Many drivers underestimate the role of wipers in ensuring safety while driving. In fact, working windshield wipers are an important parameter that needs to be carefully monitored. If the wipers suddenly stop working, you need to figure out the causes of the malfunction as quickly as possible and eliminate them.
Windshield wiper failures can manifest themselves in different ways, and the causes of the failure may vary depending on the “symptoms.” So, here are the main signs and reasons why your car windshield wipers are not working.
The wipers do not work, the sound of the motor is not heard
Most likely, the problem should be looked for in the gearmotor itself. To check the electric motor that drives the windshield wipers, it must be removed. First you need to check the fuse on the motor itself (it can be either directly in the gear motor or somewhere near it). You should try to connect the removed wiper motor directly from the battery: if the motor does not come to life, then the problem lies with it. Moreover, most often the motor does not require replacement: it can be overhauled by replacing the brushes or lubricating the entire mechanism. If the motor is working properly, the reason may also be in the steering column switch or in the wiring. You can check the serviceability of the steering column switch using a tester: disconnect the wiper wiring block and connect a tester to check the presence of voltage when switching wiper operating modes.
How to choose a spring
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There are quite a lot of such springs, some owners even buy leashes from VAZ, for example KALINA, PRIORA and others, remove them from them and install them on their holder. BUT! The price will be about 300 - 400 rubles, this is not our method, so we are simply looking for the spring itself.
Usually this comes from the hood, trunk holders, and also from the VAZ brake pads. Personally, I first took the “classic” pads, but it turned out to be too short, I didn’t have enough strength to tighten it. Then I bought a front-wheel drive one (VAZ-2108) and everything worked out, it was a couple of turns shorter and gave it really good rigidity. The cost is only 40 rubles.
The PRESS feeling has become much better.
The motor hums, but the wipers still don't work.
In this case, one thing can be said for sure: the gear motor is working, but does not have contact with the windshield wiper trapezoids. Most often, the cause of such a malfunction is wear on the teeth of the motor drive shaft or a loose nut securing the trapezoid to the gear motor. And if the second reason is easy to determine only by looking at the trapezoid, then the first can be diagnosed only by disassembling the motor. By the way, it can be difficult to buy the drive part of a gear motor, so most often car owners prefer to change the entire wiper motor assembly.
Quick diagnosis by weight
The ground outlet is located on the lower bolt of the windshield wiper drive, in the sump. If you suspect that the problem is a bad ground, turn the windshield wipers on maximum and note the speed of their movement. Then turn on the stove. The heater and wipers are connected to the same ground output, so if this is the problem, the speed of movement of the wipers after turning on the heater will decrease significantly.
To fix the problem, find the ground outlet, clean the contacts, solder the terminals if necessary, coat the connection with protective grease, and tighten the fastening nut well.
If you need to quickly eliminate voltage losses, extend an additional ground wire to the wiper motor mounting frame.
Wipers do not return to rest position
There may be several reasons for this malfunction. Most likely, the problem is that you have already disassembled the trapezoid or motor, and then set the wipers incorrectly. In addition, the reason that the windshield wipers do not return to place may be a faulty limit switch of the gear motor (in this case, the motor will probably have to be replaced) or damaged brush drive splines.
Poor quality work of any component and element of your car is not just discomfort during the trip, but also a certain irritating factor. Every time you have to deal with the fact that some piece of technology does not work in a decent way and does not offer a high enough quality of functioning. This is especially difficult for idealists, for whom everything should work at the highest level and without problems. One of the most annoying problems is the failure of the wipers. If the windshield wipers stop working, wave randomly, or stop when the control knob is turned off right in the middle of the glass, you should think about possible problems. Here we should highlight several main components that can break. Trapezoid, wiper fuse, intermittent wiper relay, power handle and other elements.
Freezing
Often in winter, on a cold car, you can encounter the effect that the wipers work slowly or hardly move. In this case, it is worth checking whether the wiper blades are frozen to the windshield. If everything is in order here, then the problem is in the trapezoid.
