Bad wiper motor?

The Shape · Feb 25, 2004

So I go to lunch today it is just starting to rain as I pull into McDonalds as I am setting in line to order my wipers just stop in the middle of the windshield. I turned the switch off and stuck my hand out the window tapped the wiper and they went back down, but wouldn't do anything after that. So of course by the time I am pulling back out on the highway it is now pouring rain and i have to drive back to work almost blind ( thank God for rain-x) Anyway after work I cut the switch on and they worked , but very very slowly then they just quit again. When they were working slowly after work I tried the switch in all positions high and low were both equally slow, and the delay positons worked but when the wipers would go up they went at the same slow pace. So I am guessing it isn't in the switch. But my question is could it be the relay? Even if the motor was locked up shouldn't I be able to hear the relay click? I am betting on the motor just wanted to see who else had been through this.

88stangmangt · Feb 25, 2004

nope not the motor!!!!! in the same boat only have "high" with mine moves slow as balls. and then stops for 5 seconds bought a brand new wiper motot still does it. bougt a new turn signal switch still does it. my bet there is a short in it some where i have yet to find it thought maybe it wasnt geting a ground. it's got a strong ground so i have yet to find the problem even checked the wiper arms to see if the bearings were worn out they are fine. so as far as i am conserned it is a mystery. but if you find anything let me know.

The Shape · Feb 25, 2004

Man that sux, but hey atleast you have some wipers i got nothing. I will let you know what I figure out on mine and good luck with yours sa well.

HISSIN50 · Feb 25, 2004

Shape, sorry to hear about that.

for what it is worth, if it ever dies altogether, often the motor will come back to life with a good whack from a hammer.

i have never played with the wiper wiring, but i would guess you could jump juice to the various posts (different speeds) for troubleshooting.

i would also really examine the ground(s) for the motor. we all know what moisture does to the ground connections. the more you need your wipers, the worse the connection is.

just me two cents. good luck. let us know what it is for future reference. i havent had my wipers on for a year. dont know if they still work. LOL.

BlackGT89 · Feb 26, 2004

Shape, mine were doing nearly the same thing, quit working on itermittent, then on low, then high went out. I could give the arms a push and they would run for a while. I got a replacement motor from Autozone (they didn't have anyway to test the old one) for $70 exchange. Not cheap, but it fixed my problem, not to say it would automatically fix yours (maybe they are binding somewhere ?) . If not, they might even let you bring it back, if you word it just right. Good luck !

cardudeusa · Feb 26, 2004

I think my motor is going out also. It works fine until about 5-10 minutes, then seems when it heats up it will stop in various places. I'm going to replace the motor hopefully that fixes it.

JadeFalcon · Feb 26, 2004

take your cowl off, and put moly grease on your linkage, your probably rusted to hell and you dont even know it.

NYC LSC · Feb 26, 2004

Wouldn't hurt to put a new ground on it. I had a wacky problem with mine where they wouldn't "park", and I'd get this annoying "hum" under the dash when the wipers were turned off on the stalk. Moved the ground to somewhere else, and they've been fine since.

Good luck.

The Shape · Feb 26, 2004

I appreciate all of the replies on this. Here is where I am so far. It quit raining last night so I messed with it a few minutes before work this morning. The wipers are still DOA the motor isn't making any noise at all and I tried to the wipers a helping push thinking maybe the linkage was binding up, but got nothing. I really don't think it is the switch because when I did get them to work a little bit last night all of the positions on the switch worked they just worked very slowly. I called a friend at the parts store and went ahead and ordered another motor. It has been a little noisy lately so I am hoping it just froze up. If that doesn't work he said he would let me return the motor. I am gonna give whacking it with a hammer a try this afternoon (thanks HISSIN50 sounds like we think alike) NYC LSC which wire is the ground for the motor so I can check that out?

NYC LSC · Feb 26, 2004

Shape - here's what the motor in my VII looks like. You see that black wire that's run from the front to in between the motor and the firewall? That's the ground...

Good luck...

dustang90 · Feb 26, 2004

My wiper motor is really loud. Does anyone else have this problem?????

The Shape · Feb 26, 2004

Thanks for the picture man I wasn't even thinking about it being a seperate wire like that, I was thinking it would be one of the wires in the harness going to the wiper motor and ground God knows where. Appreciate all of the advice on this I will let everyone know what I find it may be sunday before I get a chance to really spend anytime on it. Sux not having a garage and having to work out in the driveway.

