First Section (Box) A

A) A windscreen wiper is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice and debris from a windscreen or
windshield. Almost all motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, train locomotives, watercraft with a
cabin and some aircraft, are equipped with such wipers, which are usually a legal requirement.

A wiper generally consists of a metal arm, pivoting at one end and with a long rubber blade attached
to the other. The arm is powered by a motor, often an electric motor, although pneumatic or hand
power is also used in some vehicles. The blade is swung back and forth over the glass, pushing water
or other precipitation from its surface. The speed is normally adjustable, with several (usually two)
continuous speeds and often one or more "intermittent" settings. Most automobiles use two
synchronized radial type arms, while many commercial vehicles use one or more pantograph arms.

Most wipers in use today are powered by an electric motor through a series of mechanical
components, typically two 4-bar linkages in series or parallel. The linkages convert rotary movement
to part linear movement and then to part rotary movement.

Most windscreen wipers operate together with a windscreen washer; a pump that supplies a washer
fluid (mixture of water, alcohol, and detergent) from a tank to the windscreen. The fluid is dispensed
through small jets mounted usually on the bonnet (can be mounted on wiper arms, etc.). The jets
create a spray pattern on the windscreen. The jets can be adjusted with a needle, turning the jet the
pattern can be adjust in a way, its better washes the screen.

B) Modern electric and petrol-powered cars began appearing in the 1880s, but they were mostly
open-bodied, with no windows and certainly no heat. As cars grew in popularity, demand for more
comfort increased. Motorists used heavy clothing and portable heaters such as gas lamps and
burners to warm up the interior.

Engineers and users soon tired of these portable heaters, which were inherently dangerous. Instead,
they realized exhaust fumes could be used as a cheap on-board heat source, so by 1917, the first
heaters turned up that circulated exhaust gases into pipes. These gave off faint heat in the cabin.

By 1929 the first real heaters appeared on the Ford Model A. It sent hot air from the engine into the
interior, but wasn't very consistent and took a while to warm up. In 1933 Ford made the first in-dash
heater, a small gas-fuelled boiler. Cadillacs were the first cars with fully automatic climate controls--
adjusting interior temps to those outside. Since then, little has changed - almost all petrol cars still
use the heater core design, including hybrids, and most depend on heaters rather than air
conditioners to provide effective heat in cold weather.

A heater matrix is a small radiator, located under the dashboard of the vehicle and consists of
conductive aluminium or brass tubing with cooling fins to increase surface area. Hot coolant passing
through the heater core gives off heat before returning to the engine cooling circuit. Once the switch
inside the car is switched to ''HOT'' position, the valve opens and the hot coolant starts circulate
inside the heater matrix. The fan for the vehicle's ventilation system forces air through the heater
matrix to transfer heat from the coolant to the cabin air, which is directed into the vehicle through
vents at various points. Once the switch inside the car is moved to ''COLD'' position, the valve stops
the hot coolant circulating inside the heater matrix and the incoming air is at ambient temperature.
Modern cars are designed to have a constant through-flow of fresh air that keeps the interior
atmosphere pleasant even with all the windows shut. The incoming air can be heated by the engine
to keep the windows clear of mist and the car interior at a chosen temperature or cooled using the
air conditioning system.

Air conditioning is the process of removing heat from a confined space, thus cooling the air, and
removing humidity. The A/C system in our cars is comprised of a compressor, condenser, expansion
valve and evaporator. Refrigerant is compressed in the compressor and turns into a hot gas. In the
condenser, this hot gas is cooled to a liquid state and travels to the expansion valve. As the freon
goes through the expansion valve it returns to a low-pressure gas and rapidly cools in the
evaporator. A fan blows over the evaporator and cools the air that eventually blows out your vents.

The evaporator, also sometimes referred to as the evaporator core, is a heat exchange. In a typical
passenger car or pickup truck, the evaporator is usually located inside the passenger compartment,
quite often deeply buried in or under the instrument panel.

They look like, and in fact are, similar to radiators, only thicker and smaller in overall size. Like
radiators, evaporators consist of a series of internal tubes or “flow paths” with fins attached to them.
Air can pass freely through the fins, just like a radiator. But unlike a radiator, where the internal
tubes carry moving engine coolant, the passages in the evaporator carry moving refrigerant.

(Box 2) Section B

A) To control the motor speed, three brush system are used.

In the high speed mode, the dash switch is in the high speed position, and current flows through the
high speed brush rather than the normal speed brush witch is smaller in size. Once the switch is in
normal speed, the current flows through the normal speed brush and the motor is turned slower.
Thicker the brush, more current can flow trough it, so quicker the motor can turn.

