Wipers not working

Hello

This sounds like the fuse #11 in the drivers fuse panel is not getting power or is no good this guide will help us test it with the wiper wiring diagrams below to show you how the system works.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse


Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

I checked and those numbers you cited on my Acura MDX fuses and the fuse was melted, I installed a new one and bam! all fixed!

Thanks.

Good to hear, please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.

Six cylinder four wheel drive automatic 80,000 miles.

I went through the carwash today, my windshield wiper got caught in the drying mechanism. I stopped the car, but the air was blowing so hard, I could not get out to unlatch the wiper blade. When the air stopped, I unhitched it, but it appeared tweaked. When I turned on the windshield wiper, it did not work. The mechanic at the gas station tried to move the wipers to maybe dislodge them, but now they are stuck in the up position, and still do not work. What do you think is wrong with them, and will this cost me a bundle to fix?

Hi Samwheels,

Thank you for the donation.

There is a possibility the wiper linkages have been dislodged and is wedged causing the motor to be frozen. You would need to remove the wiper arms, panel and motor to check the extent of the damage. the cost could vary from reinstalling dislodged linkages to replacement of the motor assembly.

I am not sure how much it would cost and would put it as between $100.00 to $300.00 depending on what has been damaged.

Did you check if the wiper fuse is blown?

Thank you for your reply. I tried to check the fuse, but I could not figure out for the life of me how to remove the cover, which only happens to hide two of twelve fuses and of course the thirty amp fuse I need to look at. I will try again today, now that I am not as upset.

But back to the wipers, when I came out of the car wash, the wipers were askance, and did not align properly. It sounds like your suggestion, "There is a possibility the wiper linkages have been dislodged and is wedged causing the motor to be frozen". is the likely culprit, and perhaps the motor is also burned out.

I am not mechanically inclined, so I will have to bring this to a mechanic to fix. Do you recommend I bring it to the dealer, or will an independent mechanic do a fine job?

I hope it does not rain until Monday!

This should be a job any mechanic should be able to handle so not necessary to be dealer.

Lift up both wiper arm and ty to turn them manually one by one to see if any arm is able to move freely. Remember to to keep the wiper switch off when engine is running to prevent motor from burning off if it is stuck.

The wiper fuse should be under dash and I have difficulty assessing my database to get more information for you. Seems my ISP is doing some upgrade, which has been going on for some time, and it is taking me ages to load a page to access data.

If you need any other assistance, let me know and I would get my fellow technicians to assist in getting them as they should be able to assess the data.

Unfortunately they do not move. When I first exited the car wash, they did move manually, and there did seem to be a buzz from the motor. Now there is no sound or vibration, and the arms are stuck in the up position.

I will bring the car to my local repair shop, so I appreciate your advice on that. Hopefully the motor is not burned out, and it is just the wiper linkages. We will find out on Monday!

Thanks again for your help.

Follow up to situation:

I brought my car into the Shell station where they were broken by the car wash, and they said the windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced, costing me $330.00 with labor. Then he called and said the wiper linkages needed to be replaced and would cost an additional $200.00. Does this sound correct?

The wipers work, but they swing over the edge beyond where the window stops on the driver's side. Any idea if a broken linkage would cause this? Should the mechanic have been able to fix the linkage rather than replace it?

Otherwise the wipers are operational.

If the wipers are working but over swinging, then there should be nothing to be replaced. An adjustment of the wiper arms should solve the problem.

I would suggest getting a second opinion.

My auto wiper is not working. I found the diagram for the auto wiper fuse on the driver side, but I can't see to physically find the fuse. Also, where is the located. They say it's near the rear view but I don't see it.

Thanks
Dave

Did you ever find the fuse? I am having the same problem
thanks

Oh.. and where did you find the diagrams?
Do you have an electronic copy that you could email

I’m also having problems with my wipers on a 2004 Acura MDX the auto function doesn’t work at all and they will not park. They stop as soon as I turn the switch off so I have to carefully bump the switch until they park. Checked all fuses and relay and all appear to be ok. My manual doesn’t have schematics for auto wiper system any help would be greatly appreciated

If all 4 fuses test good and the relays check out the most likely suspect would be the park switch on the wiper motor itself. I would also verify that the ground shown as G301 is good. It will be one of the black wires from the wiper connection.

I recently purchased a 2004 MDX, and the intermittent wipers never worked.
After some research I found the original rain sensitive windshield had been replaced with a aftermarket without rain sensing.
Is it possible to bypass the rain sensor either by installing a jumper or programming the computer.
A new factory windshield with rain sensing is $1000.00 so I would rather bypass the sensor if possible.
Thank you

Hi lunenburger. See if the diagram can help you solve your problem.