The trapezoid joints freeze to each other either due to a large amount of dirt on them, or if there is not enough lubricant. To correct a similar problem, use the material written earlier and carry out a similar procedure.
Trapezoid - the mechanism for direct operation of the wipers
One of the most complex mechanisms in the wiper system kit is the trapezoid. Today, no car manufacturer has such a reliable wiper drive mechanism to guarantee long-term operation of the device. Banal jamming of brushes or excessive emphasis on the glass, improper activation of the wipers, freezing to the glass in winter - all these reasons can be detrimental to the trapezoid. Among the possibilities for restoring this mechanism, it is worth highlighting only a few possible steps:
- purchasing a new trapezoid is often the best step for domestic cars, in which the wiper mechanism costs about 1000-1500 rubles;
- for foreign cars, purchasing a new trapezoid will cost exorbitant amounts of money, so in this case, repairs should be made and broken parts restored;
- Often the bushings and tips in trapezoids fail, which are often plastic and are terribly resistant to frost, so they can simply be replaced;
- if it is not easy to find a repair kit for a trapezoid for your car, you can try installing bushings and other parts from other cars of a similar class;
- Direct replacement of the trapezoid is necessary if even repair work does not eliminate the problem, or after repair the mechanism begins to tap during operation.
Any sounds coming from the trapezoid may be a harbinger of its death. This is exactly the sign that indicates a possible failure of the entire device. However, you should not change the trapeze immediately after unpleasant sounds occur. Before replacing, you can wait until the device completely fails or try to eliminate the sound by tightening the components of the trapezoid using standard tools. It's not difficult and can be done right in your garage.
Frameless brush device
Frameless wiper blades are rarely used and this is due to their high cost and narrow applicability. Each brush is produced for a specific narrow range of car models. They are not universal.
Frameless brushes differ from frame ones in that instead of a rocker arm system, a flat, wide, spring-loaded metal plate is used, on which the wiper tape holders are secured with rivets.
The shape of the generating plate is made in accordance with the shape of the windshield of a particular car. Therefore they do not fit any model. This wide tape is covered with a rubber casing glued to it, thereby eliminating cases of disruption of the hinges, like with a frame brush. The design of the rubber band and the principle of its operation when cleaning glass does not differ from work in a frame wiper. In frameless wipers, it is also possible to replace the rubber band when worn, as in a frame wiper.
There is no intermittent wiper mode - we are looking for a relay
Often, along with the lack of intermittent mode, problems arise with returning the windshield wiper blade to its original position. In this case, the culprit of the situation is a burnt-out relay. At the same time, the mode of continuous strokes of the windshield wiper blade is present, as well as the mode of accelerated cleaning of the glass. These options for operating the windshield wiper are designed to bypass the relay; they are implemented directly from the handle for switching on the wiper operating modes. When a relay fails, you simply need to replace it by following this procedure:
- searching for the installation location of the relay in your car - again, forums, the car’s operating instructions or recommendations from specialists who repair your car will help;
- Next, the non-working relay should be removed from the installation location, the device number should be rewritten so as not to make a mistake when choosing a new electrical device to replace it;
- go to the store or order on the Internet an original production relay with the same catalog number to ensure normal operation of the wiper on the car;
- Having received the device in your hands, take a good look at it, make sure that this is exactly the element that was originally installed in your car at the factory;
- turn off the ignition, be sure to check that the wiper switch is in the “off” position and insert the relay into the slot from which the non-working device was removed;
- turn on the ignition and check the quality of the wipers, taking into account the new installed electrical part.
