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Windscreen Wipers


DavesEdge
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Whilst driving home from work today in the ice rain/snow etc, my windscreen wipers suddenly decided to stop working.

No, motor did not freeze up, blades did not freeze to windscreen, was not a blown fuse, no error messages on gauges display, just stopped working altogether.

Anyone else had this problem?

A bit daunting as was in offside lane of dual carriageway in rush hour.

Put heated screen on and screen blower on full heat, full fan at screen to prevent build up of ice rain and to keep a bit of visibility until able to pull over safely, I eventually stopped in a lay by.

Kept trying wiper stalk in various positions, but wipers not responsive at all. Turned off engine and restarted, wipers came back to life.

Phoned up my dealers as soon as I got home to arrange for car to go in to get this looked at.

Will post outcome (if any) after my car's visit to dealers.

Dave

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I have had this issue two or three times. Easy fix is to stop, switch off and switch on and it rectified itself. When plugged in, it does not show up on Fords fault system. It is just an electronic gremlin. It’s frightening the first time it happens but once you realise the fix is simple, it’s not so bad. 

My Edge hasn’t done this for at least 6 months now, so I’m not worried about it. 

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18 hours ago, DavesEdge said:

Whilst driving home from work today in the ice rain/snow etc, my windscreen wipers suddenly decided to stop working.

No, motor did not freeze up, blades did not freeze to windscreen, was not a blown fuse, no error messages on gauges display, just stopped working altogether.

Anyone else had this problem?

A bit daunting as was in offside lane of dual carriageway in rush hour.

Put heated screen on and screen blower on full heat, full fan at screen to prevent build up of ice rain and to keep a bit of visibility until able to pull over safely, I eventually stopped in a lay by.

Kept trying wiper stalk in various positions, but wipers not responsive at all. Turned off engine and restarted, wipers came back to life.

Phoned up my dealers as soon as I got home to arrange for car to go in to get this looked at.

Will post outcome (if any) after my car's visit to dealers.

Dave

I’ve had this, but only when on Auto and the wipers working intermittently . Never done it since.

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On 2/3/2018 at 8:39 PM, DavesEdge said:

Whilst driving home from work today in the ice rain/snow etc, my windscreen wipers suddenly decided to stop working.

No, motor did not freeze up, blades did not freeze to windscreen, was not a blown fuse, no error messages on gauges display, just stopped working altogether.

Anyone else had this problem?

A bit daunting as was in offside lane of dual carriageway in rush hour.

Put heated screen on and screen blower on full heat, full fan at screen to prevent build up of ice rain and to keep a bit of visibility until able to pull over safely, I eventually stopped in a lay by.

Kept trying wiper stalk in various positions, but wipers not responsive at all. Turned off engine and restarted, wipers came back to life.

Phoned up my dealers as soon as I got home to arrange for car to go in to get this looked at.

Will post outcome (if any) after my car's visit to dealers.

Dave

Further to my earlier post (as above) yesterday I had reason to use my horn on way home from work, only to find out that it was not working, missed the other driver who caused me to use the horn.

When I got home I tried my horn a few times. Couple of times no noise, then just one of the two tones started working. It now sounds like a castrated duck when I push the horn with only one tone working.

Have reported this to dealers to add to list of things to sort out when car goes in. Dealers told me that they have seen an increase in horn problems over the last few years, as in more failures than they would expect to see.

Will report outcome once car been in to get sorted.

Dave

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I had this a couple months back. Wipers on auto in moderate rain, thought the water was building up a bit too much, tried the wiper stalk on single wipe and full and max settings... nothing. Within 30 seconds they were working as normal again.

Mentioned it to the Ford dealership when it went in for its first service last month and they said they hadn't heard of any other people having it, yet they haven't been much help especially with the auto-relock problem which apparently isn't a feature on the Edge... uhhhmmm

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I think that the electronics in the Edge (and other cars) are too intertwined these days.  All parts of the car talk to the CPU, so as they are all computerised, there is scope for gremlins to creep in.  Wipers used to be mechanical, so a switch, a relay and the moving parts, were all that was required, but now with rain sensors, separate motors for near side and offside, sensors for blockages etc, perhaps they’re just a bit too clever. 

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On 06/03/2018 at 5:44 PM, Trent Edge said:

I had this a couple months back. Wipers on auto in moderate rain, thought the water was building up a bit too much, tried the wiper stalk on single wipe and full and max settings... nothing. Within 30 seconds they were working as normal again.

