Diagnose my wiper problem

My sammy's wipers have been getting stuck sometimes recently. They'll not move off the resting position until I get out and push it with my hands, then they'll mostly be fine. At the highest speed, they consistently stop moving mid-stroke for about the same amount of time it would take for the blades to cycle once.

One time they were stuck in the resting position and I parked and turned off the headlights (with the wiper switch left at the lowest speed), and the wipers finally lurched off. Turned the headlights back on and they still moved.

The charging system is in good condition by Samurai standards. That is, it works but it's barely sufficient by design.

This is a bad wiper motor right?

Sounds like it to me. It is just having trouble engaging, right? Always trouble from the resting position?

Are they 12v motors? If so, give them juice directly and see if it works right. Make sure the necessary hardware is clean, rust free, and greased if/where they need to be.

Are you making sure to wipe both directions? Start there.

12v as far as I know. Trouble is always either at the resting position or at the highest speed.

bluej wrote: Are you making sure to wipe both directions? Start there.

Obviously he isn't wiping. He has wipers.

I suspect things will improve greatly with you cleaning the electrical contacts in the wiper mechanism.

Check to see the wiper motor housing is cracked. This was on issue on my FX16. It would lock-up when the housing flexed because of the break. IF this is the case, use some screen and JB weld.

OK I'll check the contacts and housing tonight, I'd be glad if I don't have to replace something even if it costs lots of time, with the number of other expenditures this little truck needs...

Sounds like a bad motor, but I'd (if possible) disconnect all the linkage and make sure one of the wiper pivots isn't seized up.

Well I checked the motor just now, luckily the JDM model has a hatch so you don't need to pull the whole dash off.

There's some kind of goo on the gearbox-looking thing directly attached to the motor, it looks fresh.

I can't tell where exactly it's leaking from though.

Is it not the grease that is supposed to be there?

It doesn't look like it's supposed to be there, there's a big splotch of it over the thick layer of fine dust on everything.

I would say that your wiper motor took a dump then. Easy enough to replace?

Shouldn't be too hard to replace. I'll take a pic before it gets dark today.

Best pic I could get of the goo, it's easiest to see through the windshield but I couldn't get a good pic through it:

It looks like the under-side of a dirty lawn mower. Maybe its time to say berkeley-it-all and replace the motor? Can it be done for cheap?

GameboyRMH wrote:

For Reference:

I don't think anything is actually supposed to be oozing out of there. Presumable there is a crack big enough to compromise the integrity of your motor.

I can get a used motor & "gearbox" for cheap, I'll see if that fixes it. All the wiring connections that I can see are proper clipped connectors.

Do you have a mulimeter that you can test the wire-ends with?

Yeah I have one, I'll see if I can reach the connector without pulling the whole dash apart...if not, I'll have to make sure I can replace the parts the same day.