Windscreen Wiper stopped......

Dyn-Evo · February 9, 2009, 17:10

Had a look to see if there's any known problems with this, and there seems not...?

Coming home from work today, and my wipers stopped working, mid-wipe: luckily I had only about half-a-mile to go, so was not too much of a problem.....

It was really chucking it down, tho..... s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem? I see its a 20A fuse...?

Would take a fair load to blow that? s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Worst case scenario.....how difficult is it to change the motor on these cars..?
Easier than a Mk1, I hope? s:D

s:D

There WAS a slight smell of burning just when the wipers stopped...could have been the old van in front of me at the time, though...? s:? :? s:?

Is there any known problem with water getting onto the motor, etc..? I have not had time to investigate this yet: its still piddling down...and dark, too..., so I'll leave it till tomorrow, I think....? s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · February 9, 2009, 18:00

I think you're right about the 20A fuse bit and that it would only blow if the wipers were physically restricted from moving (Very iced up??). I think you're thinking wishfully about the burning smell coming from the car in front s:D

s:D . Good luck!

Dyn-Evo · February 10, 2009, 08:02

Update:

Ok...so its not the fuse.....checked it this morning after looking at the wiring diagrams (if I 'd looked at these last night, I could have simply switched on the washer and if THAT had worked I would have known the fuse was ok.. s:roll: :roll: s:roll: )

Now interestingly, on page 91 of the wiring diagram PDF I ...erm..."acquired", it shows a schematic of the motor.

The relay is switching (or at least sounds like it is)...but there seems to be some sort of fuse INSIDE the motor assembly itself..?

Leading me on to how easy is it to get to the motor?
Can I simply unscrew the black trim under the windscreen, or do I have to dismantle dashboard, etc.... s:shock: :shock: s:shock: ?

Also, is it on the RHS of the car? The PDF is for a LHD car, and it has the motor on the RHS...?
I wouldn't have thought they would make 2 different linkages / motors, etc for this, do you..? s:? :? s:?

chalced · February 10, 2009, 08:35

I had to get to the motor when I changed to the single wiper mod.
Its fairly easy actually.

Just take off the plastic trim by the bottom of the windscreen, take the plastic 'frunk' off from under the bonnet and then you can get to the motor quite easily.
The 'tricky' part is taking the wiper rotor off from the motor. There is a little surclip that holds it to the motor and you cant really see as it is under the metal part of the bodywork. A screwdriver and a few scraped knuckles worked for me. Then there are just 3 bolts holding the motor to the bodywork. These were quite tight and took a large handled socket set to move.

Good luck.

Mel.

SimonC_Here · February 10, 2009, 09:01

I managed to change the wiper motor in a lunch time at work. Yep, scraped knuckles are a given really!
Getting the motor off the arm is a right pain but the rest is easy enough.

Simon

Dyn-Evo · February 10, 2009, 12:22

Thanks, peeps...! s:D

s:D

I'll get on that...... s8)

s8)

Dyn-Evo · February 11, 2009, 08:22

Got stuck in last night..... s:D

s:D

Quite an easy job, TBH: I've worked on a LOT worse!

As pointed out, the 2 plastic covers were really easy to remove, as was the frunk: only needed to move the frunk slightly over to the left to allow access to the final motor mounting bolt...!

The wiper bars seem to be connected to the motor via a nylon ball-joint type affair?
There was no circlip, as such: it was a push-fit, that pops over the metal motor "ball".......Still a PITA to get off, though... s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anyway, when the motor was removed, I tried moving the mechanism, and it was seized solid.! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

6 bolts later, and it was off the car, and it turns out the passenger pivot has seized: zero movement.
Now bearing in mind the motor seems to have a cut-out of some description fitted, it seems logical that if the motor is stalled, it will thermally limit: this would explain the 20A fuse still being intact.....the fuse would protect against short-circuits.

When I tested the motor on the bench, it functions normally, I think: indicates the trip is re-set when power is removed, possibly...? s:? :? s:?
Still, it seems to work!

I must point out that the PDF BGB shows a LHD motor (they ARE different! s:roll: :roll: s:roll: ), and the electrical connector is mirror imaged!
SO when it says "Pin +1" to "12v positive" you need to read it off the actual motor connector (yes, the connector on the motor is labelled inside!), rather than simply looking at the diagram in the BGB... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

I'm gonna tackle the mechanism today: lots of WD40, grease, etc.......!! s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:
I can plug the motor into the car the car, also, to verify that it will be ok when I refit it?

Hopefully, all will be ok: I was not looking forward to driving to Durham on Friday AM, early, possibly in torrents of rain on the motorway..........

