Front wipers not working properly

broke wagon · Post by **broke wagon** » 19 Sep 2011, 21:19

1990 240 DL
Front wipers will not work. I shut the engine off and restart a few times then they'll work fine.
Fuse is new.
Any suggestions???
Thanks

kiss4afrog · Post by **kiss4afrog** » 20 Sep 2011, 00:01

The wipers should work the same way with the engine running or with it shut off. The only difference would be they might be a bit slower without the engine running as the alternator puts the voltage a volt or two higher when it's running.
To help diagnose it you need to find out if the wiper motor is getting voltage to it when the ignition switch and wiper switch are turned on. Either a voltmeter or a 12 volt test light will do. If there is no voltage when the switches are on you might have a bad relay that needs you to cycle the ignition a couple times to get the relay contacts to make a good connection.
If it's getting voltage and not moving than it's binding up someplace. Both my front and rear stopped working within a month of each other and I ended up pulling them all the way out and disassembling them. The shaft that runs up to the point where the wiper arm attaches had corroded up so badly it wouldn't turn anymore. I wire brushed the outside of the shaft and ran a drill bit inside the aluminum housing it sits in, lubed it up and used silicone sealant on the end to make a gasket and they work perfect. I thought it was a bad motor until I felt how hot it was.

broke wagon · Post by **broke wagon** » 25 Sep 2011, 11:17

I did not change the relay, but I discovered that if I turn the key slighty to the right while the engine is running they will work. The radio also turns on....
hummm???

Love2FlyJets · Post by **Love2FlyJets** » 29 Aug 2016, 17:34

Front wiper motor wiring pin out needed.

lummert · Post by **lummert** » 29 Aug 2016, 21:39

Ignition switch problem?

Love2FlyJets · Post by **Love2FlyJets** » 03 Sep 2016, 10:11

I'm remiss... steps accomplished were:

Took off the cowling to clean the cavity around both wiper motor & blower intake. disconnected the wiper motor connections along with re-connecting. Keep in mind both wiper motor and blower were in perfectly good working order. Pictures were taken of the wires prior to disconnecting them from the motor. Wire color code as follows:

Red to Blue
Yellow to Yellow
Green strip to Green
Brown to White

Rear wiper works fine!

Thank you for the great troubleshooting steps, however tried them but didn't work.

Love2FlyJets · Post by **Love2FlyJets** » 07 Sep 2016, 12:54

Removed all the fuses and cleaned the contacts... used my handy speed tool. QA fuses and Re-install... boomb! front wipers now work.