&highlight=relay+18 Post #4 seems to show the relief relay (labelled J59) in the second position in from the left above the fuses, the small square silver one whereas mine has a light grey plastic cased relay there.
I'd say from looking at the fusebox its relay #2 there as well, do your headlights work? if so the ignition switch is fine as that gets a feed direct from the X pin on the switch, which in turn feeds the x-over relay. Give that one a wiggle and make sure the terminals arnt all corroded. also, you should hear it click with the ignition haynes recons the pinout is: k8 - earth k9 - permanent live k10- output leg k11- feed from ignition switch
Ok, I checked the relay and at first it didn't click with the ignition so I removed it and cleaned up the contacts and wiggled it. When re-fitted it did click with the ignition which seems like progress though the blower & wipers still don't work. I took the relay back out and removed the plastic casing. Inside the coil part looks a little crusty but the rest of it looks reasonable. I have given it a spray with WD40 for now and left it to dry, will try it again tomorrow. I checked in my box of spare relays, mostly BMW E30 ones. and none seemed to have the same pin layout unfortunately. Any ideas where I might get a replacement relay at short notice (have a track day booked for Friday!) if this one doesn't spring back into life? Thanks again for the assistance RJ, much appreciated
Cover it with Rain-X as a back up - it'll get you through a trackday. Interested to see what the electrical problem is!
have you got any good breakers local? pretty much any vag car from early 80s to late 90s should have a 17 or 18 relay, though I cant say 100% if it will fit in the old S1 MK1 fusebox!
Update - it's working again! I cleaned up the crusty relay and realised the problem was that though it pulled in with power the connections inside were worn and didn't quite close properly. I thought about putting a little blob of solder on the contacts but instead cleaned it all up and bent the strip that the coil pulls in slightly so it now makes a firm connection. Should be fine for now but I'll take Jonny's advice and look for a spare from another car to keep in the glovebox Thanks again for all the assistance, was getting a bit stressed about getting to Oulton Park on Friday with no wipers or blower! Chris - Yes, will be applying Rain-X definitely as the car still has the DIY 'single wiper conversion' I did in Germany last month as I haven't got round to fixing that snapped wiper spindle yet
if it goes again you can bridge the permanent live & output sockets with a length of wire, just make sure its chunky! only reason relay is there is to stop all the current passing thru the ignition switch this same piece of wire can also be used to bridge the fuel pump relay pins if that fails, so deffo a usefull thing to have in your glovebox
Ah yes - I've done this before on Mk2's. I made up a suitable piece of wire last night to keep in the glovebox just in case, also took the relay apart again and put a blob of solder on the contacts so it makes a better connection. Thanks again
