Archived Wipers are screwy!

[Wirenut]

Ok first my wipers got sluggish and sometimes even needed a tug to get going, then completely quit working all together. I bought a new motor for the wipers and now it works, but it is sluggish again and still needs a tug sometimes. What do I need to fix here? I am afraid to use them in fear of ruining the new motor.

 

[Ron Bissett]

Sounds like a binding of a worn link or pin on the metal cross the cab to splined wiper mounting points or worn , loose , bent , or binding on some thing in path of above linkage cross shaft or rack etc. You may want to take motor loose and try moving by hand to see if you can determine the cause of binding or slipping . Hope this helps . Ron in Louisville KY

 

[Wirenut]

Well, I had that whole assembly out and everything was fine. I think it is something electrical though because it only works on high, has no delay and it stops right where it is when you turn them off, instead of returning to the down position unless you try to stop it in the down position, then it makes one more cycle and stops half way back up.

 

[Ben Rumson]

Most wiper motors have a set of contact points inside that can be cleaned with a nail file and renewed. They can get pitted and become spontaneous.



Most techs now a days are only taught to replace the entire motor vs repair various parts inside the motor.



These may be a trick to getting the arm rotated back into the proper position before putting it all back together. I've seen mechanic jump two leads inside the motor (Oldsmoblie Cutlass)with a screw driver to get the arm to rotate to the correct position and then they could get the lid back on.



If all else fails, take the motor apart very carefully and see if you can get into the points (just like the old points and condenser in an old distributor cap) file the points parallel to each other and spray with electrical contact cleaner. Lithium grease the plastic gears while you're in there if they look dry enough for more goop.



Depending on the vehicle, this can be done with the motor still attached to the car or truck.



Hope this helps.



Anyone else have experience with the wiper motors on these trucks specifically?

 

[Wirenut]

Well, the motor thats on there is brand new. I just replaced it and it still does this.

 

[Wirenut]

Well, they mysteriously fixed themselves today. Surprisingly, it is colder out today too, about 20 degrees F.

 

[Ben Rumson]

Electrical Harness?

Glad to hear that it's working better now.



Intermittent electrical shorts can sometimes be traced to the electrical harness that extends from the turn signal down through the steering column. The problem occurs due to the constant movement of the turn signal arm, vibration, pinching, etc. The fix is to replace the entire arm and electrical harness.



Before this, replace the wiper relay and gradually work your way up the ladder.



Let's hope it keeps working.