Alan

Just use a '53 relay from somewhere else - you have lots - car doesn't need to be running for this test just ignition on.

Alan

tilac999

Thanks for all the helpful advice. When I pulled the fuse for the horn and ran the rear wiper, it wouldn't park in the proper location. It parked everywhere but the correct spot. While it was running, I installed the horn fuse and sure enough it blew when the wiper finished its 3 stroke sweep. I replaced the wiper relay with a good 53 relay I got on Ebay and all is right with the world. Thanks again.

As an aside, while the rear wiper was out of action I had been using the rear defroster (pushed in, button, not turned). It only shuts off when you turn off the car or ~15 mins I think. Anyway, it must draw lots of juice as my 25 amp fuse was nearly melted after using it daily for the past week. A similar thing happened with my fuel pump fuse last year, it completely melted due to oxidation around the fuse.

Until I can do a proper, complete CE panel cleaning, I found that my girlfriend's emory board nail file works great for cleaning the fuse contacts before a quick spray with contact cleaner. I have the later style fuses btw.

Alan

Long time ago... but since this got re-referenced recently: this is not any kind of over current issue. it is solely contact resistance build up on the fuse contacts, cleaning the blades is a good idea but mechanically clean them very gently - use chemical cleaning primarily... better yet throw them away and get new ones and if you ever bought a bunch of cheap gold plated Chinese fuses - take them out and throw them all away (they weren't). Get good quality Bussman or Littelfuse ATC/ATC fuses instead and try to clean - dropper, small brush (but not a file) the fuse holders too.

If you bought the Chinese fuses on eBay cheap and never had a problem that's good - take them all out and throw them away while that remains true... Good fuses are cheap anyway - you don't need cheaper and crappier ones - it's a terrible trade-off in the long run.

Alan

hlee96

Sorry for the thread revival but I have a similar issue with my '89 S4. Rear wiper has always worked but my horn was not working. I decided to pull the #18 fuse and gave the contacts a good wiping with sand paper lightly, followed by Deoxit-100 drops on each end. Lastly, I sprayed Deoxit-5 liberally on the relay sockeys, relays, and CE panel and grounds points behind it.

When I inserted #18 fuse (15a) back into the slot, I hear a "thump" coming from the back hatch, but I did not know what it was from at that time (now I know). Afterwards, I pressed on the horn and it sounded. Great! However, once I buttoned everything back up, the horn stopped working again and the rear wiper is parked too far to the driver side and it won't swipe. It looks like it is trying to swipe further towards the driver side, and after 3 tries, it stops.

I removed the fuse and it doesn't look burnt. The horn relay is fine, b/c I swapped it with the starter relay next to it and the car started fine.

Some 15a fuses are coming from Roger and I will see if a new fuse would fix the problem. So, would sounding the horn a few times caused the rear wiper to malfunction afterwards? Or is this a #18 fuse problem? Do I need to change horns? I do have a hella set of horns sitting in a box waiting to be changed in if I need to.

Thanks-Hoi