Windshield Wipers Not Making Contact

thisisbev · Post by **thisisbev** » 17 Dec 2008, 13:25

Hey Guys. I have a 94 850 sedan (non-turbo). Recently my wipers stopped making contact with the glass after a recent snow storm we had a few days ago. They are moving back and forth as they should, they're just not making a lot contact with the glass. It appears only the very tip of the blade is touching the glass. I checked the nuts that hold the arms but they're good and tight. They are also brand new blades that I just bought about three weeks ago which worked fine until a couple of days ago. What do you think the problem could be? Is it just the cold weather? What can I do to fix it?

Thanks!

Bev

double_platinum · Post by **double_platinum** » 17 Dec 2008, 13:47

I had the same problem, and I have heard of it on other 850's. Weak springs seem to be the culprit. I tried bending the arm slightly towards the glass, and that worked ok for a few days then back to not touching the glass. This was with brand new bosch wipers too. Had to replace the arms as I couldnt find the springs anywhere.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 17 Dec 2008, 14:18

This technique worked OK for me for a year or so.

http://volvospeed.com/wiperarm.php

The trick is to do it with the wiper at the top of its travel.

...Lee

Post by **JRL** » 17 Dec 2008, 15:11

Bend the wiper arms.
If this does not work, you need to buy new wiper arms.
The springs become weak and they become useless.

bobsnow100 · Post by **bobsnow100** » 17 Dec 2008, 20:34

If you put both hands on the arm of the wiper just above the hood and push hard with both hands,it will bend and the wiper blade will contact the windshield. I usually do it with the wipers facing straight up before the down motion. You can shut the key off when there are in that position and they will stay up until you put the ignition back on.

Post by **JRL** » 17 Dec 2008, 20:40

No No No
You don't push down on the arm, you put it in the air and you BEND IT

Landru3000 · Post by **Landru3000** » 17 Dec 2008, 21:13

This is what I used also:
http://volvospeed.com/wiperarm.php

Pressing down on it worked for me. I had to do it a couple of times.

Post by **stone36** » 19 Dec 2008, 16:20

I had the same problem, I just unbolted them, 11mm nut if I remember right. Just open the hood, unbolt and lay on the ground with the bottom side up. Put your foot in the middle and give a little pull up to bend it down. I think these are aluminum and bend pretty easy. That was more than 6 months ago and haven't had a problem since.

Oh and you may want yo put a towel down if you are worried about scratching the exposed surface.

apsmaas · Post by **apsmaas** » 15 Jan 2009, 19:42

I've had three 850s and they have all had this problem to some degree. I simply take the blade off the arm, slip a good sized box end wrench over the arm and slightly bend it several places along the length of the arm. If you want to remove the arm, you can do this in a vise also.

Post by **tjts1** » 16 Jan 2009, 22:20

apsmaas wrote:I've had three 850s and they have all had this problem to some degree. I simply take the blade off the arm, slip a good sized box end wrench over the arm and slightly bend it several places along the length of the arm. If you want to remove the arm, you can do this in a vise also.

I've done this too, the problem is your wiper arms start looking really stupid after a while as the middle sticks out further from the windshield. Mine got so bad that the passenger side wiper arm smacks up against the back of the hood with it comes back down. There is nothing wrong with the spring in the wiper arm as others have suggested. The problem is the in the cast aluminum half of the arm between the mounting bolt and the hinge. With time and use, this part slowly bends itself outward until the wiper no longer makes contact with the windshield. Its simply a weak design. For the passenger side I found that a wiper arm from a 1998 V70 has been redesigned with much thicker material in the aluminum part of the arm to eliminate the problem.

V70 wiper arm on the passenger side, stock 850 arm on the driver's side. The V70 arm is substantially different from the 850 arm yet its still a direct fit.

Low profile V70 arm

Stock 850 driver's side arm which has been bent by me to keep it in contact with the windshield. It looks stupid at this point.

I found stock 850 driver's side arm in the JY which looks to have been replaced very recently because its in very good shape. I just need to install it. It should last a few years at least but I wish I could find the driver's side V70/S70 arm as well.