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I have had difficulties with my wiper motor. The original was broken from the connector (3 wires) and it was loose. I thought that is the problem and ordered a new one. Then I did not get power to the white and red wire from door switch. I managed to get that sorted.
I managed to get this running for a while OK, but then it stopped working.
Now when I connect the continuous power to the motor (single red wire) there is power in the case (or the ground connector). Did I broke the motor somehow? If I try to connect the ground it sparks and the motor tries to move. The old motor is doing the same with same wiring. Should this work like this until the additional ground wires are connected?
The copper strap that is bolted to the wiper motor does not need to be there. You can remove it if you want. AS you can see in the video...there is not one on that motor and serve NO purpose as a ground due to your wiper motor is beign bolted to fiberglass and NOT metal.
I fought with my wiper motor on my 79 for weeks. I checked the pulse control solenoid in the center console and it was slightly unplugged but didnt fix my issues. Ultimately i removed the speedometer and tachometer cluster, fished my hand behind the wiper switch and discovered on of the harnesses was pulled off.
I did bench test the oem motor and it seemed to work find but given the low cost of the replacement I bought a new ine. now I have two working wiper motors, lol.
Thanks for tips! Unfortunately I think this motor is broken. If I connect the power according the testing instructions the motor shorts to the casing. Maybe the coil/solenoid (the one inside the motor) has been damaged. The motor tries to turn but stops and power source goes to error state. The solenoid seems to be non serviceable part so I guess I need a new motor. I will measure the resistor and then give up if that is not the reason. New motors are available and they are not too expensive.
Bench test the motor first... then you'll know if it's good or not.
Originally Posted by Hayes69
I have viewed various things over there but nothing has helped so far. Hoping someone here has the knowledge!
Odd, there is enough info on the tech site to find any issue.
Did you bench test the motor? I'd do this first.... Take every factory wire off the motor then run power to the center terminal, ground the case and have two other ground ready... if you test the motor this way and it works you've taken it out of the picture. You can do this test on the car by taking the bell crank off the motor.
There is also a video on how to test the wiper switch if you think this is the issue posted below.
Here are the main articles and videos on the web site to help you.
I feel your pain. I'm on my second motor in little less than a year. The last two I bench tested using Wilcox video and they both worked find before installation. Used the first one for about 6 months and it died. Took it out and it wouldn't bench test. Bought another motor assembly as at the time it was my daily driver and I didn't have time to try and figure out what was wrong with the other one. Bench tested the "New" new one and it worked fine. 3 months later......dead, and wouldn't bench test.
I just think these aftermarket motors are POS. Another thing is no one even considers a warranty on their electrical components. Now I'm out $200 and still don't have working, reliable wipers.
I feel your pain. I'm on my second motor in little less than a year.
Check your wiper arms and linkage for binding. Binding ain't good for a motor. My driver's side wiper arm was interfering with the metal plate that supports the grill.
I finally saw some witness marks on the wiper arm where it had been scraping after spending nearly 30 minutes looking for what was ocassionally binding.
I took the grill off, disconnected the motor from the linkage so I could exercise it by hand. Don't drop or lose that nut! And remember what position the wiper blades were in when you disconnect/reconnect the motor!
Get in there and exercise the linkage by hand, spray the hell out of every pivot point with white lithium, make the motor's job as easy as possible.
Or don't drive in the rain!
Last edited by wadenelson; Mar 9, 2019 at 10:53 PM.
Check your wiper arms and linkage for binding. Binding ain't good for a motor. My driver's side wiper arm was interfering with the metal plate that supports the grill.
I finally saw some witness marks on the wiper arm where it had been scraping after spending nearly 30 minutes looking for what was ocassionally binding.
I took the grill off, disconnected the motor from the linkage so I could exercise it by hand. Don't drop or lose that nut! And remember what position the wiper blades were in when you disconnect/reconnect the motor!
Get in there and exercise the linkage by hand, spray the hell out of every pivot point with white lithium, make the motor's job as easy as possible.
Or don't drive in the rain!
Thanks for your input.
I did do all that and I even made sure all the measurements that are called out in the AIM are correct for the linkage. There was some slop in a couple of the attachment points but I took them apart and I used some shim stock I have and made some shims to take up the wear. The slop is gone but the linkage is still loose enough to not bind or be too stiff. I was driving my Vette as my daily driver for a few years so not driving in the rain was not an option. Now I have my commuter car back (oldest off to college) so the Vette stays high and dry these days. I just want the piece of mind when on a long road trip to the beach that I don't have to rely on my weather report as to when I can or can't drive. Other than my door ajar circuit and my key buzzer this it the only thing that doesn't work on the car right now. It's just frustrating.
Guys.. the motors... either new, rebuilt or original are pretty hard to tear up.