Mentioned it to the Ford dealership when it went in for its first service last month and they said they hadn't heard of any other people having it, yet they haven't been much help especially with the auto-relock problem which apparently isn't a feature on the Edge... uhhhmmm

Auto relock appears to be fitted to all but the earliest Edges. Those built after October 2016 appear to have fewer electrical gremlins...

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On 06/03/2018 at 5:44 PM, Trent Edge said:

I had this a couple months back. Wipers on auto in moderate rain, thought the water was building up a bit too much, tried the wiper stalk on single wipe and full and max settings... nothing. Within 30 seconds they were working as normal again.

Mentioned it to the Ford dealership when it went in for its first service last month and they said they hadn't heard of any other people having it, yet they haven't been much help especially with the auto-relock problem which apparently isn't a feature on the Edge... uhhhmmm

My wipers also go on strike occasionally - just like the "automatic" lights on a Renault I had 10 years ago, they would suddenly go out and the car would require a restart to get them on again. Scarey on a country road with no streetlights!

WRT your auto relock, see here: 

 

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Unfortunately I’ve now had two different dealers say they can’t do anything about auto relock without Ford approval... 

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1 hour ago, xn85 said:

Unfortunately I’ve now had two different dealers say they can’t do anything about auto relock without Ford approval... 

You need to adopt my "obnoxious, shouting customer" guise. :tongue:

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14 hours ago, kelvin1950 said:

You need to adopt my "obnoxious, shouting customer" guise. :tongue:

I'm sure the dealer staff really appreciate that approach.

H

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1 hour ago, Hamster said:

I'm sure the dealer staff really appreciate that approach.

H

Yes, I’d be asking you to calm down or please leave. I work in retail and shouting certainly doesn’t work with me.  I just pretend my fingers are in my ears and sing “la la la🎶“ to myself until the noise subsides. 😁

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4 hours ago, Hamster said:

I'm sure the dealer staff really appreciate that approach.

H

TBH, I don't care what they feel or appreciate. I got my auto relock fixed! I don't appreciate being treated as if I were a moron who only passed his driving test last week. I've worked in the trade, and they know that but they still try to treat me using the mushroom principle. I'm afraid I'm too long in the tooth to accept it any more.

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2 hours ago, Edge of Reason said:

Yes, I’d be asking you to calm down or please leave. I work in retail and shouting certainly doesn’t work with me.  I just pretend my fingers are in my ears and sing “la la la🎶“ to myself until the noise subsides. 😁

See my answer to Hamster. I'm a really nice guy, a good mate and the worst enemy you could imagine! Treat me as you wish me to treat you and we'll get on fine. 

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@kelvin1950 In a previous life, I might have been the human you were shouting at. "I don't care what they feel or appreciate". just about sums it up.

Now, when I listen to customers in front of receptionists, it makes me very glad I'm not public facing anymore.

H

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I’ve tried the nice approach. I’ve tried a firmer approach. I’ve emailed Ford’s CEO. I’ve even tried another dealer and all give the same answer. Ford says no. The dealers will not attempt a reconfigure of BCMI without Ford approval and cover of any resulting repairs. I don’t like it but can understand their situation....

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23 hours ago, Hamster said:

@kelvin1950 In a previous life, I might have been the human you were shouting at. "I don't care what they feel or appreciate". just about sums it up.

Now, when I listen to customers in front of receptionists, it makes me very glad I'm not public facing anymore.

H

As I started in a customer service role in 1966 and retired last year I think I understand a little bit about customers and the staff side. Especially as I once trained people in customer service. I'm not advocating a full frontal shouting match from the outset but car dealers are lagging behind the rest of the world in  general when it comes to customer service. This "smile at the customer and pat him on the head whilst explaining that he probably wouldn't understand" attitude needs to end. That's what we're getting here and it's not good enough.

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Hi All

 

As promised here is an update after car went in for latest problems :-

Wipers - Unable To Fault On Test

NSR Door - Striker Adjusted And Re-tested

Drivers Seatbelt Warning Goes Off Whilst Driving Down Road - New Seatbelt Buckle Ordered

Horn Not Working - New Horn Unit Ordered

And one thing I did not report, but what was found :-

Driver Airbag Out Of Align

Strangely enough, driving to work this morning in misty fog, wipers again stopped working, so again had to stop/restart car to get going as stalk switch not functioning.

Will be reporting this to my dealers today to see what they say. More to follow on this one, no doubt.

Car booked back in for 16 April (the earliest with courtesy car available to me) as dealers want my car for two days to do work and parts on order.

Originally dealers wanted to book my car in whilst I am on a weeks break just after Easter, (sat nav maybe reported as additional issue after this. Will see how it copes!).

Will report outcome after car has been in for re-work.

