intermittent wipers working...intermittently

[Prattworks]

I have a 1991 Spider, and the intermittent wipers are only working part of the time. Sometimes the intermittent function works fine, other times it acts like it's in the 'low' position. Also, the wipers will oftentimes not 'nest' when turned off, but remain wherever they were when I turned the switch to the 'off' position.

My mechanice tried switching out the relay, but this made no difference.

Any thoughts on what the fix might be?

Any help is much appreciated, it's getting pretty rainy here in Portland, Oregon.

Kind regards,

Aaron Pratt
aaronlpratt@yahoo.com

[ocduff]

Aaron-

I have the same problem on my '91. It seems to go away with a little use, but still annoying nonetheless as it always comes back. I wonder if the problem is in the switch itself.

Also, after dismantling nearly the whole window washer fluid assembly, I'm no further than where I started - motor pump working, I think the sprayers themselves are the culprits. Clogged up and just busted.

Ugh - it's the little things like this that drive me nuts. I hope someone has a solution to these problems.

[BeigeAlfa]

There's a switch inside the wiper motor that operates when the motor is in it's "park" position. As well as being necessary for parking the wipers in the right place, the intermittent wiper circuit relies on this switch to work properly. So, from your description, the problem is almost certainly with the park switch or it's wiring.

So first port of call is to trace the wiring, looking for bad connections, especially where the wires are soldered onto the wiper motor (certainly on older spiders).

Next, the switch itself is inside the wiper motor's gearbox. You can disassmble the motor to inspect the inside of the gearbox. You're not looking for a switch as such, but a couple of contacts which press against the main gear as it revolves. The gear has sections of conducting and non-conducting material on it, which make/break the circuit as they pass under the contacts. If you are getting intermittent behaviour, it's possible that the grease in the gearbox is interfering with the this process. Alternately, it's not unheard of for the gearbox to fill up with water and similar problems being caused by corrosion.

Unfortunately, it's a bit of a pain to get at the motor for inspection, but very satisfying to figure out how it works (no rocket science in there) and fix it - normally just a case of cleaning up and applying new grease. Just be careful of the carbon brushes in the motor.

ocduff - have you tried just blowing through the tube that leads off to the sprayer nozzles - can be remarkably effective, either for diagnosis or for actually fixing the problem!


Dan.

[dwuollet]

I'm also in the Portland area and having wiper issues, I dug into it yesterday and found my wiper motor corroded with rust on the inside. Any ideas where I might find a motor locally? and how much should I expect to pay?
Dave
'83 Spider Veloce

[ocduff]

So how do we go about taking off the vent cover that hides the wiper motor and wiper jets? Without a crowbar, that is.

[Johan]

Take off the wipers, open the hood, unscreww a few screws, take off vent cover.

At least on a series 4 Spider that is.

Johan