You said you just replaced the motor. Sounds like you have it a few cogs off on the gear on the motor shaft. You may be able to loosen the motor enough to move the wipers to the proper parked position (without turning the motor shaft) and then put the motor back in place. Then you should be back in sync. This has got to be the first time that I've ever failed to put a wiper blade on a car and I feel like a moron having to ask, but maybe I'll feel in dumber having to go to SOA to get the parts department to put it back on. 2013 WRX hatchback When I was washing my car, I pulled the rear wiper off the windshield so I could clean it.
Wipers a no-go
It's a rainy Monday and you need to get the kids to school and yourself to work. So you get in your vehicle, turn the key, turn the wiper switch on and nothing happens - no movement and no noise. Your windshield wipers aren't working.
- Step 3: To remove the wiper arm, put a little pressure on the base of the arm while pulling straight off the spindle. It may need a little jiggling to get started. Step 4: Inspect the connection between the spindle and wiper arm to see if it’s stripped. If so, you may need a professional to replace it.
- If you live in a place that gets cold enough to frost or freeze, you've probably seen people leave their windshield wipers upright at night to prevent them from freezing to the windshield. Maybe you do this yourself. The idea is to keep the wipers off the glass to prevent them from freezing.
You know that it's raining too hard to drive without the wipers -- you need to be able to see out the windshield. This is something that you need to take care of right away; you can't risk your safety and the safety of your passengers. Read on to learn how to go about troubleshooting this issue.
First step
Whether your wiper switch is located on a wiper stalk along with the washers, turn signal and perhaps rear wiper system, or if your wiper switch is a standalone wiper/washer combination, check the other functions for functionality. Do the turn signals on the stalk work? Does the wiper fluid spray? Perhaps your stalk has rear wiper functions: do they work?
Mechanical problem
If upon turning the switch, you hear either a buzzing or a noise coming from the wiper area but no movement of the windshield wipers, then it becomes likely that there is a mechanical problem. In front wiper systems, there are two moving parts, the wiper motor and the wiper transmission. In rear wiper systems with a single wiper, there’s a single moving part, the wiper motor.
If you hear a buzz, it could be a motor straining to move a jammed wiper transmission or a locked motor gear. If you hear a grind coming from the wiper area, it could be a stripped gear in either the motor, the transmission or where the wiper arm splines to the wiper motor in the rear. Don’t let the term transmission fill you with dread; it’s simply a term for a multi-lever set of arms and hinges that turn the circular motion of the wiper motor into the side to side motion of the wiper arms. It is also possible that the spline on the post of the front wiper arms is stripped.
Generally speaking, you can reach the motor and transmission by removing the wiper arms, all the screws that hold the cowl beneath the wiper arms and the weather stripping. Once exposed, you should be able to remove the motor from the transmission and check to see if the transmission is binding or if the motor is the culprit. Simply, replace the culprit, and reassemble.
If the problem is with the rear wiper system, getting to the wiper motor can be more difficult with far more trim to remove than with a front system. You may elect to consult your mechanic for help.
Electrical problem
If nothing works, an electrical problem could be the culprit, possibly a blown fuse. A bad fuse on its own doesn't occur often, but occasionally, finding and changing a bad fuse can get your wipers working again.
A word of caution: because you're working with the wiper system, a blown fuse should be treated very carefully. If the fuse is blown, there’s a good chance that replacing the fuse won't cure the underlying problem. Consult your mechanic at your earliest convenience to avoid a system failure under hazardous conditions.
Changing the fuse
Every vehicle is different, so consult your owner manual for the location of the fuse box containing the fuse for the windshield wipers, washer or stalk. Pull the fuse and check it for breaks in the filament, or in the case of a glass fuse, check for fog in the tube. If the fuse appears damaged, replace it with a fuse of identical amperage.
If the fuse is good
If the fuse is good and undamaged, then the wiper stalk, wiper/washer switch or the wiring to-or-from either become the prime suspects. If you're handy with tools and have some understanding of direct current electrical systems, you may want to check the wiper/washer switch for power and ground. If you're not comfortable doing this or are dealing with a wiper stalk, you should take your vehicle to your mechanic for further diagnosis of the stalk and accompanying circuitry.
One time when I was very young I noticed that the parents of my neighborhood best friend covered their car upholstery with plastic. When asked why my friend told me that they did not want the upholstery to show the normal wear and tear of a family. Even at a young age I thought that was kinda stupid. We have to sit on and endure the look of grungy plastic for years to help what, resale value?
Plastic was a wonderful invention and boon to mankind, but it was not intended to remain on things like lamp shades forever. The other day on a road test I was riding in a nice SUV and right there in front of me was a windshield mounted GPS, the face still covered with sticky packing plastic, the pull away tab quite visible, the image not too clear. 'Is there any reason you still have that plastic covering your GPS?' I asked. 'Oh, it's pretty new' was the reply. Right.
Last week someone came for a road test and their rear windshield wiper was covered by an ill fitting plastic bag. I have noticed while driving in the last year that quite a few SUV's have those ill fitting plastic bags and was going to attempt to find out more from the driver but the poor woman failed on her back up maneuvers in the parking lot, ending the test early. Perhaps her vision was partially obstructed.
That day I went into the office and asked the young secretary if she knew why people cover their rear wipers with plastic bags. 'I think it's to protect them from ice' she replies. That didn't make sense to me because I happen to have a rear wiper on my little Toyota Matrix which I park outside and I've never noticed the wiper covered with ice on a cold morning.
Undeterred by my objection Annie gets on the Internet and asks: 'Why are there plastic bags on rear wipers?' One of the first answers provided was, and I'm serious here, that they identify people from a particular religious group and they also protect the wipers from ice. 'See' says Annie, 'I was right.' I try to reason with Annie. 'So you're going to be driving along, plastic bag on your wiper, and you start to get freezing rain. Either you use the wiper with the plastic, doing your windshield no good, or you have to stop and get out into the freezing rain to remove that stupid bag.'
Annie then says 'Oh here, car washes put them on to protect the wipers from rotating brushes, which sometimes grab onto the wipers, thus damaging them.' Now that did make sense. People from that religious group want to practice safe car washing. Afterwards they just forget (I think) to remove the bag.
Now, I'm not the brightest car in the lot myself. Several years ago my daughter Missy's auto was run into at a four way stop by a 15 year old girl who ran the stop sign. Missy was OK but her little Nissan needed a lot of body work. Her insurance paid enough for her to use any rental car on the lot and she picked a Chevy Tahoe.
Excitedly Missy said 'Dad, you can borrow it any time you want' which I needed to do one day. She left the keys for me inside her door. I started the Tahoe and just began backing up when I heard a 'RUPP RUPP' sound. Stopping and looking back I see nothing. As I begin again I hear the same'RUPP RUPP'. Again I look back see nothing. This went on for a couple of minutes before I realized that the rear wiper was set on the interval setting. It was never on when I looked back. Like all good women in my family Missy had left the wipers on when last stopping. It was raining then but not when I borrowed the vehicle.