Windshield wiper Tip

[kmack]

For those that will (at some point) attempt to fix their wipers so they work properly, this tip is for you. Leraned the hard (and slightly damaging way) just for you.

I removed my wipers the other day to clean and re-lube the pivots coming through the cowling. No problem, it's a pretty easy process. The catch comes when attaching them back to the wiper motor.

BEWARE!!!:eek:

You can (and I did) mount them up 180 degrees out of sequence. If you do, when you turn your wipers on they go shooting across your cowling and your hood. Not a good thing for fresh paint like on my car....:tapemouth

So the tip: test the operation of your wipers before you put the cowling back on and before you mount the actuall wiper blades back on. Put one blade on, but leave it standing up instead of laying on the glass. Use the drivers side one. Then turn on the wipers and see if the wiper moves up the windshield or down towards the hood. If it moves towards the hood, disconnect the wiper motor and rotate mounting arm 180 degrees. then check it all again.

Once you have it working right, then put it back together and give thanks to this website (for its wonderful information) and to me for my stupidity of not checking everything and rushing through a job.

[kmack]

I did that too. But if the arm is mounted 180 degrees off at the motor, the wipers will run backwards or in the opposite direction that they should.

I figure that's how they are supposed to be set up for the right-hand drive cars.

[EScanlon]

Old Trick I've used when doing this bit.

Mount everything, and do your darndest not to mix up directions. Once you're ready, get a strip of masking tape, apply it around the splined shaft for each of the wiper blades and place the tape in such a way that there is a little "flag" coming off the shaft approximately where the arm of the wiper would be, remember at this point you will be guessing. Actuate your mechanism. You will see the "flag" or tab of masking tape move as if it were a wiper.

If the movement is approximately correct, relocate the tab so that it comes off the spline at the correct position that it needs to be when the mechanism is parked, as it should be with the switch "OFF". Actuate again. if everything is ok, THEN remount your arms.

One other note, the "Park" position IS adjustable. There is a module on the back of the gear mechanism which has the contact switch for it. So be careful if you try to disassemble the motor / gear unit, as you will then have to locate the parked position by trial and error.

[26ounce]

I just had the exact thing happen to me on Saturday. I was so pleased with myself when I had put the wiper assembly back in - I became a whole lot less pleased when both wipers went shooting across the bonnet on the first test:mad:

Its not hard to avoid if someone warns you.

By the way, if anyone knows a painless way to remove the pivots from their sleeves I would love to hear it. I was stuffing around with mine for hours, I got one side completely out and the other about half way when I got frustrated and gave up. Both pivots rotate easily enough, but I'm not sure how long the half-way one will last.

[kmack]

I wrote a post on this exact thing a little while ago. Look up this thread "Quick rebuild of wiper arm pivots..." in the technical articles.

[bartman]

Luckily, I haven't painted my exterior yet; because it removed some of the paint on the cowling.

Could someone be more specific on how to rotate the mounting arm 180 degrees? Do I need to physically remove or loosen my mounted wiper motor to do this or can it be done in place? Getting the wiper motor and arms in and out of its installation location is quite a PITA.

[=Resurected280=]

Another word of warning about wipers (I know this because I did it :stupid: ) but if you mount the pivots 180 degrees out of position the linkage can also become jambed. This did not bend the linkage but my motor did make an awful grinding noise when this happened. Also this a an absolute pain to get unstuck.

[Bambikiller240]

Remove lockwasher and nut that connects the Operating Rods to the output shaft of the motor, lift and rotate the connector piece 180 degrees and reinstall it on the output shaft. Reinstall the lockwasher and nut. Tighten.

Once you've removed the wiper motor and mechanicals once, it's not hard at all.

FOR ME, I wouldn't even bother trying to do it with the wiper motor installed. But thats just me.

FWIW, I rebuilt the wiper system (except for the motor) last summer. Made a huge difference in function

[bartman]

Thanks Classic Zcar!

I switched the operating arms, and now it works correctly.

[TomoHawk]

My wipers are nice & smooth on low. The go really slow with the engine OFF (of course- battery voltage is 12.3volts with engine off). But the volts goes up to 14.5 with the engine ON. Headlights etc. are brighter too. Of course you don't want to run the wipers with no liquid on the glass. So tomorrow (if it doesn't snow) I think I'll remove the arm pivots and take them apart- did the linkage last summer.

They still clunk in high speed tho. Maybe a pivot cleaning will fix that.

BTW, I removed the wiper amp/relay module, and it's like brand new inside. I was expecting some corrosion to explain the slow speed. Most all the interior (protected) wiring is in excellent condition. Only the wires exposed to the elements (heat & water) got brittle or rusty.

thx