We increase the cleaning area of the VAZ 2110 windshield
Have you noticed that the windshield wiper blades of the VAZ 2110 do not clean the windshield well, or better yet, they do not clean the edge of the glass near the driver's pillar? As a result, over time, a thick dirty strip forms on the edge of the windshield near the driver, which significantly reduces the driver’s visibility. We'll tell you how you can increase the cleaning area of your windshield. If, in addition to the left pillar, you add a dirty strip that dozens of wipers cannot clean, then the driver’s visibility is significantly reduced, especially when turning left. On cars produced recently, this sector is cleaned better by wipers. You can increase the windshield cleaning area in various ways, it all depends on what the strip of dirt looks like, which the wiper cannot reach. I’ll start with the simplest method:
Increasing the cleaning area of the windshield (simple method)
One of the reasons why the wiper does not reach the edge of the glass is the old-style windshield (jabot). That is, the leash just rests on the frill. Solution: Cut off a small triangle where the leash rests on the frill. Another simple solution to the problem could be to install the driver's wiper higher than the initial position. Thus, the higher the initial position of the wiper, the more area it will clean near the pillar. However, not many people will like the raised wiper blade. It will also create additional air resistance, because is no longer located under the frill as before. In addition, the raised wiper will only clean the upper part near the pillar. As a result, the uncleaned area will resemble a wedge.
Uniform cleaning near the edge of the windshield
To ensure that the cleaning of the windshield near the pillar is uniform, that is, so that the brush and the pillar are parallel and not like a wedge, you need to bend the leash. That is, slightly (using the selection method) bend the leash next to the hook under the brush (there is a factory bend there, you just need to increase it a little). You will also have to slightly bend the end of the wiper spoiler up, because it can catch on the blade. Now the corner of the windshield near the driver will be clean, but there is one drawback - the driver’s wiper is constantly raised.
Steering wheel shift paddles are a common cause of problems
Windshield wipers in most modern cars are activated using steering column switches in the form of levers with data on the operating modes of the equipment printed on them. These levers must work well and have the necessary signals to turn on the wipers. Often the handle fails, the switch does not send the necessary signals, and because of this, the wipers themselves do not work properly. The main tasks in this case are the following:
- it is necessary to remove the plastic parts of the steering column in order to get directly to the installation site of the wiper switches;
- in most cars, the switches are very easy to remove; the maximum work awaiting you will be unscrewing a few bolts;
- after removing the switch, you can use a tester to check its operation by connecting the contacts one by one to different terminals and turning on the wiper operating modes;
- if the switch really fails, you should simply replace it with a new one, installing it as simply as disassembling it;
- If the switch works, you will have to look for other causes of the problem; it is quite possible that the reasons lie in the area where the switch is connected.
Often, wires simply come off the terminals of this steering column switch and need to be returned to their place. Most likely, after carrying out a complete audit of the electrical system, including switches and other important technical aspects, you will be able to determine the problem and easily fix it. You don't even need any special tools or abilities for this. All you need to do is perform a high-quality restoration of the operation of all simple wiper systems. We offer a short video on how to deal with the problem if the wipers suddenly stop working:
Let's sum it up
If reliable operation of the windshield wiper is your priority, you should pay attention to all possible ways that parts may fail. The knocking trapeze should attract your attention and in a certain way force you to examine the situation. Most likely, the knocking will lead to the fact that you will soon have to replace the device with a new one and buy high-quality replacement parts. But it is quite possible that you just need to get to the trapezoid and tighten the fastenings of its parts in order to eliminate the knocking and continue to operate the device perfectly.
High-quality work of wipers is necessary in any car, so you should immediately solve all problems that arise, taking into account their features and technical difficulties. Replacing the relay can be done in a garage, but it is better to change the trapezoid and wiper motor in a service center. This way, you can get the necessary capabilities for operating the machine without any problems and acquire the necessary performance qualities of peripheral devices. Have you ever encountered problems with your wipers?
Repair of windshield wipers on a VAZ 2109 car
Wipers are a very important part of a car's equipment. Their functions are especially useful in the autumn-winter period. Adverse weather conditions at this time create poor visibility on the road, and, consequently, very difficult vehicle movement. It is precisely these problems that windshield wipers help to cope with.
Lada windshield wiper repair