Light rain or wet road conditions require the windscreen to be wiped infrequently. Most vehicles use
semiconductor controlled relay to provide this function. The time period between wipes is
controlled by the action of a capacitor. When the intermittent wipe mode is switched on, the relay is
energized and the contacts are closed. This connects the negative brush to earth and causes the
motor to operate. If at this stage the supply is disconnected, the relay will open and the contacts will
close. Since the limit switch is earthed, the motor will continue to operate until the earth contact at
the limit switch is broken.

Small centrifugal pump is usually fitted direct on to the water reservoir to supply water or cleaning
fluid to two or more jets that spray the windscreen. The pump is driven by a permanent magnet
motor controlled by a switch on the steering column stalk.

B) A typical electrical fault in heating/cooling system is faulty heater blower resistor. The blower
motor resistor is an electrical component that is a part of the vehicle's heating and air conditioning
system. It is responsible for controlling the blower motor’s fan speed. When fan speed is changed via
the knob on the instrument cluster, the blower motor resistor changes setting, which changes the
speed of the blower motor. The blower motor resistor is actually containing a three or four small
resistors built on a circuit board or as coiled wires. Each of them is responsible for one of the heater
motor speeds. The highest speed will have no resistance and the motor will turn on its full speed,
where the lowest speed will have the highest resistance (comparing to the other speed resistances)
and so on. So when the knob on dash is turned, all is does, is switches the resistance from lower to
higher (or back) to change the blower speed.

As the fan speed is one of the most frequently adjusted settings of the air conditioning system, the
blower motor resistor is put under constant stress, which can cause it to eventually fail. A failed
blower motor resistor can cause issues with the operation of the entire heating and air conditioning
system. Usually a bad or failing blower motor resistor will produce a few symptoms that can alert
the driver of a potential issue - blower motor stuck on one speed or no air from the vehicle’s vents.

Section C (Box 3)

A) Customer complaining about no washer liquid coming out the washer jets. Switched the ignition
on and pulled the steering column stalk to check if the pump can be heard. There were no signs of
working washer fluid pump. Checked on Autodata the fuse location and confirmed serviceable fuse.
Lifted the car up on rump and removed the nearside inner wheel arch. Located the washer bottle
direct behind the front bumper. The washer pump is installed in the washer bottle. Tested that there
is power feed coming to the pump once it's switched on. Placed bucket under it and removed the
pump. Bench tested the pump with battery pack and two wires. Connected the power to the washer
motor plug and confirmed non-working pump.

A washer motor consumes about 3A and supplies about 0.75 litre/min at a pressure of 0.67 bar.
Bench test confirmed non-working washer fluid pump

B) Customer complains about faulty heating system - the blower works just on the highest speed.
Confirmed the fault with checking the blowing speeds. Located the blower speed resistor and and
confirmed power feed to it on every speed. Removed the heater blower resistor pack. Disconnected
the plug. With an multimeter (switched to ohms) tested the resistance across the terminals. Placed
one lead of the Ohmmeter on terminal 1 of the resistor. Placed the other lead on terminal 2 and
check against specifications. If the readings are out of manufacturers specifications, the resistor pack
must be replaced. Also an open circuit, showing infinity on the Ohmmeter, diagnose faulty resistor.

Readings compared to manufacturers

Manufacturer’s specifications shows following resistance readings:

Speed 1 – 4.2 ohms

Speed 2 – 3.6 ohms

Speed 3 – 2.4 ohms

Speed 4 – 0.4 ohms

Measured with a multimeter customer’s cars resistor and the readings was: Terminal 1 – 0.4 ohms,
Terminal 2 - open circuit, Terminal 3 - open circuit, Terminal 4 - open circuit. The readings confirmed
faulty blower motor resistor.
Box 4 (Section D)

A) Checked on Autodata and got the right manufactures specification readings. Then used the
multimeter to get an actual reading of the pump, based on the readings from the multimeter,
compared to Autodata’s specs and made a judgement on whether the readings are within the
specification or if they’re out. Readings where out, so then the pump was faulty.

B) Checked on Autodata and got the right manufactures specification readings. Then used the
multimeter to get an actual reading of the resistor pack, based on the readings from the multi-
meter, compared to Autodata’s specs and made a judgement on whether the readings are within
the specification or if they’re out. Readings where out, so the resistor pack was faulty.

Section E (Box 5)

A) Once the faulty washer liquid pump was confirmed, received customer’s permission to order
replacement unit. Replaced faulty unit with received replacement, installed back the wheel arch,
lowered the vehicle on floor, switched the ignition on and confirmed working washer pump.

B) Once the faulty heater blower resistor was confirmed, received customer’s permission to order
replacement unit. Replaced faulty unit with received replacement, install it back and switched the
blower motor on, tested all speeds and confirmed that the issue is fixed.