Stupid problem: Electric wiper motor doesn't work anymore

belfert · August 16, 2013, 06:18:59 PM

I have electric wipers factory installed. Intermittent never worked on driver's side and actually blew a fuse when used. Problem seems to be in motor so I got a used motor off a crashed bus.

The stupid part comes in that the used motor didn't work when plugged in. Plug badly corroded so I decided to swap the cover plate with cord and plug from the original motor. Well, used motor still doesn't work with other cover plate from original motor. So, I put the cover plate plate back on original motor. Argh, now original motor doesn't work at any speed either! This was probably a stupid move to swap the cover from a working motor.

Any ideas how to get a wiper motor working after removing and reattaching the cover plate? Could I have screwed up the little wipers inside that make electrical contact? I'll have to break down and spend the $150 for a new motor if I can't get this one working.

Ed Hackenbruch · August 16, 2013, 09:02:14 PM

Brian, Scott Crosby on the other board is changing his air wipers over to electric and got a good price on them,....if you have to buy one maybe he can tell you where you can get a better price.

belfert · August 17, 2013, 04:17:45 AM

From a quick Google search, $150 isn't a bad price for a 24 volt wiper motor. It probably isn't worth spending a bunch of time trying to find a generic one with the right shaft and spline size.

I would prefer getting one of my current wiper motors repaired if I can.

Lin · August 18, 2013, 02:19:15 PM

If you can't fix it yourself, how about an electric motor shop?

robertglines1 · August 18, 2013, 02:32:39 PM

Brian : back to basic--do you have power to brushes? Check to make sure your arm is clear when in place(bearings holding centered) Ck for broken wires/solder joints. These are cks you can do yourself. Shine contact area of brush up with fine emery/sandpaper. clean oil/grease off with elect contact cleaner/carb-brake cleaner will work. dab of grease on bearings when you reassemble. good luck. Bob

belfert · August 18, 2013, 06:14:08 PM

Stupid in so many ways, but fixed now:

Original wiper motor worked just fine today, but I swear it didn't work at all the other day. I tried intermittent and it worked fine until the fuse popped after about five minutes in the middle of a stroke. I tried the replacement motor and realized the reason the replacement motor didn't work before is it grounds through the case. Intermittent still blew a fuse as soon as I turned the ignition on. I then unplugged the motor altogether and the fuse still blew. It was coincidence before that the fuse quit blowing when I unplugged the motor. (I have lots of 10 amp fuses!)

I decided to unplug one of the relays for the wipers on the electrical panel and the fuse quit blowing. I put in a spare relay and everything works fine now. The relay is shorted internally as some testing shows. It seems like occasionally the relay would start working and then quit again. I guess I now have a fully working spare wiper motor if I ever need one.

belfert · August 18, 2013, 06:56:47 PM

Quote from: Lin on August 18, 2013, 02:19:15 PM
If you can't fix it yourself, how about an electric motor shop?

It turns out the issue was never with the motor, but I considered some places that can repair wiper motors before I found the real issue. I wasn't sure it would be economical to repair the motor. Most wiper motor repair places specialized in obsolete motors and I can still get a new one. I have had a treadmill motor repaired at a motor shop once.