Windshield wipers not working

[mikenree]

Hi, I posted this in the Engineering/Technical section too but no one is seeming to respond so I thought I'd try here too. I have a 2001 Durango and after it snowed my wipers stopped working. I thought it was just the ice around the base of them so after it all melted and I cleaned it out I tryed again but they still wouldn't work. I looked and it had blown a fuse so I changed it and tried again. Now as soon as I put a fuse in and start the car the fuse blows. I don't even turn them on before it blows. Any ideas of what it could be? I don't want to have to replace the wiper motor if that isn't it.

[DurangoDave]

Sounds like you've got a dead short to ground downstream of the fuse.

If you can plug the fuse in without it blowing until AFTER you start the car with the wiper motor OFF, then it is probably not the wiper motor itself that is bad.

I don't know off-hand whether there are other items served by that same fuse. If so, then it could be a short associated with those other devices and you'll need to isolate them to chase this down.

Offhand though, my guess is a short in the steering column associated with either the ignition switch or the multi-function switch (the switch that controls wipers, washers, etc).

Good luck,
Dave