I looked back 10 pages of threads and couldn't find the same question.

It's a low mileage (42K) garage kept car. In the last two years it's only been driven out of the garage 3 or 4 times, so it's pretty much been sitting. When I went to finally use it last Saturday, everything worked fine except for the wipers. There seemed to be a light noise when I turned the switch on, but I can't be sure. Other than checking the fuse, which I haven't had time to do yet, what parts / issues are the usual suspects?

I appreciate any insight you can share.

Thanks!

Barry

 

First thing to check is the wiper motor and clean the udders underneath that. There's a possibility it can be the switch itself but I don't think that is the case real often.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the input. Are the udders like drains underneath? Could the dampness corrode the motor contacts? When you say check the motor, should I pull the power connection and run 12 volts to it?

 

If you stand at the drivers side of the car and reach your left hand down underneath the the wiper motor in that hole you'll feel there are 3 rubber drop tubes with ends that are flattened with a slit in them. Water is supposed to be routed by those, but the slits are such that they fill up with leaves and gunk. When they get plugged, (doesn't take much), water builds up in there and pretty soon your wiper motor is submerged. When that board gets wet, all bets are off for it working again. Sometimes you can just dry it out good and that'll get you back in business. Sometimes not.

If you reach in there and squeeze those slits open you'll be able to get that gunk to fall out. Get all that out of there, then possibly rinse them a little with a hose and water down through the cowl. If you park the car outside a lot, clean them every several months. The same is true on the other side but you need to remove the battery to get to those.

If you do this and find a ton of crap, and drying out the motor and circuit board doesn't fix the issue, then I'd replace the wiper motor. If they are not plugged and you have this issue, you might consider searching for a test for your stalk on the steering column. They've been known to go bad, though I don't think it's as often as the wiper motor itself.

If 65 bucks isn't gonna change your lifestyle, I'd say don't even bother trying to diagnose that switch. Just dry out the wiper motor and if it doesn't work still, just change it. The Stem for the wiper is more money than the motor and not as fun to swap out if I recall correctly. Someone else might chime in on that, I've never actually done one, just read about it here.

 

To address these specifically Yes
Probably not as likely as the circuit board itself being hosed by the water but yes, I suppose that's possible.
I don't think just running 12V to it will do anything, it needs more info than that. Look things over after opening the case and see that there's no standing water in there. Dry it good, make sure the motor will actually turn... And if it doesn't work, consider replacement.

 

Again, thanks for sharing your expertise, it is very much appreciated!

 

8VETTE7 Thanks for the detailed info!

 

8VETTE7 - would the same fuse cause the wipers and washer fluid pump to quit working or does that elude to a more serious problem? Both worked last week, but not this morning.

 

From the schematic at that link you provided, it seems like the fuse would kill both, but had to ask.