C5 Estate Window Lock

[Guest gaztank]

Hi i have a c5 estate with a tailgate window which opens. after the snow and ice the other week the window kept opening when driving along, I guessed water had got in and was shorting the switch. any way I got a new switch assy £40. and went to fit it. The only problem I have. I cannot get the wiper arm off. I undid the nut and tried to prize it off. I even used a puller. the plastic finally snapped off. :angry: Not happy. but the splined boss is still there, Am I going about this wrong or does citroen scrap the wiper arm anyway to change the switch assy. I now need to buy a new wiper arm. Does citroen use a loctite to stick the arm in place. if so do I need to heat it up with a blow torch to melt the glue ??? some advice would be nice. gary.

[Randombloke]

Please search the forum, the answer was posted/linked to only the day before yesterday:

 

Estate - Glass Part Of Tailgate Opens At Random, Intermittent fault - always a pain

 

You will need to be logged in to see the pictures.

[fatgut]

Hi i have a c5 estate with a tailgate window which opens. after the snow and ice the other week the window kept opening when driving along, I guessed water had got in and was shorting the switch. any way I got a new switch assy £40. and went to fit it. The only problem I have. I cannot get the wiper arm off. I undid the nut and tried to prize it off. I even used a puller. the plastic finally snapped off. :angry: Not happy. but the splined boss is still there, Am I going about this wrong or does citroen scrap the wiper arm anyway to change the switch assy. I now need to buy a new wiper arm. Does citroen use a loctite to stick the arm in place. if so do I need to heat it up with a blow torch to melt the glue ??? some advice would be nice. gary.

My commiserations, you are where I was a few weeks back. My suspicion is they are fragile and do break easily. As for getting the remains of the metal from the wiper arm, it is only aluminium, so I took the blade out of a junior hacksaw and cut a line parallel with the spindle that rotates back and forth, the got a big bladed screwdriver into that and twisted to crack it off. When you buy the new arm you will see that it was an integral part of the wiper arm, and clearly never meant to be separated from the plastic. It is not splined inside when new, and fits onto the tapered splined thing which is steel. I took the precaution at that stage of using some copperslip in the naive hope that it might prevent it 'fusing' again in future. Ho ho. Are you sure the problem was at the switch though? Guess you'll know after fitting. Hope you get on OK. It's a dear do for sure.

[Randombloke]

As for getting the remains of the metal from the wiper arm, it is only aluminium, so I took the blade out of a junior hacksaw and cut a line parallel with the spindle that rotates back and forth, the got a big bladed screwdriver into that and twisted to crack it off. When you buy the new arm you will see that it was an integral part of the wiper arm, and clearly never meant to be separated from the plastic.

 

Thanks for this info, it is what I need to complete the repair to my car.

 

Will remove the wiper arm with your tip and replace it in the near future.

 

Cheers.

[Guest gaztank]

My commiserations, you are where I was a few weeks back. My suspicion is they are fragile and do break easily. As for getting the remains of the metal from the wiper arm, it is only aluminium, so I took the blade out of a junior hacksaw and cut a line parallel with the spindle that rotates back and forth, the got a big bladed screwdriver into that and twisted to crack it off. When you buy the new arm you will see that it was an integral part of the wiper arm, and clearly never meant to be separated from the plastic. It is not splined inside when new, and fits onto the tapered splined thing which is steel. I took the precaution at that stage of using some copperslip in the naive hope that it might prevent it 'fusing' again in future. Ho ho. Are you sure the problem was at the switch though? Guess you'll know after fitting. Hope you get on OK. It's a dear do for sure.

 

Yes they are fragile and yes I was left with the metal boss. I warmed it up a little and with the aid of a small 3 legged puller I got it off. There was white residude all in the splines. I think the service centre does glue them on. Because when I bought the car a few years ago from citroen the switch was faulty then and they replaced it, and they must of put glue/loctite on then. I have cleaned the splines, The switch assy was easy to change, under the plastic cap was a 22mm nut which was easy to remove. I released the window lock by just removing few buttons reaching inside and pushing up the solinoid to release. I pulled the inside cover off I released the plug and removed the assy. yipee. I fitted the new one and used a little white grease to seal the edges. I fitted the nut and tested the switch and yes it worked ok. I new it was a switch fault as I took it apart before I started the job. To find part of the thin metal strip of the switch loose inside and when I touched it the lock activated. I am going to use copper slip when I Re-assemble the wiper arm. I found the new haynes manual very un-helpfull on the removal of the switch or wiper arm and did not give a good write up. all haynes wants to do is to completely dismantle the car and re-assemble in reverse. Thanks for the info guys. all I have to do is find out why my lights dip closer to the ground when I go faster. I feel a new topic comming on.

[Randombloke]

all I have to do is find out why my lights dip closer to the ground when I go faster. I feel a new topic comming on.

 

Does your car have sport mode? If so it has H3+ and it might be something to do with the car dropping the ride height at the front and rear different amounts when going over 68mph.

 

The light levellers are supposed to correct for this but maybe they are not.....

[Randombloke]

As for getting the remains of the metal from the wiper arm, it is only aluminium, so I took the blade out of a junior hacksaw and cut a line parallel with the spindle that rotates back and forth, the got a big bladed screwdriver into that and twisted to crack it off.

 

Thanks for the tip it took me all of 2 minutes to get the metal bush off with your technique.

 

New wiper arm is now on and protected with some copaslip.