Wiper not working

[jrcinnh]

So first rainy weekend this spring and the starboard wiper doesn't work. It worked last fall.

The green light come on. I checked the breaker on the EIM and it's not tripped. There not movement at all, no sign that it's even trying to move. It won't move by hand with power on or off.

I remember reading here or on the other site about wiper motors failing. What's the usual failure mode? Do they buzz, grind and try to move or just go dead.

What's the chance of accessing it by removing the interior light?

 

[SearayPaul]

My wiper did not work this spring. One of the wiires had come loose at the connection point at the base of the motor. Easy to check and fix on my boat.

 

[gengiant]

The first thing I'd do is check to see if you get power to the wiper motor. The wires are located within a little channel/race withing the windshield frame, covered by a simple-to-pop-out rubber strip. The wiper motor itself is held in place with just a couple of screws.

I had a wiper motor go out repeatedly on me until I found the cause. Someone (likely the previous owner) had screwed one of the windshield mounting screws right through the wiring harness at the point where the wires from the windshield go into the hull. This eventually lead to various shorts, including one feeding the wiper motor. Once I fixed all this wiring and realigned the screw that had originally caused the problem everything starting working again.

Good luck to you!

 

[jrcinnh]

No one else replaced a wiper motor?

 

[boatmailster]

So first rainy weekend this spring and the starboard wiper doesn't work. It worked last fall.

The green light come on. I checked the breaker on the EIM and it's not tripped. There not movement at all, no sign that it's even trying to move. It won't move by hand with power on or off.

I remember reading here or on the other site about wiper motors failing. What's the usual failure mode? Do they buzz, grind and try to move or just go dead.

What's the chance of accessing it by removing the interior light?

reset breaker, sometimes they look ok but they not closing circuit

im not 100% sure about your model but i think you need to remove ceiling inside closet to access wiper motor
this is not easy job

 

[jrcinnh]

I figured I'd post this weekends progress.
Yes, you can access the wiper motor by removing the interior light.

The AC/DC light above the table is below the wiper motor. The bezel twists off and three screws hold the base in. After that it pulls out, the motor is there. The wiring to the motor is black and red, and as you would expect +12v and ground. So I have power but the motor still doesn't move. Rain all weekend so I didn't pull the motor but that's next.

 

[jrcinnh]

I'm finally ready to move to the next step and remove the motor:

How do you get the wiper arm off motor shaft? I can't find any screws or clips, does it just pull off? I yanked on it pretty hard and it doesn't want to budge.

 

[boatmailster]

I'm finally ready to move to the next step and remove the motor:

How do you get the wiper arm off motor shaft? I can't find any screws or clips, does it just pull off? I yanked on it pretty hard and it doesn't want to budge.

arm slips in onto shaft
look under arm, there is a small locking tab to hold it in place
best way is to use flat screwdriver and pry it out
be careful or your wiper arm will end-up in water (they like to "fly"
next remove nut, washer and gasket
there maybe a screw what holds wiper motor inside light compartment - you will need stubby Philips screwdriver (that screw preventing motor from spinning when you tightening nut on shaft
before you do all that check if no wires came off motor
stuck motors usually getting hot with power on

 

[jrcinnh]

I'm posting this just for reference. I finally got time to work on this.

boatmailster's instuctions are right on.

Removed arm, nut, washer and gasket on the outside. Accessed inside by removing lamp over table.

I stuck my camera inside the hole and took a bunch of pictures. There is a small self tapping screw holding the motor to the underside of the deck. It came out with my fingers. The wiring harness easily disconnects. After that its a bear to get the motor out. The space is really tight but it will come out. There are a few screw ends sticking down to chew up your knuckles.

I hooked up the motor to a battery on the table and it would not move, just got hot. So I took it apart. The gear gase cover came right of and everything looked new.

The motor itself was a different story. The armature would not spin due to rust on it and the inside of case. The rust was only on the bottom corner, so I'm guessing water got in last fall and rusted all winter. I cleaned up all the rust with a tooth brush and WD-40.

I put everything back together and I'm back in business. Who knows how long it will last.

I tried to seal up things better on the motor. There was no sign of water under the deck, but I RTV the shaft hole just in case. The was no leakage during the garden hose test.

 

[wish2fish]

good news! wonder if you ran it periodically it would prevent the rust build up?