Dave

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Most owners seem to have one or other minor issues with the Edge, but some seem to have purchased what used to be called a ‘Monday morning’ or ‘Friday afternoon’ car.  Most unfortunate for some.

 

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22 hours ago, Edge of Reason said:

Most owners seem to have one or other minor issues with the Edge, but some seem to have purchased what used to be called a ‘Monday morning’ or ‘Friday afternoon’ car.  Most unfortunate for some.

 

When I was in the trade this definitely seemed to be the case. Also, we could tell where the vehicles were built from the build quality.

Dave

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  • 1 month later...
On 14/3/2018 at 4:30 AM, DavesEdge said:

Hi All

 

As promised here is an update after car went in for latest problems :-

Wipers - Unable To Fault On Test

NSR Door - Striker Adjusted And Re-tested

Drivers Seatbelt Warning Goes Off Whilst Driving Down Road - New Seatbelt Buckle Ordered

Horn Not Working - New Horn Unit Ordered

And one thing I did not report, but what was found :-

Driver Airbag Out Of Align

Strangely enough, driving to work this morning in misty fog, wipers again stopped working, so again had to stop/restart car to get going as stalk switch not functioning.

Will be reporting this to my dealers today to see what they say. More to follow on this one, no doubt.

Car booked back in for 16 April (the earliest with courtesy car available to me) as dealers want my car for two days to do work and parts on order.

Originally dealers wanted to book my car in whilst I am on a weeks break just after Easter, (sat nav maybe reported as additional issue after this. Will see how it copes!).

Will report outcome after car has been in for re-work.

Dave

As I said I would report, here are the results of the latest dealer warranty repairs session :-

Wipers - Tested again, still no problems found.

Nsr Door striker - Re-adjusted again.

New seat belt buckle fitted.

New horn unit fitted.

Airbag re-aligned.

Sat Nav passed the holiday test - It took us down some natrrowish lanes from Chedder Gorge, going to supermarket to get some bits for dinner, but done motorways to/from holiday destination, so was not used at this stage.

They booked car in for whole week, giving me courtesy car, then just after I got home from work same day, phoned me to say car was fixed and ready to be collected.

Two days later, check oil light has now come on. Have booked into dealers next week (earliest available) to get checked on warranty. Will report what they say about this.

Dave

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi All

As I said I would, here is the check oil light update after visit to dealers.

Dealers told me that as car was two years old from build date, this is why light on.

Car now booked in for 1st service, have been quoted a fixed price. Will see if it stays fixed.

Dave

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  • 1 year later...

Hi all,

 

pleased to see I am not the only one to have the "wiper suddenly deciding not to work problem" normally at the worst possible moment. I see some of you only experience the problem when in auto but mine normally shows up when I just blip the wiper with the switch downwards but wont respond to any wiper switch setting until its ready. First time it happened I stopped the car switched off the ignition and opened the door and it is true it resets. I have since found that when the problem occurs I just leave the wiper switch on and the wipers will again operate after a few minutes but this is dangerous fault to have especially the first time when late at night with howling rain it was impossible to see out and someone following close behind. It probably happens every so often. Once it is going again it will be fine.

Probably sounds silly but only happens when raining but as I know I have the problem I constantly test the wipers in the dry but they are then faultless and tends to occur with heavy rain - not sure if that is significant.

Anyway having occurred today on the A13 which is under reconstruction so no where to stop but did restart after 3 - 4 minutes without help so I went straight to my local dealer R T Rate to book it for an inspection. The girl on the desk immediately told me this sounds like an intermediate fault and they are unlikely  to rectify - classic get out of jail card for the dealer. I pointed out I felt this was a dangerous fault to have and perhaps Ford had some historical history of wiper faults probably occurring on most modern Fords besides the Edge that might help the technician to which she dismissed that possibility. So next Thursday it goes in for this fault.

My question is has anyone else here had this fault and managed to get it fixed so might be able help the diagnosis. Rates have been surprisingly effective in the past but I am expecting the same thought process as the lady who booked the car in. Very worrying,

 

Ken

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When the wipers are on (especially in Auto), have you tried changing the rain sensitivity (rotating wheel in the wiper stalk), it may be set to a high setting which means it won't wipe until a lot of water is on the screen!

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Simon, if the wipers are on Auto, I didn’t think the variable delay had any function as the delay is determined by the amount of rain hitting the sensor. I may be wrong of course. 

My wipers occasionally stop working and normally a switch off and restart is required, but the last time it happened (last week) after a couple of minutes they started working again. Never seems to register a fault. Neither does my occasionally failing driver’s door touch sensor. 

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