Free.51 2,703 Posted October 15, 2018 Was driving back from training b4 & the left hand wiper was sort of free spinning (i guess the thingo is threaded) anyway tryied tightening up the nut & then the wipers didnt work at all so went to bp took oit the old fuse which was fine put in a brand new one & still no wipers but the squirters work tho, so i dunno if its an earth problem or what.......its in the FD btw any help would be great thanks -Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,231 Posted October 16, 2018 could check the earth wire near the firewall.. wiggle it unscrew .. and re tighten. i assume you'd hear the motor going stiff if the socket ball things broke(haven't had one broken yet but they do) as for the stripped wiper issue, hopefully it's just the arm? if its the post, you might as well get another assy ? cant think of why else the wipers would stop other than the obvious, unplugged under the dash(bad connection) same for the wiper motor plug/earth, fuse.. switch itself.. 1 Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SPArKy_Dave 8,828 Posted October 16, 2018 The x-series wiper motors are/were made by the same people as CPC radiator caps/fuel caps. The whole wiper mechanism assemblies, were made by Trico. I believe they have an over-temp/over current cutout in the motor. If the grease in the wiper pivots/arms and such has dried out, and you don't run a hydrophobic coating (wax, quick detailer spray, rainex or similar) on the windscreen itself, the wipers get slower and slower from the increased drag. This increased drag, overheats the motor causing it to cut out. The above issue is totally different to the nylon cups on the end of the pivot arms wearing. That wear, usually causes the outer arm to drop off the rotating ball at the motor. The only fix for worn nylon cups, is a replacement arm. (RareSpares make reproduction x-series wiper pivot arms). Hot tip - before removing the wiper mech assembly from the plenum chamber, stop the wipers in their straight up and down position. (effectively 180 degrees rotation of the motor) This puts the pivot arms in the best spot, for easy removal of the wiper assembly from the plenum. 2 Free.51 and deankxf reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,231 Posted October 16, 2018 yeah if the wipers don't work, it's probably not possible to get them to move.. but that tip of making the wipers straight up turns it from monkey with hand in a cookie jar to a game of operation..(aka trying not to scratch paint..) but its heaps easier with them straight up. while you are in there.. vacuum all the dirt and leaves out of the plenum.. and put a flyscreen under the vent so it keeps the leaves out. i'd be surprised if it's the wiper motor suddenly dead, but if so, it's got to come out for that.. may as well give it some grease etc i'd probably pull the motor cover off and see if the bearings on the motor are full of rust also.(= at min, grease them) 1 Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,703 Posted October 16, 2018 13 hours ago, deankdx said: yeah if the wipers don't work, it's probably not possible to get them to move.. but that tip of making the wipers straight up turns it from monkey with hand in a cookie jar to a game of operation..(aka trying not to scratch paint..) but its heaps easier with them straight up. while you are in there.. vacuum all the dirt and leaves out of the plenum.. and put a flyscreen under the vent so it keeps the leaves out. i'd be surprised if it's the wiper motor suddenly dead, but if so, it's got to come out for that.. may as well give it some grease etc i'd probably pull the motor cover off and see if the bearings on the motor are full of rust also.(= at min, grease them) Will do👍 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,703 Posted October 16, 2018 I think last night when i tried tightening up the nut on the post for the wiper arm i must have bent something cos when i unbolt the bolts to the assembly the thing is working fine but when i bolt up just 1 bolt or more the motor goes err but isnt moving so im guessing its catching on something so ill take it out & compare it to the spare i have, id chuck that in but its off zl & has different plug but i guess i could use that assembly & bolt up my wiper motor to that if need be Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,231 Posted October 16, 2018 yeah i've swapped the motors before for the plug reason. someone on here rewired the plug (sounds annoying) wouldn't surprise me if when wrestling with the bolt you've broken a plastic joint in the mech and that's what's binding the motor? no idea though without seeing it. 35yr old plastic isn't the strongest anymore.. (i was looking at My gemini one yesterday wondering how long it has left in it..) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,703 Posted October 16, 2018 I swapped motors over & put it in the plenum area but kinda mucked it up cos i wasnt sure where abouts the assembly was on its cycle & turned on the wiper switch & it got jammed then had a shit fight getting it out of the plenum then blew a couple of 15a fuse while trying to turn the motor on with it plugged in but resting it on the drivers guard & yeah just had enough so tomorrow i will go to diy autoparts & hopefully there is an xd xe there & take the wiper assembly out of one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,703 Posted October 16, 2018 My original assembly on bottom, one out of zl on topSent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,231 Posted October 16, 2018 yeah good fun.. especially when you've just painted the car.. (done that twice.. got to get the first scratch some time..may as well by from yourself) 1 Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Polson 10,214 Posted October 18, 2018 While you have it out and apart, BA wiper motors fit straight on, you just have to rewire the plug, they're quoted, faster and better... 2 gerg and Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites