Wipers stopped working... likely culprit?

[KenC]

My wipers stopped working on the way to work this morning. I haven't had a chance to check anything on the system yet. Obviously I'm going to check the fuse here in a couple of hours. Any one know what # it is?

But anyhow, I was just wondering if there were any common failure spots in the system.

[porsche gt1]

motor, relay, fuse, switch you name it.

[325inewbie]

Fuse number 5 (should be a 30amp). I just went through this nightmare myself. Just hope to god that it isn't the wiper motor! PM me if you need any futher information. The Bentley manual has a decent troubleshooting section.

[325iCabrio]

How did they stop working? Mine stop working occasionally because the wiper stalk has a bunch of crud in it and needs to be cleaned with electronic contact cleaner.

[Garageaholic]

If you have a power supply or a separate 12V source, just put the leads on the motor leads and see if it at least works. I had one that just seized up and I went to the junkyard and got another one. It happens.

could also be a loose lead on the motor.

[KenC]

The arm on the motor ended up falling off of the wiper linkage. Seems like a pretty shitty system. No clip or anything. I just clamped it back on with some channel locks. :fingers crossed:

[Spaz]

The arm on the motor ended up falling off of the wiper linkage. Seems like a pretty shitty system. No clip or anything. I just clamped it back on with some channel locks. :fingers crossed:

Oh your going to replace that arm it will just pop out again, its pretty easy to do, and cheap, i remeber it being around $12 for the arm and took me about 10mins to do. I've repalced two, one on each of my bmw's.


-cam

[KenC]

Oh your going to replace that arm it will just pop out again, its pretty easy to do, and cheap, i remeber it being around $12 for the arm and took me about 10mins to do. I've repalced two, one on each of my bmw's.


-cam

Why can't I just pop it back on?

[AlpineIS]

[quote=kencopperwheat;597109]My wipers stopped working on the way to work this morning....quote]

No wipers and water leaks...today isn't your day! :letitout: Good luck on getting this fixed!

[jimsill]

My wipers starting acting up about 6 months ago. I would have to jiggle the stalk to get them going. Then i would have to pull back on the stack like i was washing the winsheild to get any life out of them. THEN the wiper motor starting shooting off juice without any input from me. Replaced the stalk, all good so far...

[Jarvis]

Why can't I just pop it back on?

You can, for now, but it will keep popping off on its own. The rubber bushing in the socket is worn out and will never be like new.

Cost ~$5 and 5 minutes of my time when it happened to me. You just pop the new one on like you did with your broken one.

[Joey Link]

Can someone describe how to gain access to the said wiper arm? I believe this happened in Jenny's E30, as when we turn the wipers on we hear a "clunk...clunk...clunk" and the wipers don't work.

[Dave]

Can someone describe how to gain access to the said wiper arm? I believe this happened in Jenny's E30, as when we turn the wipers on we hear a "clunk...clunk...clunk" and the wipers don't work.

You have to remove the heater blower cover on the firewall, and then the heater blower motor. Bentley has a writeup on it, if you have one.

If not, its really straightforward - but it is a pain in the ass. Be careful removing the plastic straps that hold the blower in place - they look like they might crack or break easily IMHO.

Once the blower is out, you have to do your best contortionist routine to get around under there.

Good luck!

[PiercedE30]

Those plastic straps are pretty strong. To take them off I just use a pair of channel locks and pull up and back (toward the windshield). Now getting it back on....that's another story.

[Joey Link]

Thanks for all your input guys.

DaveCN, I was able to do it without removing the blower motor. Jenny sat inside the car with the wipers set at one. I had her wait until I told her then turn the key off so it wouldn't return to the original location but it worked just fine.

For anyone needing to do this, it's really not nearly as bad as it sounds. Any questions feel free to PM me.