Technical Windscreen wiper motor faulty

[XorpiZ]

Hello all

First post, so be nice

I have a '93 Fiat Uno 1.0 IE, which I bought 3 months ago. Nice car, runs okay.

But ever since I bought, each time i activate the windscreen wipers it makes this weird sound.. Like it's really struggling to move the wiper back and forth.
And tonight, on my way home from work it died completely on me. The wiper stopped half-way through a round, while I could hear the wiper-engine trying to move it. Sorta like a "rrrrrrr" sound. So I stopped it, and it never started again.

So, now the question is, should i get my local mechanic to replace the wiper engine or is there any other way around it?


Thomas

 

[circolo]

Sounds to me that wiper motor has packed up.

You *could* have a go at taking the motor apart, regreasing the insides, and hoping for the best. But for the price of a new motor, (£30-£40), I'd just replace with a new motor.

Generally the front wiper motor last a good time. They start to make a whirring noise as the brushes and parts begin to seize, and you'll also see a slow down in the sweep speed before they fail.

Lastly, if you have a screw driver set, and a small socket set, I'd suggest replacing the motor yourself. It's not a difficult job, and you'll save a little money.

 

[alexGS]

I agree with circolo... and just want to add a couple of things for those of us who don't have access to new motors and who do things the Kiwi way

The strange noise is probably the motor's ball bearing having failed. It's a standard size, similar to those in skateboard wheels, and can be bought from a bearing shop. It's not worth trying to re-grease the bearing, as it's cheap to replace. Perhaps the bearing has now seized, explaining the failure. It's not hard to take the motor apart, but getting the bearing off the shaft requires some ingenuity. A three-legged puller, smashing the bearing with a heavy hammer and chisel, or supporting the armature in a vice, are all possibilities.

Fitting the new bearing is a very genteel process if you first put the motor shaft in a household freezer (!)... then, the bearing at room temperature slides on nicely.

Brushes in the motor seem to last well, but polishing the commutator with 600-grit sandpaper, and cleaning thoroughly afterwards with electrical contact cleaner, never seems to hurt. If the brushes stick out less than 4mm it would be a good idea to see if an auto-electrician has some similar brushes that can be cut down/sanded to fit.

Anyway, now that's probably put you off repairing the motor
At least do as Circolo said and change the motor yourself - it's not difficult. The big nut under the wiper arm and the two screws in the bonnet channel - but make sure you have a good-fitting screwdriver bit, as the two screws may be quite tight.

Incidentally, if the wiper has stopped in the middle of the screen, it would be a good idea to unplug the motor as soon as possible - because with the ignition 'on', it will be constantly trying to park itself. Hopefully this may blow a fuse before it burns out the motor!

Cheers,
-Alex

 

[XorpiZ]

Hi guys, sorry for the late reply, but i just got out of bed

However much I appreciate your advice alex, I must admit I have no idea what you're talking about, hence making it a little difficult for me to follow it
Still, I think it's nice to post that long a reply!


@circolo

Thanks, I guess I'll have to buy a new wiper engine then. With my usual luck, there's probably not one in entire Denmark

 

[alexGS]

Hi guys, sorry for the late reply, but i just got out of bed

However much I appreciate your advice alex, I must admit I have no idea what you're talking about, hence making it a little difficult for me to follow it
Still, I think it's nice to post that long a reply!


@circolo

Thanks, I guess I'll have to buy a new wiper engine then. With my usual luck, there's probably not one in entire Denmark

Thanks - sorry

Simply put, the motor has a ball-bearing which makes a noise and jams up.
You can replace the bearing because it is a common size, but to remove it needs some force (hammers and levers).
Otherwise you need a new motor, which you can put in yourself.

Cheers,
-Alex

 

[SFB]

Don't you have car breakers/wreckers yards in Denmark? That's where I'd start by phoning round to see who has one.

Check the wiper linkage while you're at it to make sure everything is free running and not siezed or siezing!

 

[XorpiZ]

Don't you have car breakers/wreckers yards in Denmark? That's where I'd start by phoning round to see who has one.

Check the wiper linkage while you're at it to make sure everything is free running and not siezed or siezing!

Hi, yes we do. Already checked the two biggest websites, where most of the dealers are posting ads. Closest one with an engine is 200 miles away :/

I guess I'll try and break it apart tomorrow morning and regrease it, possible switch the ball bearing if possible.

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have a mechanic order a new one for me and pray that it won't rain for a week


- Thomas

 

[XorpiZ]

Newest update:

I got the bonnet open, removed the black plastic cover that holds the windscreen washer etc to get to the wiper-engine (would've sounded cooler, if it were a viper-engine ), but alas. One of the screws was stuck, rusted beyond any belief

What options do I have now? Removing the wiper-engine-cover without violence is more or less out of the question. Should I try to cut out the plastic, melt it or what should I do? I can't really go for too long without my wipers

 

[XorpiZ]

Hi again, just thought I'd post an update.

I took the car to my mechanic, who replaced the wiper-engine and also fixed a problem with the acceleration of the car.

Price: 150£. Not too bad

Thanks to you all for the advices, much appreciated.


Thomas

 

[rawill]

So now that one is fixed.

My intermittent, 2 speed wiper, which was replaced by an auto sparky cos the old one failed, only works on intermittent and 1 speed. I think the speed is actually the 2nd speed as it goes fast. did he make a mistake putting it in or did he put in the wrong wiper motor. I know he tried a couple before he got one to work.

 

[Chas Uno]

So now that one is fixed.

My intermittent, 2 speed wiper, which was replaced by an auto sparky cos the old one failed, only works on intermittent and 1 speed. I think the speed is actually the 2nd speed as it goes fast. did he make a mistake putting it in or did he put in the wrong wiper motor. I know he tried a couple before he got one to work.

Base model Unos (I know this is the case for mk1's) only had intermittent and fast settings. Higher spec Unos had intermittent, slow and fast settings. It's possible that your Uno has been fitted with a lower spec wiper motor hence losing one of the speeds. Either that or it hasn't been connected properly.

Not much you can do other than replace if for one with the extra speed...

 

[rawill]

Thanks, that is what I thought, wrong wiper motor fitted.