need help with wipers

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72lidart

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I have been trying to get my wipers to work. The old motor was real slow so I replaced it. Prior to installing it I wired it up and turned on the motor without being hooked up to the linkake. All three speeds seemed to be working and the switch seems to be working also. I installed the new motor and attached the linkage and the wipers moved real slow and the motor got extremely hot. When I turned the switch off the motor was trying to reset back to it's rest stop but would not fully get there. You could hear the motor still trying to work and it was getting real hot. I removed the motor again and once again all three speeds seem to work fine when not hooked up to the linkage. I lubed all of the pivot points in the linkage with white lithium grease. When I move the wipers by hand without being hooked up to the motor there does not appear to be any binding in the linkage. I removed the radio to get a good look at the linkage and nothing appears out of whack. WTF. At this point could it possibly be a bad wiper switch. I don't understand why when it is shut off the motor will not reset itself to the resting position. Sorry for being so long winded. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Well, if there is a high resistance in the wiper switch, not only will the switch get hot, but the low voltage to the motor could make the motor get hot. If the voltage is too low, it may not be supplying enough energy to "park" the wipers.
Having said that, if there is a bad ground to the motor it will exibit the same symptoms. I would run a dedicated ground wire from the battery NEG post, to the wiper motor itself. You may also want to check to see that the switch itseld is grounded through it's mounting point in the dash panel.
The motor itself may also be bad, but checking for high resistance, and good grounds is free so check that first.
Good Luck!

George
 
Hey George R, thanks for the help. I went outside and pulled the wiper motor switch. The switch itself is not getting hot. While the switch was not mounted in the dash I turned on the wipers and I was only getting one speed (out of the three) regardless of which setting I put the switch to. When I put the switch to the off position the motor would stop but not park itself. I then took a wire and touched the housing of the switch and grounded to the chassis. When I grounded the switch the motor then parked itself. I tried this a few times and each time I had the same result. Does it sound like a bad switch?. Is the switch automatically grounded when it is placed in the dash and tightened down?. Last stupid question, while I was playing around under the dash I found a small round silver item that looks like a flasher only smaller and it was very hot. Is this normal. Is it some sort of resister or something. Just wondering what it is.
 
The switch does need the ground refernce at the dash for parking.
The wiper pivots may be worn out. They may turn freely without the wiper arms. The blades not only create pressure thus binding but add that to the resistance of a bone dry glass and ther you have it.
A pivot seal kit is not too expensive. Polish the bores and shafts , cover everything with white lithium grease.
 
72lidart said:
Hey George R, thanks for the help. I went outside and pulled the wiper motor switch. The switch itself is not getting hot. While the switch was not mounted in the dash I turned on the wipers and I was only getting one speed (out of the three) regardless of which setting I put the switch to. When I put the switch to the off position the motor would stop but not park itself. I then took a wire and touched the housing of the switch and grounded to the chassis. When I grounded the switch the motor then parked itself. I tried this a few times and each time I had the same result. Does it sound like a bad switch?. Is the switch automatically grounded when it is placed in the dash and tightened down?. Last stupid question, while I was playing around under the dash I found a small round silver item that looks like a flasher only smaller and it was very hot. Is this normal. Is it some sort of resister or something. Just wondering what it is.
Click to expand...
Well, I think the switch is grounded through the dash mounting surface, but paint, dirt and whatever could be causing a poor connection. If you grounded the switch with a seperate, dedicated wire, and they worked properly, I would say you have a ground problem either at the switch, or at the wiper motor. I would check the body of the wiper motor for ground with a test light. The wiper motor could be trying to "steal its ground" from the switch.
I don't know about that round thing is under your dash? Are you sure it isn't the flasher for the 4 ways? I don't know what else it could be.

Redfish made some good points as well.

George
 
Thanks for all the advice. Went outside this morning, cleaned up the mounting area for the wiper switch, mounted the switch and tightened it up real good. The wipers work perfectly in all three speeds and when I turn them off the park at the correct position. MAGIC (maybe), good advice from FABO(definately). Thanks again for the replys.
 
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