Thanks I see from the schematic the auto function is controlled through the park so that makes sense. I will first verify ground to wiper motor but from there I would imagine you would have to replace the wiper motor to replace the park switch? or are they separate? Thanks for your help

These schematics are exactly what I need but I can't get the resolution high enough to read them.
Is it possible to send a higher quality image or email a pdf file.
Thanks again

Yeah, It's attached to the back of the wiper motor under the plastic cover. You might be able to repair it if you're handy with tools and electronics. It consists of a couple wiping contacts and a rotating gear with brass contact plates. The wires break to the contacts or the fingers wear. Just follow the wires to the control contacts.

Hi lunenburger.

Sent some .mdi files, hope is useful.

Hi
I took the original wiper motor apart and couldn’t find any broken wires and contacts looked good so I ordered a used wiper motor that was supposed to be good and installed that and still the same problem. The mist function doesn’t work the auto function doesn’t work and they don’t park. And based on the drawings everything seams to point to the wiper motor but I can’t find anything wrong and even a second motor does the same. I do have a good ground I did check that so I’m at a total loss on this. Right no low speed and high speed wipers work but will not park and when I use the window washer the pump runs but the wipers don’t work so I have to switch the wipers to low speed when I use the washer. They are hard to use this way and would love to figure out what is going on with them.

Thanks Joe

Hi there,
thanks again for the help, I have checked my email inbox and can't find any files.
Did you send them to my hotmail address or can you pm them to me?

I am new to this so I am not sure if you can pm files

OK you have a few other problems than just parking. You checked all of the fuses and tested the relays already, correct? On fuses don't just go on looks, that can easily burn you instead test them with a test light. If those all check out you will need to test the automatic controller itself. If you look at the schematics you will see the pin numbers for the connections. The unit is behind the rear view mirror and includes the rain sensor.

With the ignition ON And the wiper switched to AUTO mode. You should have battery voltage at the Yellow wire (7) and the Green wire (3). Now if you push the washer switch you should hear the motor and get battery voltage at the Black/Yellow wire (5)
You should have a ground at the Black wire (8)

If that all works pour some water over the sensor, if the wipers don't come on and you don't hear the auto wiper relay click then the unit is faulty.

Sometime the e-mails we send can get sent to the spam folder, check there.

Hi Steve
Ok I preformed the tests at the auto wiper sensor and I do have voltage on pin 7 and pin 3 and 3 goes off when auto is turned off and back on when switched back to auto. I misspoke earlier and the mist function does work it just doesn’t park either. When I hit the washer switch I do get 12 volts at the blk/yel and the pump turns on but the wipers do not. It is the washer circuit that doesn’t turn the wipers on. When I pour water over the window pin 10 grn/red does momentarily go low and if I ground it the relay does click so I think the sensor does work as water poured on the window does pull the auto relay to turn on. I also measured voltage at pin 4 blu/wht and when the wiper is in the home position I have 12 volts there but when off park position I have 0 volts there. So I’m not getting the connection from blu/wht to blu wiper low speed to park the wiper. So it either has to be either a wiring problem at relay, bad relay or bad wiper switch.

Thanks for you help Joe

Yo Service Writer,

Thanks for the back up. I never would have thought of that ;)


Hi lunenburger,

I sent them to your hotmail but if you did not get it, I need to configure my account. Seems it sometimes cannot send to Hotmail

I would suspect the relay and it's socket first then the wiring itself. The switch simply removes power from the circuit and the switch on the wiper motor then keeps power applied until it parks.
It sounds like the controller is working.

I checked my spam folder and inbox and nothing has arrived. There is lots of space available in my hotmail account.
not sure why it wouldn't go through??

Hi Steve
I got everything working and it wound up being a relay after all. I think it had to bad relays and even though I bench tested for continuity they were still bad. I finally traced everything out and jumped across the relay contacts as a test and they cycled home. So I ordered 2 new relays and it worked fine from there. Thanks so much for your help and the schematics definitely saved me.

Thanks Again Joe

Hi lunenburger,

I sent another email with a different account. Let me know if you got it.

Great to here you found the problem. These days a "relay" might be more than a relay and some test great but won't carry any real load. If you do a bunch of auto work a relay substitution/testing kit is a great thing to have.
I have a couple different ones depending on what needs testing
I made a set like this before this company did it. IPA 9038 Easy to do, just pull various relays from salvage vehicles and add a good 12 volt rated switch. I added a current loop between the switch and one terminal to allow easy current testing.
Plus a Lisle 69300 kit that lets you test all the terminals and functions in circuit.
I built something like that as well but it used a project box and a bosch relay with test points and a plug in harness with each relay base wired in. The Lisle kit is a bit easier...

Come visit us any time with auto related questions, we'll be here.
Thank you for using 2CarPros.com

got it thank you

:)

I have the same problem.
Can you tell me what did you do to fix it?
Would ot be possible to get a copy of the diagrams as well?

Hi neftali53,

I need your email to send the files.

[email protected]

Hi neftali53,

Files had been sent. Hope they are what you requires.

I have the same problem. Can I get the files too?

Thanks

Hi gnatlife,

Files have been sent, check your mail.

:)