My windshield wipers didn't work!!!

[Sparks5501]

I don't think they ever worked. [emoji3] [emoji3] [emoji305]

 

[RT Firefly]

 

[Sparks5501]

Funny. ?

 

[kchace]

RTF you are the undisputed king of finding the comical side of a situation.

 

[Xsbank]

Good one RT. I wouldn't sweat the wipers, I replaced the motors and arms on my GB and then put Rain-X on the glass and never turned the wipers on. I also found that the directions that tell you to only use a soft cloth? I used paper towels and it always worked well.

 

[PMF1984]

Well my horn doesn't work. The boatyard says it because there is no horn, no wiring for horn and has no sign of mounting bracket for horn. They might be on to something.

 

[BruceK]

Anyone remember vacuum "powered" car wipers? The more you opened the throttle the slower the wipers, the reverse of what was needed. Early Aussie built Holden cars had them. (Coincidentally,the last Aust built Holden,a GM brand, was produced last week. When Toyota closes their factory soon, there will be no more Aust built cars.)
I fixed my wipers, applied Rain X, and never need to use the wipers.

 

[FlyWright]

Well my horn doesn't work. The boatyard says it because there is no horn, no wiring for horn and has no sign of mounting bracket for horn. They might be on to something.

In that vein, my watermaker doesn't work either!

Anyone remember vacuum "powered" car wipers? The more you opened the throttle the slower the wipers, the reverse of what was needed. Early Aussie built Holden cars had them.

Had them on an old Army Surplus 1944 Dodge Staff car along with the non-synchro gears...double clutching required. Every downshift was a challenge.

 

[Nomad Willy]

My windshield wipers don't work either. Actually I don't have any. They didn't come on Willards.
I asked others that didn't and nobody seemed very if at all concerned about not having wipers. A guy and his wife was next to us in the marina on the hard w his 50' steel trawler that they took to Alaska every year. They went early and came back late. He said "don't need-um".
Well there are times when I kinda wish I had them but amazingly not often.
When I was in college I had a VW and the wiper motor went tits up. Cost $20 bucks and that was serious money in 68. Somebody told me to dob a pouch of Bull Durahm tobacco in a puddle (get it a bit wet) and rub it lightly on the windshield. I did and it worked .. better than rain-x I'm quite sure.

 

[Beers30]

Lol

 

[BruceK]

...
When I was in college I had a VW and the wiper motor went tits up. Cost $20 bucks and that was serious money in 68. Somebody told me to dob a pouch of Bull Durahm tobacco in a puddle (get it a bit wet) and rub it lightly on the windshield. I did and it worked .. better than rain-x I'm quite sure.

Probably cheaper than Rain-X too. Were you able to dry out the tobacco to use it?

 

[Lepke]

Anyone remember vacuum "powered" car wipers? The more you opened the throttle the slower the wipers, the reverse of what was needed. Early Aussie built Holden cars had them. (Coincidentally,the last Aust built Holden,a GM brand, was produced last week. When Toyota closes their factory soon, there will be no more Aust built cars.)
I fixed my wipers, applied Rain X, and never need to use the wipers.

I'm old enough to know how to fix the vacuum wipers that stall when increasing the throttle. You add something like a sealed coffee can into the vacuum line to the wipers as an accumulator and a check valve near the engine. Then the wipers continue while your passing another car, etc.

Also WWII jeeps and some trucks just had the wiper and a handle on the inside to manually move the wiper arm.

 

[Ski in NC]

Salt is my nemesis. Under certain conditions offshore I get just a little bit of spray, and the sun dries it right away. Wipers just smear it all over. I get a water bottle and splash some water from my side slider window and that helps for five minutes.

If conditions get bad, enough water gets up there so salt does not dry. But then there is so much water that the wipers don't really improve things that much.

They work fine in rain, though.

Thinking of rigging up water nozzles and manual valves, maybe tying into hot water supply.

 

[Sparks5501]

Salt is my nemesis. Under certain conditions offshore I get just a little bit of spray, and the sun dries it right away. Wipers just smear it all over. I get a water bottle and splash some water from my side slider window and that helps for five minutes.

If conditions get bad, enough water gets up there so salt does not dry. But then there is so much water that the wipers don't really improve things that much.

They work fine in rain, though.

Thinking of rigging up water nozzles and manual valves, maybe tying into hot water supply.

That would be something to behold. [emoji228] When I was in the Navy, onboard ship, we had fresh water wash down occasionally. All weather decks got the treatment.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Probably cheaper than Rain-X too. Were you able to dry out the tobacco to use it?

Bruce,
No never smoked it. Kept it on the floor of my old VW and used it many times. When it got a bit gross I bought a new one. Worked so well clearing the winshield it was months before I got a new windshield wiper motor. May have been summer though.

 

[rwidman]

I don't think they ever worked. View attachment 69409[emoji3] [emoji3] [emoji305]

It's a bit hard to make out the problem from the photo but if it's not burned from an electrical problem you might be able to clean and lubricate all the parts and get it working again.

I have three wipers, one for each pane. I was on a cruise once and the center one stopped working. It would try to run but fail to move the wiper all the way. Once I got settled in for the night, I was able to stand on a cooler and take the motor cover off. The grease was all dried up, particularly where the shaft went out to the wiper arm.

I cleaned everything and re-greased and reassembled the unit. That fixed it and that one works faster than the other two.

On my boat, the wipers come in handy when it rains or I hit a big wake and take water over the bow.

 

[sbu22]

Also WWII jeeps and some trucks just had the wiper and a handle on the inside to manually move the wiper arm.

Like this - not WWII, a 1960 CJ5.

As to the OP's problem, I've had 3 wiper motors (2 boat, 1 auto) that all responded well to mucking out the old hardened lube, thorough cleaning, and reassembly with fresh lube. Worth a try.

 

[Nomad Willy]

sbu22,
Those are good and all one really needs.
The blades will probably last till the weather turns them hard.

 

[rwidman]

sbu22,
Those are good and all one really needs.
The blades will probably last till the weather turns them hard.

How are you supposed to send a text if your hand is tied up working the windshield wiper?

 

[BruceK]

...

Thinking of rigging up water nozzles and manual valves, maybe tying into hot water supply.

IGs have a freshwater supply to the windscreen. So might GBs, IGs copied them in a number of respects.
Beware though, earlier IGs had timber windows,I know of a case of severe wood damage where the FW valve was left open.

 

[Nomad Willy]

How are you supposed to send a text if your hand is tied up working the windshield wiper?

Text what? Don't bother w it. I'd get along better on CL if I did though. Life is complicated enough.

 

[CDreamer]

NM -
So you are also familiar with VW's "windshield squirter" system, which was simply a small tube screwed to the valve stem of the spare tire (which was in front of course). The air in the tire provided the pressure for squirting the wiper fluid. Ingenious...no motor required. (At least on my 74 Super Beetle)
It wasn't much air...but you did need to check the spare after a rainy week.

 

[BruceK]

NM -
So you are also familiar with VW's "windshield squirter" system, which was simply a small tube screwed to the valve stem of the spare tire (which was in front of course). The air in the tire provided the pressure for squirting the wiper fluid. Ingenious...

More ingenious and safer than the heat source for the heated cabin air, heated by passing it over the exhaust tubes. A kind of heat exchanger I suppose. Worked well, except if the exhaust lines leaked, exhaust gas was pumped into the cabin as part of the heated air....oops...I feel sleepy....

 

[CDreamer]

I remember getting radial tires...my Beetle was like a whole different car. Anyway, the wipers worked.