Anyone else have slow wipers?
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My front wipers operate quite slowly and seem to be struggling. I have lubed the wiping mechanisms and that didn't seem to help. I plan on tearing it all apart to see if I can figure out what is causing the problem. Anyone seen this before?
TIA
TIA
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I used to kid that my wipers had 2 speeds...slow and slower. THen I discovered that the stalk controller was slightly out of align, and that it was being prevented from going into '3rd' speed, as the arm was hitting the steering shaft cover.
Now i have slow, slower, and not quite as slow.
Perry - the reason that they work better at higher speeds - the air gets under them and lifts them a little - less friction!
I think it is just a design weakness.
Now i have slow, slower, and not quite as slow.
Perry - the reason that they work better at higher speeds - the air gets under them and lifts them a little - less friction!
I think it is just a design weakness.
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Mine are pretty slow. The wipers stopped working about a month after I bought the car. I tested everything I could with the multi-meter and figured out that the motor must be bad. Since it is a pita to get the motor out (of an 86), I loosened the wipers from the motor a little bit and tested it again. The wipers were binding at the point where they attach to the motor. The motor worked fine. I hardly ever drive in the rain and use rain-x wiper squirter stuff. I could pretty much do away with the wipers now
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Well I did a bit of diagnostics with the wipers. The summary is that they are still slow. I'm going to call it a design feature at this point.
What I did:
1) Verified that they were still lethargic
2) Pulled the wipers up so they weren't dragging on the windshield. This improved things immensely.
3) Popped the connecting rod off the motor and checked the wiper drag by hand. Verified that the bearings are pretty frictionless, and it is the wipers dragging on the windshield that cause the friction.
4) Greased the bearings on the actuating rods anyway.
5) Pulled the motor out and cleaned it up.
6) Opened up the plate on the back of the motor gear and cleaned the contacts. Gears looked fine.
7) Reassembled everything
8) Adjusted the lever which connects the motor to the actuator so the wipers stop where they are supposed to instead of 2 inches up the windshield.
9) Retested the wiper. Still sluggish.
Conclusion: Windshield friction is the culprit - wipers work better when the windshield is wet (duh) and/or if you are moving (as Mark mentioned) so that the windage gives the wipers a little help.
Next step, remove widshield
What I did:
1) Verified that they were still lethargic
2) Pulled the wipers up so they weren't dragging on the windshield. This improved things immensely.
3) Popped the connecting rod off the motor and checked the wiper drag by hand. Verified that the bearings are pretty frictionless, and it is the wipers dragging on the windshield that cause the friction.
4) Greased the bearings on the actuating rods anyway.
5) Pulled the motor out and cleaned it up.
6) Opened up the plate on the back of the motor gear and cleaned the contacts. Gears looked fine.
7) Reassembled everything
8) Adjusted the lever which connects the motor to the actuator so the wipers stop where they are supposed to instead of 2 inches up the windshield.
9) Retested the wiper. Still sluggish.
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Conclusion: Windshield friction is the culprit - wipers work better when the windshield is wet (duh) and/or if you are moving (as Mark mentioned) so that the windage gives the wipers a little help.
Next step, remove widshield
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#9
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Another possibility to check is the grounding of the wiper motor itself.... this is also often a problem with slow power windows. Corrosion over time can increase the resistance between the motor body and the mounting point by an amazing amount.
A meter will show the full 12-14 volts, but with poor ground (high resistance) the motor does not get enough current (amps) to function fully.
~aaron
A meter will show the full 12-14 volts, but with poor ground (high resistance) the motor does not get enough current (amps) to function fully.
~aaron
#10
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My wipers went from slow to non-functional a while back so last fall I removed the motor and cleaned it out with wire brushes. There was a lot of corrosion/rust inside of the body and that kept it from being able to spin.
I've heard others mention the binding at the connection point as well and I could see that happening too.
FWIW, it was a PITA for me to get the motor out and back in . . . although as with everything it would be much easier the second time.
I've heard others mention the binding at the connection point as well and I could see that happening too.
FWIW, it was a PITA for me to get the motor out and back in . . . although as with everything it would be much easier the second time.
#11
Burning Brakes
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My wipers are very slow and only operate at one speed. The delay works but when switching from regular to fast nothing changes. In my case this is more than a friction issue.