Wipers have stopped working

Citizen Jake

Hey there,
Driving along M50 this morning and my wipers all of a sudden stopped working. First fear was the alternator had gone but the rest of car drives fine, no power issues. Any ideas what the problem could be? A motor or a fuse? Or something else. A colleague reckons because there's no action coming from the wipers it could be a fuse. Rang a nearby garage and the mechanic said something about a wing arm, which sounds like big bucks to fix. Any ideas?

Jake

Wishbone Ash

Open the bonnet and look for the wiper spindle (lever-like aparatus with several parts which turns the wiper arms). If the motor is working you hear it and will see some movement. One of the bolts may have come undone or the system may be worn. Alternatively, a nut may be loose and isn't turning the wiper arm properly.

Stephen

Check the fuse. It should be easy to visually see if its blown or not, assuming its the standard blade-type.

furtzy

My passenger side wiper stopped working at the weekend. Its in the Opel garage at the moment getting sorted. It was the linkage between the motor and the wiper arm. Each wiper has its own linkage from the same motor.

If both are not working I would suspect the motor is the problem

roughan

Check the relay as well , its a big square thing 1inch x 1 inch usually around the fuse box

CountryWise

Id go with the relay and fuse first, the fuse should be cheap and available in most motor shops, if its not this then at least you havent wasted much money, but if it is you could have saved yourself the garage fee.....good luck
The fuse box should be to the right under the steering wheel.....

$Leon$

furtzy wrote:

If both are not working I would suspect the motor is the problem

Not necessarely the case.
If it is the linkages they could just have come loose at the motor.
Listen and hear if the motor is working. If it is reconnect the linkages (make sure ignition is off) if not working check the fuse.
If all fuses ok check and see if there is power getting to the motor. If there is and it's still not working then assume its the motor or relay. relay cheaper and easier to try first.
The motor is probably the most expensive and awkward part to change. Why change it and then relise it wasn't the problem at all. The problem could be fixed by a 10 cent fuse or 5 min with a spanner

skywalker_208

this happened me a while back. turned out to be the linkages.. the rubber boot that keeps em together had ripped with age.. so just had to buy new linkages.. wasnt a big job to fit