I expect one of your serfs fixed them already. . . ;)

Is that not a job for the servant?

They will probably only work when its dry now!! As soon as it rains they will stop working. :p

Shame you didnt get a chance to try out your new, fancy toolkit!

It was raining when I checked them. I can't even hazard a guess as to what's happening now. I'll have a closer look when I get home

Could be moisture in the connections.. WD40 them suckers :)

The mechanism gets rusty because of water ingress and that increases resistance and load. If the current exceeds certain limit because of extra load it stops working until you cycle ignition. If the load is within limits next time it will work until loads goes too high again. WD40 provide some lubrication for a while so it is working but its not a permanent solution as WD40 washes out grease and evaporates with time leaving it worse then before.

You need to strip it down, clean up and put in corrosion inhibiting grease like ACF50. The seals could be damaged as well and require replacement but they cannot be bought on their own as far as I know.

I just rebuilt rear wiper on our A6 last week and I could see it has been replaced before not in too distant past as the motor was looking quite fresh without any wear and the monkeys replacing it have damaged trim and lost some clips. I guess rears fail more often because of of use.

Same thing also happened on friends B6 front wipers last year.

I would also check the electrical connections, and the drains underneath the motor. Mine were blocked, and at the weekend the wiring became submerged in water due to the rain. The connectors were perilously close to also being submerged and a little more water and they would have been. They maybe working now because some of the water has drained out through a clogged drain.

All looked OK tonight. It's dry and the wipers are moving smoothly. So I gave the connections and linkages a squirt of WD40 for good measure.

Rain is forecast again tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. If they stop again, I'll order a new motor.

Ouch! Just phoned TPS. £160.19 plus VAT = £192.23. Can anyone get me a discount? I'd like to fit a new one, but not at that price - that's a little more than I spent at the bar at the meet in The Lakes!

Next option is Gordon here is Scotland or A8 Parts for a second hand unit

Just called them and they quoted the same price

So much for trade discount prices