OK, the wipers failed again today on the way to the stealers.... as luck would have it. i called ahead and got a technician to come out to the lot so that a) they could see the fault and b) i did not have to tun off the ignition.

got a phone call this evening to advise me that they had traced the fault to the wiper motor. (i think i saw this somewhere else) the wiper relay expects to receive a "parked" signal back from the wiper motor every revolution. if for some reason the relay receives no signal (ie the wiper arms are mechanically stuck - possibly ice/snow) then it cuts the power to the motor. switch off the ignition and a set period of time later the system resets.

hopefully the diagnosis is correct and time WILL tell.

think i will probably get the car back and set a sprinkler up to spray on the windshield for a couple of hours with the wipers running. that way i at least i can try and get some confidence back with the bloody car.

__________________