Wipers working only on high speed

[littlepolo]

Wipers were working OK at all settings until yesterday. On high speed the driver's side wiper blade would bang against the windscreen frame. Now wipers working on high speed only. Wash/wipe/intermittent/low not working but sometimes they appear to be trying to move, very, very slowly. Wipers don't park properly on any setting. Could this be the motor or the switch? Has anyone experienced this problem and if so what was the root cause?

[alexperkins]

Could be the switch - the contacts could well have failed

Either that or the motor isnt behaving, or the wiper relay (19) is playing up

[littlepolo]

Thanks for your reply. Have purchased used motor off eBay to try first (its the same unit on 2001-2009 Polos). Next stop is the switch (which requires the steering wheel off). Car is a 9N Polo. I read online there is no separate relay and the function that controls the intermittent speeds is in the onboard control unit. Other posts mention how the linkages are exposed to water and can seize which might explain why only high speed (12v) can overcome the resistance. Will update on my findings.

[alexperkins]

Yes on a 9N its all built in. They did away with the separate relay.

I'd say it's likely the motor

[littlepolo]

It was the motor. Swapped out with a replacement unit I got from eBay. The 2001-2009 motor is the same, or at least the later motor (I got a 2007) works on an earlier model. However, I had to swap the linkages as the later are different. Luckily my linkages were in fair condition. The previous problem where my wipers hit the bodywork on full speed might have indicated something. I could have done the job in 90 mins but it took a little longer as I got stuck removing the wipers. Tried levers, etc. with no luck. In the end I used my hand and rocked the fitting and twisted slightly. It comes off easily this way as the spindle is tapered. Only other thing I did was to remove lots of leaves and debris from behind the firewall.