45 degree wipers !!

[davidmason]

Hi folks.
anyone have any idea why the wipers on my pickup only travel through around 45 degrees ? i've checked the motor and the main nylon gearwheel teeth seem fine and not slipping . the park will operate ok . Any suggestions would be much apprecated as i would have to drive with my neck at a strange angle to see out in heavy rain . regards, dave

[Multiphonikks]

Hi Dave,

Have you checked the wipers are on the right way round? I know it sounds silly, but my left and right wipers are actually slightly different. ... :/

[simmitc]

I bought some new wiper boxes from one of our beloved traders and had exactly the same symptoms. Reverted to the original gearboxes and everything worked fine. Id di get a refund but only after the usual "they're all like that". Has yours always done this, or has something changed to cause the problem?

[TheMadMarsons]

We had the same problem recently when we had to change one of the wiper boxes. Apparently the system isn't terribly good and therefore if you change anything you can easily end up with only a partial sweep. Haven't found a way to fix it yet ...

[Cam]

If the wheelboxes are causing the sweep difference then they must be the wrong type if everything else is the same........

[davidmason]

THANKS EVERYBODY, I BOUGHT THE CAR AS A VIRTUAL WRECK AND HAD NO HISTORY ETC. IT HAD WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE A MINI WIPER MOTOR FITTED WHEN I GOT IT , I REPLACED THIS WITH A PROPER MINOR MOTOR , BUT PERHAPS THE WHEELBOXES WERE/ARE MINI PARTS TOO , PERHAPS THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE PROBLEM . WHAT SORT OF JOB IS IT TO REPLACE THE WHEELBOXES? THANKS AGAIN

[Matt]

Are you sure its a minor motor and not a spridget one? they look exactly the same except the pivot on the nylon gear is in a different place.... (talking from experience here...)

[TheMadMarsons]

Cam - With ours we changed one wheel box and the other one started having the sweep problem. The replacement was slightly different from the original, it was a few mm wider. All seems to be working ok, no slipping etc. I can't see the 'new' box affecting the drive though - what do you/does anyone else think?

David - it's not too bad a job, just a little messy if it's been well greased! I'll let someone else give a detailed description as I'm sure they'll give a better explanation!

[Jefftav]

I had this problem after changing a broken wiper motor. I had to take out the glove box to get at the wiper cable mechanism. Take the covers off the wheel boxes and make a mark on the gear wheel. Then you have to take the wiper cable off rotate the gear wheels 180degrees and then put everything back together. This restored the arc of the wipers. I think i read this in my car manual.

The other thing to check is that there is a small earting arm under the wiper motor top cover that sits on the large drive wheel which has to point to 1'0clock. This is the earth for the self parking mechanism. If it is set wrong then it is maybe altering the arc??

Another tip if you are taking it all apart anyway is to give everything a good clean up, maybe replace the motor brushes and get any gunge out as this might also effect the performance of the motor.

Hope this is of use, Jeff

[Cam]

Cam - With ours we changed one wheel box and the other one started having the sweep problem. The replacement was slightly different from the original, it was a few mm wider. All seems to be working ok, no slipping etc. I can't see the 'new' box affecting the drive though - what do you/does anyone else think?

Hi mate,

Well, clearly they are not the correct type as this should not happen! If the replacement of a wheelbox is altering the other one's sweep, then it's causing problems and should be replaced with a proper one. There are a few different types (angles of sweep) of wheelboxes. Maybe you fitted a different one?

[brixtonmorris]

also make sure the wheelboxes and chrome is tight on the body. if it wobbles it will cause a reduction on the sweep and also allow water into the car.