Windscreen wiper stalk burnt down. Clio 197

[Martin Repp]

Hi!

A little heads up for the 197 owners. I don't know if this kind of problem is common among Clio owners.
My beloved 197 gave me a scare couple of nights ago... Long story short. I tried to spray windscreen fluid on my windscreen, it didn't spay a couple of times and the stick felt a bit weird. When suddenly I felt a strong electrical burning smell. A Few seconds later lots of smoke started to come out from underneath the steering column covers. I stopped quickly and turned the car off.

After that the radio and wipers were not working anymore.
So I took the stalk apart and found this little bonfire.



For the radio, I hope that only the fuse has burned down.

Has anyone had this kind of problem in the past ?

Martin

 

[Jimmy]

Thanks for the post, Martin. Not heard of this problem before, but always good to be aware of it in case it happens to someone on the forum.

 

[Chris]

Christ thats not good at all.

That stalk is renowned for giving people issues but never seen it catching fire basically...

 

[LOCKE]

I would be notifying Renault. Not good at all mate that would have been scary.

 

[Martin Repp]

I would be notifying Renault. Not good at all mate that would have been scary.

Oh it was scary alright, I was runnging for fire extinguisher.

ATM I ordered a new one, well not a cheap fix. 275€ .
Saw a few in ebay, but after that incident I didn't want to install a used one.

And for all of you running to check your stalk condition, be aware that the red wire bundle running from one stalk to the other is very fragilie and thight fitted, I managed to brake mine.


Martin

 

[chris foxall]

Hi all

This just happen to my clio too. I was wondering what did you do to fix this issue?? would really appreciate all the info you have on this =)

Thanks Chris