Wipers - motor goes, arms don't

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Car in my sig.

I hear the motor going but the arms don't move. Well, the did move a tiny bit after playing with the wiper switch (up an inch maybe) but immediately stopped.

They worked fine tomorrow.

This morning I had a ton of snow on my car. Having nothing but confidence in my mighty Kia, I usually use the wipers to clear the windshield. So far it's worked OK but I'm wondering if that's what took them out this morning.

I manually pulled up one wiper, and the other came up with it so I guess whatever synchronizes them is still good?

I took a look at the parts diagram and I get how the thing is supposed to work, but I don't see what could have failed that would let the motor spin but not let the arms move - the linkage looks pretty robust.

Any ideas? If there's enough daylight left when I get home I'll try to take the cowl off and take a look in there - but really, I don't know what I'm looking at so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
If the mechanism and the motor are good my money is on the splined shafts coming out of the linkage that the wiper arms themselves sit on.
 
Originally Posted By: Smcatub
Car in my sig.

I hear the motor going but the arms don't move. Well, the did move a tiny bit after playing with the wiper switch (up an inch maybe) but immediately stopped.

They worked fine tomorrow.
confused2.gif


So, just wait until tomorrow. Or, get in your time machine and stop yourself from using the wipers before de-icing them this morning.
cool.gif


Every electric motor has either a keyed shaft of some kind, or in rare cases a threaded end. Usually it's just a flat spot, sometimes a keyway (slot). I suspect that is where it stripped. Usually the motor shaft is OK but the mechanism attachment is stripped. Does the motor spin but nothing, or almost nothing happens?

Often dealers sell only entire assemblies to fix this problem. If so, you could consider a trip to the junk yard. Another option is a trip to the local welder to build it up, then file it out again. That is, assuming it is metal and not plastic. If it is plastic, you could rebuild it with JB Weld in a homemade mold, and it will be just as strong (that is, weak) as the original. A generous coat of car wax will work well as a mold release, as long as there are no places for the epoxy to extrude through and grab. In that case just grind the mold off.
 
Originally Posted By: HangFire
Originally Posted By: Smcatub
Car in my sig.

I hear the motor going but the arms don't move. Well, the did move a tiny bit after playing with the wiper switch (up an inch maybe) but immediately stopped.

They worked fine tomorrow.
confused2.gif


So, just wait until tomorrow. Or, get in your time machine and stop yourself from using the wipers before de-icing them this morning.
cool.gif



Sorry, that should have read 'yesterday'
grin.gif
 
Your experience is the reason I always clear snow completely before using the wipers. I've never had to replace a wiper motor or transmission, including on my 25 year old truck that saw Colorado and Vermont winters....but it appears that you stripped out either the motor shaft or the wiper shafts.
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Your experience is the reason I always clear snow completely before using the wipers. I've never had to replace a wiper motor or transmission, including on my 25 year old truck that saw Colorado and Vermont winters....but it appears that you stripped out either the motor shaft or the wiper shafts.


Yes, you have killed your own wipers by clearing snow with them.
 
I have had this happen. If the wiper arms are aluminum (Mine are) you may be able to take the nuts that hold them on, off, and clean out the stripped holes. Then, replace on the shafts and snug the nuts back down, so that the steel shafts cut new splines into the arms. If not.......All you probably need is new arms. But mine have worked fine for about 5 years, after making this repair. And not running the wipers with a load on the windhshield, again.
 
Originally Posted By: Smcatub
I usually use the wipers to clear the windshield.

Folks, this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. OP has caused great damage to his wiper mechanism by doing this.

Wipers are meant ONLY for removal of rain and whatever snow/slush falls on the windshield as you drive.

Brush the snow off your car before you use your wipers. Also, make sure you clear the area at the base of the windshield, so the wipers don't have to force themselves into packed-snow when they drop down to the "park" position.
 
Never turn the car off without the wipers off and parked, and before you turn them on in the morning make sure the windshield is cleared of snow and the wipers aren't frozen to the windshield!
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Never turn the car off without the wipers off and parked, and before you turn them on in the morning make sure the windshield is cleared of snow and the wipers aren't frozen to the windshield!


What's the harm in turning the vehicle off with wipers in the parked position? Unless you mean that subsequently you might turn the wipers on when they are coated in snow/ice. Then I can see the harm, but otherwise I don't see it.
 
Originally Posted By: johnnysack
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Never turn the car off without the wipers off and parked, and before you turn them on in the morning make sure the windshield is cleared of snow and the wipers aren't frozen to the windshield!


What's the harm in turning the vehicle off with wipers in the parked position? Unless you mean that subsequently you might turn the wipers on when they are coated in snow/ice. Then I can see the harm, but otherwise I don't see it.


No harm in turning the vehicle off with the wipers in the park position, but if you turn it off halfway through the cycle in the unparked position, as soon as you turn it on they will try to park regardless of the switch position. If they are frozen to the windshield due to freezing temps overnight, you will strip the arms where they meet the linkage.
 
Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: Smcatub
I usually use the wipers to clear the windshield.

Folks, this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. OP has caused great damage to his wiper mechanism by doing this.

Wipers are meant ONLY for removal of rain and whatever snow/slush falls on the windshield as you drive.

Brush the snow off your car before you use your wipers. Also, make sure you clear the area at the base of the windshield, so the wipers don't have to force themselves into packed-snow when they drop down to the "park" position.


Thank you, sir, for sage advice that most of us have had the common sense to employ since age 16.

Then again, lazy is as lazy does.............
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
No harm in turning the vehicle off with the wipers in the park position, but if you turn it off halfway through the cycle in the unparked position, as soon as you turn it on they will try to park regardless of the switch position. If they are frozen to the windshield due to freezing temps overnight, you will strip the arms where they meet the linkage.

And same problem if if the windshield is covered with heavy snow.

Automobile windshield wipers are not particularly robustly-built, and never have been.
 
Ok, so what happened was the nut that holds the transmission to the motor loosened up. I got everything out and I could undo it with my fingers.

I tightened it down and now the linkage moves and my wipers wipe.

But, they park straight up in the air now and wipe down. Hmm....

I checked, and it's impossible to install my motor/linkage 180 degrees off, so I don't know what the problem is.....
 
Your lucky it didn't damage the wiper transmission. You may be able to loosen what you tightened, reposition the wipers then re tighten.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Your lucky it didn't damage the wiper transmission. You may be able to loosen what you tightened, reposition the wipers then re tighten.


Yep. I loosened the nut to the motor and moved the linkage 180 degrees. Then tightened the motor nut back down. Everything's working fine now
 
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