The gearing on them is so low that even a binding arm will not cause failure. They'll typically bend the transmission arm before they fail under torque. One of the most common issues with this motor from 1963-1982 is a wiring issue with the car and not the motor.
The main reason we did the video and write up years ago about the wiper motors is that we got so many customers that would complain that they purchased a rebuilt motor and it didn't work... they'd say "it did the same thing the old motor did". To us it's just like the delay timer board we make... (and why we fused it)... The new timer board (nor is the wiper motor) a band-aide! If there is an existing issue with the car there is no way a new timer is going to fix the issue and so smoking it again is only an element to failure. We fused all the timer boards (and all other electronic boards we make) so that if there is a problem it'll cook the fuse and not the board.. Same goes for the wiper motors.... So often we'd get wiper motor cores turned into to us... and there wasn't anything wrong with them....
So this is what got my interest and caused me to do the video on how to test them for each year C2 and newer...
Guys.. the motors... either new, rebuilt or original are pretty hard to tear up.
The gearing on them is so low that even a binding arm will not cause failure. They'll typically bend the transmission arm before they fail under torque. One of the most common issues with this motor from 1963-1982 is a wiring issue with the car and not the motor.
The main reason we did the video and write up years ago about the wiper motors is that we got so many customers that would complain that they purchased a rebuilt motor and it didn't work... they'd say "it did the same thing the old motor did". To us it's just like the delay timer board we make... (and why we fused it)... The new timer board (nor is the wiper motor) a band-aide! If there is an existing issue with the car there is no way a new timer is going to fix the issue and so smoking it again is only an element to failure. We fused all the timer boards (and all other electronic boards we make) so that if there is a problem it'll cook the fuse and not the board.. Same goes for the wiper motors.... So often we'd get wiper motor cores turned into to us... and there wasn't anything wrong with them....
So this is what got my interest and caused me to do the video on how to test them for each year C2 and newer...
Thanks for your input as always. I used your video to bench test the last two motor installed (tested the original that died and it didn't pass the bench test after removing it from the car) in my car BEFORE installing them and they both worked fine. Installed them in the car, both worked fine for a while but eventually failed. Removed both of them from the car and bench tested it again after failure in the car and bench test failed. It's not the car. Something is just not right with these aftermarket motors lately. I'm an electromechanical engineer by trade so I hope I know what I'm doing........
Thanks for your input as always. I used your video to bench test the last two motor installed (tested the original that died and it didn't pass the bench test after removing it from the car) in my car BEFORE installing them and they both worked fine. Installed them in the car, both worked fine for a while but eventually failed. Removed both of them from the car and bench tested it again after failure in the car and bench test failed. It's not the car. Something is just not right with these aftermarket motors lately. I'm an electromechanical engineer by trade so I hope I know what I'm doing........
I bench tested mine and it worked fine. It also worked in the car (after many other issues) for two hours and then stopped working. After testing it again in bench it fails. Either the car wiring somehow damages the motor or it breaks on its own. I am not an electrician so I cant say this for sure.
I bench tested mine and it worked fine. It also worked in the car (after many other issues) for two hours and then stopped working. After testing it again in bench it fails. Either the car wiring somehow damages the motor or it breaks on its own. I am not an electrician so I cant say this for sure.
The motor is only going to draw enough current it needs to do the work so I don't see how the car can burn it up. Besides the thing is fused so the motor should be rated for higher current than the fuse so the fuse blows first to save the motor. My '71 wiper fuse in 25 amps and the motor should be able to handle that and a bit more. I just think, having gone through 2 in less than a year, that they are just POS's. Buyer beware.
Maybe you should try a ORilleys Auto store,We have 2 in sc and my w/w motor had a lifetime warranty and I just got a replacement no ?? Asked,and the origional purchase price was under $60.00,suggest u try the Internet Go Orilleys .com Hope this helps
Maybe you should try a ORilleys Auto store,We have 2 in sc and my w/w motor had a lifetime warranty and I just got a replacement no ?? Asked,and the origional purchase price was under $60.00,suggest u try the Internet Go Orilleys .com Hope this helps
PG.. The entire reason we did all the tech and video's was because 90 percent of the cores returned to us were good... Not to mention the fact that customers we sent new or rebuild motors to would say the new/rebuild motor did the same thing as their old one... So.. in conclusion, it's very rare that the motor is the problem (10 percent to be exact) and in most cases the issue is the car not the motor. So testing the motor following the instructions on our tech page avoids buying a motor you don't need and helps resolve the issue before spending money on something you don't need. While OR carries motors possibly they should start sponsoring this forum... but buying a motor is not the answer in most cases because this motor is pretty hard to destroy. You can review all my tech pages on wiper motors by going to repairs.willcoxcorvette.com. Once there enter your year and then search "Wiper".
Willcox
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Jun 26, 2019 at 02:34 AM.
1970 wiper motor issues
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