ALFAGTV6.COM

Hi chaps

Ive just bought an '83 GTV6 (sound is fantastic ) and have my 1st electrical gremiln and was wondering if anyone can help?

The wipers do not switch off if I put them on and only stop when I turn off the ignition.
Also, they come on if I accelerate too hard or turn right rather vigorously....

Any suggestions as to how to remedy this before I fork out money to get it fixed?

Cheers
Jay

Interesting colour for the car Jay. Never seen that colour before on a GTV. Doesn't help your gremlin much .
If you don't know too much about auto electrics, you got two choices:-

1 Make a start be getting you hands dirty and be prepared for some frustrations along the way.
2 Put your hand in your pockets and just pay an auto electrician to do the job.

Given the age of these cars and depending on the climate they are running in, the electrical reliability can vary from good to abismal.

Your problem is likely a multiple one. You could circuit trace the B+ and Ground supplies from the fusebox throught the switching stalk and the wiper motor for poor connections and conact wear. You may also have an internal wiper motor contact fault as a bonus. If you cannot get a good Alfa replacement motor, one off a Fiat 128 will fit and possibly other Fiats that run the same Magnet Marelli motor.

If there is no obvious defect that you can find, it is possibly just as easy to fit a tested replacement wiper motor and make a new wiring loom just for the wiper PROVIDED the fault isn't with the switching stalk which must be checked first.

Gettting the wiper motor out is another fun exercise in itself.

Not as simple a task as you would initially think. Prove one aspect at a time and move to the next stage is best.

Welcome to the Forum.

The car was originally black, but some numb-nuts had it resprayed 'Rover Poseidon Green' a few years back.... God knows why?? Engine is sweet as a nut and only done 6000miles in the last 9 years going by the old mot's.

I live in sunny Bristol, England so its rather damp (well, wet) here. Going to clear the garage and put it in there tommorow.

Ive just taken out the fuse for the time being until I can figure out the problem. Had the steering cowling off today, cant see any immediate wiring faults. I trust it is the blue, blue/black wires for the wipers?

Wiper motor is easily found, will check the relay box first to see if there's any corrosion in there, then move onto the motor itself. Probably end up getting an auto-electrician to do it though.

Thanks for the advice though.

whoa, small world!!, I almost went and viewed this car a few months back, colour wise, thats the first thing I asked the seller " who the heck painted it that colour?" owner chuckled in agreement. lol.... as for your wiper issue, its bound to be a fretted block or connection. The spade connectors in the euro 83' corrode big time.

Hi from Surrey (alright, outer London)!

I had a similar problem with my car a few years ago after a particularly wet day out. When I turned to the left the wipers would come on regardless of whether they were switched on or off.

The problem in my case was traced to the wiper relay which is located behind the dash on the driver's side (right) above the fusebox. It transpired that it was partially filled with water from a small leak somewhere. After emptying the water out and drying the relay I reconnected it and it has worked fine since. This might be a good place to start.

Good luck!

grantleyrich

Thanks chaps for all your help. Car is now garaged so nice and dry now!

So how do I get to the relay itself ? Do I have to butcher the dash or can I get to it via the fuse box? Also, s it easy to disconnect and subsequently reconnect?

I thought the relay box was the red/black connecters about 3-4in from the wiper motor itself on the left side but shows what I know!!

Jay

As I recall, the relay is accessible without dismantling anything. You will need to drop the fusebox though. It is fixed by a self-tapping screw to the bulkhead. Like anything to do with wiring in dashboards, be prepared for a bit of contortionism, but look on the bright side- at least it is possible to get to it without dismantling half the car as is usually the case on younger cars.

Grant

All sorted now Grant, Thanks for the heads up!
Jay

Hey dec76! You really need to see a dentist, a haircut and a shave wouldn't be bad either man, given the picture that you put up .Nice GTV6 i sold mine 2 years ago and miss it like mad now i drive a 75. I usually clean my electricals with electric contact cleaner that seems to improve the overall elecrtical situation. Good luck

Yeah i know... the years haven't been good to me!! You may see my Alfa driving around Sydney in a few years time. I'm looking to emmigrate in 2010/11. Found out it cost around £900 to ship my car to Oz.