DTT92LX · Feb 26, 2004

It probably is the motor. My wiper motor went last winter after about a year of being tempermental like yours...middle of a sleet storm and it just slowed down to nuthin'. Had to drive a good mile or so with the ice and snow building up on the windshield! I was driving with my head out the window getting smacked by the sleet...Sucked! I did the usual banging on the motor and linkage. Got some lube off a contractor parked nearby for the linkage. Nuthin' worked. Luckily, where I finally pulled over was near a pepboys and they had a motor.

There I am changing the damn thing in the middle of ice and snow storm. It was pretty f'in cold but it fixed my probs.

The Shape · Feb 26, 2004

Damn now I feel bad about complaining about having no garage. atleast I won't have to do it in the sleet. Mine has been working fine except for being a bit noisy and then all of a sudden nothing. Gonna swap the motor this weekend and see what happens.

HISSIN50 · Feb 26, 2004

The Shape, you would not believe the things a swinging press can fix. wiper motors for one. i have used a box end wrench to beat an injector to work. i give everything a whack before replacing. helps with troubleshooting if the item works again, and gives some fudge time while waiting for parts. that said, your motor wont work after a beating and the motor wont be at fault. you can thank me for the jinx. LOL.
good luck and let us know how it goes.

The Shape · Feb 26, 2004

Well here is abit of an update. I come home from work today and since I had a bit of daylight left I decided to use my test light to make sure I was getting power to the motor. Well I didn't get to perform my test cause when I turned the switch on they worked. The lo and the high were the same speed for a minute or so then they started working normally The lingage is still noisy though so maybe they were just bound up like Jade Falcon suggested earlier in the thread. I already ordered the replacement motor. As much as I hate to waste 50 bucks I think I am going to go ahead and replace it and clean the electrical connectors and grease the linkage while I am at it. I figure it is 16 years old it can't hurt to swap it out. Would that silicone spray lube be alright to lube the linkge with? Also if for some reason the switch was making it act haywire do you think it would be a good idea to spray it with some electro contact cleaner? Who knows though I may get in the car tommorow morning and they won't work again. You gotta love these old cars they all have a personality thats for sure.

JadeFalcon · Feb 26, 2004

The Shape said:
Well here is abit of an update. I come home from work today and since I had a bit of daylight left I decided to use my test light to make sure I was getting power to the motor. Well I didn't get to perform my test cause when I turned the switch on they worked. The lo and the high were the same speed for a minute or so then they started working normally The lingage is still noisy though so maybe they were just bound up like Jade Falcon suggested earlier in the thread. I already ordered the replacement motor. As much as I hate to waste 50 bucks I think I am going to go ahead and replace it and clean the electrical connectors and grease the linkage while I am at it. I figure it is 16 years old it can't hurt to swap it out. Would that silicone spray lube be alright to lube the linkge with? Also if for some reason the switch was making it act haywire do you think it would be a good idea to spray it with some electro contact cleaner? Who knows though I may get in the car tommorow morning and they won't work again. You gotta love these old cars they all have a personality thats for sure.

your going to want a moly grease of some sort, silicon spray wont stay on there long enough.

HISSIN50 · Feb 26, 2004

Jade is right. i havent played with it, but i imagine water gets down there, so you need something thick. even white lithium might not cut it.
if you lived close id give you some waterproof grease (for motorcycles). seems to hold up pretty well.
i bet you end up taking it all apart and wire brushing it all. (i think you are like me). LOL.
good luck.
PS, i agree about the motor. its demise is inevitable. better to do it sooner than later. wipers are kinda important.

The Shape · Feb 27, 2004

Yep it was the motor they quit again today on the way home from work so I used my test light while they weren't working and I had power to the motor. So then I did as HISSIN 50 suggested and took a "swing press" to it and they started working again. Actually I am lying about that part I was to lazy to go get the hammer out of my tool box so I picked a fair sized rock up out of the drive way and whailed away at it till they started working! Anyway gonna swap the motor out this weekend. I am still not sure what exactly moly grease is? I have a tub of grease setting around from when I packed my wheel bearings will that work?

HISSIN50 · Feb 27, 2004

whahoo, the CSP (caveman swinging press) works!
it is a tool every mechanic should have in his or her toolbox.

unless Jade disagrees, general purpose grease (or high temp, hi pressure grease like wheel bearing grease) should work just dandy. i use it or the Mobil 1 synthetic grease often. if you cant reach any places, spray some white lithium grease in there. i looked at some i sprayed (the location is exposed to the elements) and it is still there.

good job troubleshooting. hope the install goes clean.

Bad wiper motor?

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