.......with NO wipers..!!! s:(

s:(

SimonC_Here · February 11, 2009, 09:41

Quote from: "Dyn-Evo"I can plug the motor into the car the car, also, to verify that it will be ok when I refit it?

Hopefully, all will be ok: I was not looking forward to driving to Durham on Friday AM, early, possibly in torrents of rain on the motorway..........

.......with NO wipers..!!! s:( s:(

I did. I thought I'd test the new one before refitting everything! Also it will reset the motor to the correct position.
The motor was broken on mine. One of the magnets had come adrift inside and was jamming the com.

Good luck with the spray/rain. If you can pop out and get some RainX works really well, so much so I don't feel the need to use my wipers unless I'm stuck in traffic.

Simon

Dyn-Evo · February 11, 2009, 13:59

Right.....with a combination of blowtorch, hammer, ultrasonic bath, WD40..I got the mechanics to move.......eventually..! s8)

s8)

Once I had it moving, I discovered a tiny circlip holding the shaft in place. Once I had removed this, I was able to tap the shaft out of the bearing.

Then I ultrasonically cleaned the copper bearings in the wiper pivot fixing, re-packed the centre with grease, cleaned the shaft and re-assembled... s:D

s:D

I thought I'd do the other one while I was at it.....now both good as new!

Now only need to verify the motor is OK, and refit everything..........Durham, here we come..! s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

UPDATE:
Fitted everything: working fine..!
Wiper motor must have been really labouring before, as the wipers seem to have a new lease of life, now.....
My original motor is working fine, too......so if anyone else gets this, uplug the connector to the motor, and it will reset itself....
(you may need to refurbish / replace the wiper mechanism to clear the problem, though......but you shouldn't need to buy a new motor... s8)

s8) )

If any of you have "sluggish" wipers, this may be a time-bomb?
My wipers are positively zipping along now in comparison, and things like this get gradually worse over time, so you dont necessarily notice it happening..? s:? :? s:?

Capvermell · June 3, 2013, 10:57

I have the opposite problem to this on my 2002 Pre Facelift MR2 Roadster.

I was driving along on the sea front on a dry day and some idiot veered from his side of the road in to my path. As my horn had already failed two months earlier (probably the horn itself has failed on that as the relay still clicks when I press the steering wheel centre boss) I tried to flash him with my headlights and gesticulate at him.

In doing this I caught the windscreen wiper switch with my hand accidentally after which the wipers started running and would not stop. As it was a dry day I stopped and looked in the fuse box on the passenger side end of the dashboard and saw there was a dedicated wiper fuse. Removing the fuse (difficult as other fuses are too close by and this one was stiff and Toyota does not provide any fuse tweezers) cured the problem by stopping the wipers but also shuts off the screen wash circuit. As we really don't have that much rain in the South of England and I don't have to drive to work I have been getting by so far. Its amazing how at speed the water just runs off the windscreen itself if you put a bit of Rain-X on it. But this is an MOT failure when it comes up in December along with the horn and possibly the bonnet cable (where the spare wheel is located as well as various fluid reservoirs).

My question is do you guys reckon this is likely to be the steering column wiper stalk switch and a relay of some kind in it that is at fault as the wipers still run with the fuse for the wipers back in. If so how difficult is one of these to fit and the current one to remove? Historically I might have gone to a garage but I now don't work and as the horn has also recently failed and my front bonnet/luggage compartment lid just failed in some way (I suspect the cable has snapped somewhere) so it won't open I'm looking for self fix solutions to avoid a big bill (I could easily see all three costing well over £500 at a garage). Alternatively I need the name of a low cost garage/auto-electrician anywhere between the south half of London and the south coast that some of you have had goof experiences with. Essentially I'm prepared to pay £35 per hour for someone else to fix the problem but not £95 per hour.

Replacing the horn also seems like a potential real pig of a job (due to difficult access underneath the front of the car) as does replacing the bonnet cable when I can't even currently open the bonnet to access the release plate the cable pulls. It is also very dispiriting for all three of these things to have happened in three months even though the car still drives fine. However the vinyl hood is slowly but surely disintegrating behind each window and will also have to be replaced at some point.

Anonymous · June 3, 2013, 11:09

Had a problem with mine when they started to run slow just before the Paris trip and put it down to the spindles seizing up, sprayed them with some silicone grease and they have been fine since

Capvermell · June 3, 2013, 13:01

Quote from: "Les"Had a problem with mine when they started to run slow just before the Paris trip and put it down to the spindles seizing up, sprayed them with some silicone grease and they have been fine since

Mine are running at full speed as per normal. Its just that they now won't turn off via the wiper column stalk but only by pulling out the fuse for them in the panel by the driver's door.