Transport wipers-again

[kingarthur2]

My 1990 Transport 3.1 suffers from wipers not working one day then working ok for weeks and not working for a day etc. I have given the windscreen glass a coating of treatment which make the rain water fly off at any speed above 20mph so I am able to drive in the rain when the wipers have an off day.

Now my 1992 Transport 3.8 wipers have taken leave of their senses and behave in an irrational manner and the washer function is not working. I have confirmed that the washer pump is ok by taking power from the battery.

Having read the previous threads regarding wacky wipers I removed the wiper motor and got my soldering iron ready.

However the pcb was in excellent shape and even with a magnifying glass I could find no faults in the joints. I did find that one of the 2 pick-up arms had little of the brass contact left. I built this up with a little solder and filed it to shape. However no improvement after refitting the wiper motor. Tried the wiper switch from the 3.1 transport in the 3.8 but no joy, wipers still going crazy and no washer pump.

I suppose 15 years is not bad going for a wiper motor, after all its not a Mercedes.

[Christophe Salvain]

Hi

Same syndrom : working ok for weeks and not working for a day etc :
- removed the wiper motor. It's in very good condition (no rust)
- check solders all is ok.
- spray WD40 in connectors.
- check the wiper switch.

Nothing change. I pray for sunny days.

What else ?

Christophe Salvaing

[fixb52s]

I had this same problem drive me nuts for some time.

The fix? I ran a ground wire from one of the mount bolts to a good grounding spot on the frame. No problems in the past 3 years.

[Christophe Salvain]

Originally Posted by fixb52s

I had this same problem drive me nuts for some time.
The fix? I ran a ground wire from one of the mount bolts to a good grounding spot on the frame. No problems in the past 3 years.

"mount bolts" of what ?

Thx

[fixb52s]

The bolts that mount the motor to the car. It seemed in my case I could not get a good ground connection with the motor bolted on. I cleaned the area and such, but still had the problem. That is why I added the ground wire.

[Christophe Salvain]

Originally Posted by fixb52s

The bolts that mount the motor to the car. It seemed in my case I could not get a good ground connection with the motor bolted on. I cleaned the area and such, but still had the problem. That is why I added the ground wire.

The 3 bolts that mount the motor to the car made a ground connection ? ! ?
BTW, I will try this one this evening.

Thank you.

[fixb52s]

Originally Posted by Christophe Salvain

The 3 bolts that mount the motor to the car made a ground connection ? ! ?
BTW, I will try this one this evening.

Thank you.

Yep, they do.

Let us know how this works.

[Christophe Salvain]

Originally Posted by fixb52s

Yep, they do.


Let us know how this works.

Ok, fix is done.
Wipers work right now, but I'll wait a couple of day 'till it's definitive.

Thank you fixb52s.

Christophe Salvaing

[fixb52s]

Originally Posted by Christophe Salvain

Ok, fix is done.
Wipers work right now, but I'll wait a couple of day 'till it's definitive.

Thank you fixb52s.

Christophe Salvaing

Glad to help.
Mike

[Christophe Salvain]

Originally Posted by fixb52s

Glad to help.
Mike

Mmmmmhhmmm ... wipers still working like with a brand new car
It seems that both LMD solution (solder) and Mike solution (faulty ground) may fix this waky wiper syndrom definitively.

Thank to the forum, thanks to all ..

Christophe.

[Benesesso]

You guys have fixed my wiper problem too! They started having a mind of their own.. Sometimes wouldn't move, sometimes wouldn't stop. Got a wire w/2 alligator clips and tried to find the wiper mounting screws. Hmmm, couldn't even find the motor! It's buried way up where you can't even see it. Attached the ground wire to a long screw hanging down that was right in the center--end of problem--so far!

Many thanks!

[LMP]

THis to help you find the motor....and resolder the connector to the board
www.avigex.ca/xport/wiper1.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/wiper2.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/wipermotorphoto1.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/wipermotorphoto3.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/wipermotorphoto8.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/wipermotorphoto9.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/wipercircuitjoints.jpg

[Benesesso]

Looks like I spoke too soon. The ground wire didn't work. Guess it was just the wipers time to work well when I hooked up the wire. Back to square one.

[Benesesso]

Managed to remove the wiper motor today. Just like in the referenced photos, all 4 of my PC connections were cracked. I have a good microscope here, and I tried wiggling the black connector piece to see if the cracks moved. No movement at all, so the cracks must not be caused mechanically. I resoldered them and added a bit of rosin-core solder, then thought about taking a photo. Wipers now working fine. Here's the photo of the repaired connections.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2.../IMG_2411n.jpg

[LMP]

A beauty...
Fact is...when I had this problem initially, and the solution was not really known at the time , and I was driving "IFR" , I would stop and extend my arm and hand to the wiper motor and just as I barely touched the wire bundle, it would start working....hence, there IS some mechanical movement allowed and I suspect the weight of the wire bundle shaking up and down in bumps is a factor in the development of the breakage of these solder points. I think a large increase in the amount of soldering used as your photo shows can alleviate the recurrence of the problem, due to the increased mechanical strength, but also by the increased conduction section that lowers the current density hence reducing the chance that the heat generated by the current melts the connection.