Gaining access to windscreen wiper motor on 2004 TD5 with AC

Hello,

New defender owner here...

I am experiencing the common problem of the windscreen wiper blades not returning fully home between strokes and when turned off so am looking to replace the windscreen wiper motor parking switch. My only problem is that my car came with AC fitted, can access be gained to the motor without removing the AC panels or do they need to be removed? Has anybody else done this job on an AC Defender? This is on a 2004 Defender TD5.

I've got AC in my 2006 model TD5 and I can get at the windscreen wiper motor by dismantling the dash. It's a fiddly job as there are a lot of crosshead self tapping screws involved, all different shapes and sizes. But not technically demanding. The motor doesn't sit low enough to be concealed by the AC paraphernalia.

Brown said:

I've got AC in my 2006 model TD5 and I can get at the windscreen wiper motor by dismantling the dash. It's a fiddly job as there are a lot of crosshead self tapping screws involved, all different shapes and sizes. But not technically demanding. The motor doesn't sit low enough to be concealed by the AC paraphernalia.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response! Ok, I was thinking maybe that the AC panel was maybe attached to the bottom of the dash panels that would need to be removed but I take it this is not the case?

Did you happen to take any photos at all when you did this job?

I haven't got any pictures to hand because it's not the most exciting job in the world. Yes, the AC stuff is fixed to the bottom, but just get the dash plastic stuff out of the way and you'll see the motor, on the passenger side near the A pillar.

In terms with problems with the wipers, don't forget the switch on the steering column, which can malfunction in all kinds of creative ways. In addition, I have found that a good deal of wiper misbehaviour can be resolved with a new wiper relay - it lives behind the instrument cluster on your model I believe. Well, they call it a relay, but it's a lot more complicated than that, with circuit boards and other wizardry. A decent named brand one can be a good investment. I think mine's a Hella at the moment.

I've just remembered,somebody did a photo essay about this a while ago
It's on an earlier model, but the windscreen wiper arrangements are very similar.