Wiper question

This particular question is not meant for this newsgroup, but there appears to be very knowledgeable people here, so I'll give it a shot.

When I stop my wipers they turn off half way across the window. Do I just turn them off, remove wiper arms, and put them back on at bottom of window and tighten nut. Or is it more to it than that?

its a chev venture van (ouch eh!)

Reply to
Devils Advocate
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Do they stop immediately when you turn them off or do they come to rest at that position?

Reply to
badgolferman

If you do that you might run into problams when it gets to it's outer stop, probably not going far enough to clear the windshield.

I think you might have some electrical component failure somewhere; there is a circuit that keeps the wiper active until it reaches the bottom position. Either a broken wire or a failed capacitor or something similar. I'm not familiar enough with (UGH!) Chevys to know how they work (sorry, couldn't resist! ;)

One thing you didn't mention: when you turn themoff, do they stop IMMEDIATELY right where they were when you hit the switch, do they go a little further after that like they're trying to reach the stop, and do they ever return to the 'off' position?

This seems to be common, I see a lot of these vans driving with the wipers not in the full off position.

Or, it could be merely friction; the wiper motor/regulator is gummed up and there's friction stopping the wipers from reaching the stop position.

Reply to
Hachiroku

NO. When I turn off the wipers if they are at the bottom (at the point of turn off), then will then go to the top, then back down half way and stop. So no matter when I turn them off, then will run its course untill it comes back to resting position half way across the window.

If they did stop immediately when I shut them off, I would simply stop them immediately as they reach the bottom of the window lol

Now you got more idea? Do you still think removing wiper arms and re adjusting them won't work? I'm thinking it won't as well........but worth a try.

Reply to
Devils Advocate

I was hoping it was something simple. It doesn't look it.

Something is messed up (like, you didn't know that already...) but on this model I don't know what it is.

Try to see if there is a repair manual online somewhere. It sounds like some kind of timer or sensor, perhaps a feedback winding in the motor that got screwed up. Did the kids grab the wipers and try to move them by hand?

This is why I 'like' Chevys: nothing is ever simple...

Reply to
Hach

no to the kids question I don't think replacing the wiper motor would do the trick, bec. the wiper motor is going strong............I'm at a loss!!!

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Reply to
Devils Advocate

The problem with the wipers is electrical, not mechanical. The problem is not due to a spun lobe or improperly mounted arms, and removing the arms and installing them in the lowest position runs the risk of damaging the motor or transmission.

The wiper system has a park circuit, I don't know where it is in your van, but it could be part of the motor, or switch. You will probably need an electrical wiring diagram to diagnose the problem.

Reply to
Ray O

Do the wipers clean the proper arc across the windshield? Does it stop at the bottom and side edges of the glass? Do the blades come closer to hitting each other than on a sample car of the same make? Is this car new to you?

DO NOT remove the arms from the 'axles' on the cowl until you see how this works. All you will do is mess up the blade sweep arcs - it's in the motor.

I'll bet the prior owner replaced the wiper motor with a junkyard pull without understanding the subtleties - They use one basic motor and gearbox (from Vario or Anco or Trico) so they can buy bulk and get a deal. But they change the output crank arm and the mounting bracket (and sometimes the stop position cam) to make that one motor fit 50 different car models and 200 body-style variations over a 20-year span.

Somebody probably swapped in the junkyard wiper motor, but they also used the crank arm that came with it - and it's meant for a different car model. The new one has a "9-O-Clock" stopping position arm (relative to a fixed reference like the motor armature) with a 2-1/2" radius when your car needs a "12-O-Clock" stop position one with a

2-3/4" radius for a longer sweep arc.

You can see the position difference when you sit the crank arms side by side - the wiper motor output shaft has a Single-D or Double-D flats to position the arms in alignment with that stop switch on that car model. The shorter the crank the shorter the sweep arc.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

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