Fuse Not Blown

[Paul]

Here's something to think about if you're chasing electrical gremlins.

Ever since I bought my Defender, it has always had odd things happening with the windscreen wipers. First thing in the morning (especially if it was cold) turning the wipers on low or intermittent would not get a reaction. They'd just sit there looking at me without even the slightest movement. If I turned them to high, they'd get moving and from them on work fine for the rest of the day.

Also, the intermittent function seemed to have a mind of its own. It would work correctly for a while, then it would just keep going as if it was switched to low speed, then after a while go back to intermittent, without anyone ever touching the switch. Sort of 'possesed' in that Landrover kind of way.

I always put it down to a fault either with the timer relay thingy, or else the wiper motor itself had obviously had the richard. Since I live in Adelaide, and it's not a daily driver, I didn't worry too much. Rain isn't something that's high on the list of concerns here most of the time. However, on a recent trip I managed to find a fairly deep water filled muddy hole that I traversed a few times (once because I had to, and 3 or 4 more times 'cause it was fun). Later that day it was raining at night in the local town, I had the wipers on, selected reverse and the fuse blew. So did the next fuse. The next day I discovered that the transfer case among other things was completely covered in thick gloopy mud, which eventually shorted the reverse light switch slightly, so that when I selected reverse with the wipers running, the fuse blew. After cleaning it all up and replacing the fuse again, everything worked perfectly. But, here's the strange bit, the wipers now work perfectly too. The intermittent function does what it's supposed to, without going into regular fits, and the wipers come on first thing in the morning without having to be switched to high first. B)

Looking at the original fuse, there seems to be a bit of very light corrosion around the ends. Perhaps over the years this has built up and caused a resistance that was playing havoc with the wipers? Looking at the rest of my fuses, they were all very slightly corroded, so I've now replaced them all. I know we often say when the electrics are playing up, check the earths, but I don't know how many people look closely at the fuses when the power appears to be getting through OK. Anyway, I just though it might be a tip for anyone currently doing combat with Landrover electrics.

Edited January 16, 2006 by western

[Mo Murphy]

Result ! Seems every cloud has a silver lining

Mo