Help - slow wipers !!!!!

[Brianc]

Remembered that the mot is due !!!!!

So replaced the wiper washer motor, but the blades move across the screen really slowly and nearly stall. Im presuming this will be a mot fail?

How do i fix this ?

[Brianc]

Just to add to this, if I run plenty of water onto the screen then the wipers move reasonably well, but as soon as it dries up the blades struggle. The blades are new

[supercass]

Suggest you make sure the wheel boxes are well lubricated. Copaslip is good to use for this. Also inside the motor there is a nylon gear wheel that may need lubrication. The grease originally recommended for this may no longer be available but I think Copaslip will suffice also. Do this quickly before further use as that nylon gear has a propensity to strip its teeth if there is undue resistance. supercass

[busheytrader]

In addition, clean every earth connection and contact on every connector block from the wiper motor to the switch on the steering column. That green powdery stuff isn't a very good conductor.

Cleaning the switch itself is a last resort. IIRC there's a spring clip that will fly across the garage from within it and it's a pig to find let alone refit it.

[John_C]

This is such a common problem. Beware that if the wipers struggle too much the fuse will blow.

I believe the cause of this is down to the wiring getting too old so the advice to check all the connections seems quite a likely cause. When mine are slow they tend to speed up after a bit which possibly suggests the wiring heats up and conducts more electricity through it somewhere along the line. When I originally got the car the wipers were darned quick and I never had to use the high speed position - I actually felt sorry for them thrashing across the screen at that pace.

[Brianc]

Well, i took the bull by the horns and removed the motor and all the drive linkages etc.

The grease in both the motor and the gearwheels and tubes was pretty hard and the drivers side gearwheel was not free spinning.

I have cleaned the drive cable and got the gear wheels spinning beautifully now and ready for new grease. I have left the plastic cog wheel in place as i don't want to disturb the position, so cleaning the old grease as best i can.

Question. - should i be able to spin the motor, not that i really want to for fear of losing the setting? I don't want to strip the motor anymore at this stage as its mot late tomorrow afternoon !!!!!

The other question, and this is my stupidity for mot taking notes!!!!!, when i put the wheel boxes back onto the assembly is the tube at the front or back as you look from the front of the car???? Hope my question makes sense !!!!!

Also the nuts that hold the wheel boxes together and clamp the tubes did not seem very tight? In fact only finger tight.

Last point the contacts on the block connector weren't as bad as i imagined but one dod have dome corrosion. - so cleaned with contact spray and will use dielectric grease on reassembly.

I did have a 'parking ' problem but think this will have to be for another day

Thanks for all the help so far

[FI Spyder]

"Parking problem" can be fixed by adjusting parking switch in it's slot. Just the smallest adjustment is all it takes between working and not working. Trial and error. Can be adjusted with assembly in car and possibly motor mounts off/loose. Can't answer other questions as it been 9 years since I worked on it and I can't remember where I put my parts washer brush the other week (I know were it is now as I saw it in the eaves trough when I was blowing off the roof this morning).

[littlepippin]

Brian, if you still got the motor out, just check this one thing quickly.

After numerous attempts of playing with the parking switch position to correct my wayward wipers, I took the cover off the wiper gear/motor assembly to reveal the cog mechanism etc.
I found a small broken metal clip (looks like a small circlip that connects the horizontal sliding metal plunger with the nylon slider that is meant to depress the little push switch on the parking switch assembly)
It had broken and come off on one side, so I re-secured it with a soldering iron, and solder. Now the wipers work completely correctly.

Sorry I did not take a photo at the time, but I am sure you will see the component I describe.
Good luck - Sean.

[Brianc]

I solved the riddle of which way the wheel boxes go by trial and error so they are now refitted and freshly greased, also improved the ' parking' problem, as some idiot had put the plastic slider in the wrong way round and bent the limit switch plastic pin !!!!.

However on a dry screen the wipers still stall!!!! Spray water on Nd they are ok. Is it looking like the motor ??

Thanks

[John_C]

Check the nut at the end of the motor where it locks onto the rack is tight and the motor is held firmly in place. Mine once worked loose and as a result the wipers were slow and did not park correctly, if at all.

[Brianc]

Thanks john.

Just spoken to steve at s&s and it looks like something is missing of the motor end of the rack!!!!

So i have aborted the mot this afternoon and the car will not make its first show this weekend, which is sad.

When i get back from holidays it over to bacup for some new parts, including the badly corroded wheel boxes.

Still more shows booked into later

[littlepippin]

Pity you could not get it sorted in time. My wipers will behave exactly as you describe yours. In actual fact, if I recall I had to instruct the MOT tester to spray the screen first, before checking the wipe action as they will stall if the screen is dry.
Don't know what the current rating of the motor is, and what the motor draws when screen is wet, as opposed to what it draws when dry but I suspect these motors were only just good enough when the cars where new..?

I think my MOT tester was prepared to use his noggin and give a little bit of leeway for a 35 year old car.

Good luck, Sean.

[busheytrader]

I use the MOT station that was close to Robsport's original premises. They MOT a lot of older cars and perform the electrical based tests with the engine running eg indicators and wipers included with this. Plus they test the wipers once they've tested the washers coworkers.

IIRC, the wiper motor itself on our cars is the same as those fitted to a classic Mini? I may be wrong here but if not, the swept area on our wiper blades is much greater than a Mini's.