Replacing hard to reach windshield wiper motors

I am looking for ideas on how to replace or re-condition two hard to reach windshield wiper motors on my boat.

The boat is a 1988 Ocean Alexander and the motors currently trip the circuit breaker if I attempt to use them. I can see a spike of almost 50 amps DC when engaging one motor, so they clearly are not doing well.

I've poked around everywhere I can think of beneath them, and I can trace wires going into voids, but can never find a way to access the back of them. Much of the inside of the v-berth and head where I believe they are housed is covered by leather covered headliner boards that have tiny teak trim nailed/glued around the edges, and are notoriously hard to get out without major damage.

The previous owner said everything he had seen indicated they needed to be cut out of the outside of the boat to be replaced, and the more I look at them, that seems likely. However, I also am always shaking my head that OA didn't *really* design these so poorly that I have to cut the front of my foredeck open to replace them....

Any crazy ideas for how this could be done?

Greetings,
Mr. s. Cutting the outside would be my LAST option. Repairing any damage you may cause INSIDE will be a lot easier and less urgent than having to do repairs and resealing from the outside IMO. Any inside pictures?
Might there be a way to remove that housing from the outside? The high current draw is probably due to the shaft (on the left) binding on an internal bearing surface.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. s. Cutting the outside would be my LAST option. Repairing any damage you may cause INSIDE will be a lot easier and less urgent than having to do repairs and resealing from the outside IMO. Any inside pictures?

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That was my initial reaction too. Cutting holes in the nice outside deck would be a pain to fix.



This is the head ceiling. I believe one motor is behind this although it is the port side and less important. It appears to be some sort of press Formica board they used in all watery areas with a teak edge glued or nailed in.



This is where the starboard one is. Leather headliner with lots of teak trim.

I can see no way to remove the headliner without some major surgery.



Another view. I’ve tried getting to them from the sides which I have a few tiny access areas to use but I can’t even see the motors let alone get one out through the holes.

I would look at installing an access panel on the inside. Absolutely not cut the outside.

Comodave said:

I would look at installing an access panel on the inside. Absolutely not cut the outside.

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Oh hey that’s a good idea. Yeah I thought the previous owners plan to cut them out from the outside was ... bad.

A hole saw sized for the access panel will work and not go in as far as a jig saw. If you are going through headliner run the hole saw in reverse to cut through the headliner so it won’t grab. Give it a test on scrap headliner first to get a feel for it. If you have an inspection camera you can drill a small hole to get a look inside to see if any wiring is in the way.

Wish I could help you with this. I can tell you that OA left you access but needing to pull down the head liner wouldn’t surprise me. You can call Alex Marine, if anybody knows it will be them.

If it takes pulling down the headliner, I would definitely install an access panel because it won’t be the last time you will need to get in there.

Got a contact with the local OA dealer?

OldDan1943 said:

Got a contact with the local OA dealer?

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Alex Marine is both the local and the national importer.

Comodave said:

A hole saw sized for the access panel will work and not go in as far as a jig saw. If you are going through headliner run the hole saw in reverse to cut through the headliner so it won’t grab. Give it a test on scrap headliner first to get a feel for it. If you have an inspection camera you can drill a small hole to get a look inside to see if any wiring is in the way.

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Ah good idea. I've used the "run the hole saw in reverse" trick for a number of other things. That should work here too, although it would be great if I could figure out some way to just pop it out, although doubtful.

tiltrider1 said:

Wish I could help you with this. I can tell you that OA left you access but needing to pull down the head liner wouldn’t surprise me. You can call Alex Marine, if anybody knows it will be them.

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Thanks, sent you a PM on the details around them. I will definitely try them.

I've been told by several OA owners that pulling the headliners down will result in replacing them in the area you're working in. They are fiddly and hard to get back in once you remove them. I would really like to avoid that as the v-berth, where this is, is pristine and has a lot of corners, a hatch cut into it, and tons of teak work that would likely have to come down as well.

tiltrider1 said:

Alex Marine is both the local and the national importer.

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Hmmm, sounds like it is time for a road trip to the factory to learn the secrets behind working on the windshield wiper motors.

OldDan1943 said:

Hmmm, sounds like it is time for a road trip to the factory to learn the secrets behind working on the windshield wiper motors.

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Good thing it’s a mile from my boat and home

I have used one of the oscillating tools, Rockwell, for similar projects. With some care to not go to deep you may be able to cut the panels for a good sized access port for each wiper without making a big hash of it.
Then once the work is done on the wipers sort out some teak trim strips to cover the cut.

I also agree that if the O.A. guy is close talk to him first.

C lectric said:

I have used one of the oscillating tools, Rockwell, for similar projects. With some care to not go to deep you may be able to cut the panels for a good sized access port for each wiper without making a big hash of it.
Then once the work is done on the wipers sort out some teak trim strips to cover the cut.

I also agree that if the O.A. guy is close talk to him first.

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Good suggestion.

I have chatted with the OA guys, but they've said "just remove the panel!" so a visit in person is going to happen next, as it is clearly a bit more complicated than that or I would have figured it out.

Just because it's a pain in the ass doesn't mean that's not the way to do it.

Removing the panel is usually the easy part, getting it back in and having it fit correctly is the hard part.

Let's see the OA guys "just remove the panel" without damage.
The panel could be held up with industrial strength velcro. Finding a way to break loose the velcro can be tricky..... Need an access point, maybe a light fixture to slide your hand and work the velcro loose? If not, then find out what special tool OA personel use to work the velcro loose. Sounds like the entire panel must be lowered to get at the motor. The wood trim will come away with the panel. This is going to be a "more than 2 people job."
JUST A GUESS.

If worse comes to worse, just clean the glass carefully and use Rain-x, I use it and don’t use the wipers. Repeat as needed.

Xsbank said:

If worse comes to worse, just clean the glass carefully and use Rain-x, I use it and don’t use the wipers. Repeat as needed.

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I actually have already done that, and it works reasonably well, but it isn't perfect. My windows are at a pretty steep angle, close to the angle of my foredeck, so the rain doesn't slide off them as quickly as I'd like.

How about one of these instead?


HOLLYWOOD

stevemitchell said:

I actually have already done that, and it works reasonably well, but it isn't perfect. My windows are at a pretty steep angle, close to the angle of my foredeck, so the rain doesn't slide off them as quickly as I'd like.

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You just aren’t going fast enough, Rainex works well about 60mph...

hollywood8118 said:

How about one of these instead?


HOLLYWOOD

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Ah well they would likely get cold here in the PNW

Comodave said:

You just aren’t going fast enough, Rainex works well about 60mph...

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Ah I knew I needed to add an engine or two along with a few turbos to get the RainX to work right!

Update: OA says that there is no way to get to these without cutting an access hatch. Surprising, since almost everything else that I can think of on the boat is accessible in some way.

So, I will be looking into doing this myself here in the next week or two!

I'd get a accessory hatch. Cut the headliner the dimensions of the rough installation cut out. Cut out the ceiling. Use the flange from the hatch to secure the headliner during installation. Now they are forever serviceable.

stevemitchell said:

Update: OA says that there is no way to get to these without cutting an access hatch. Surprising, since almost everything else that I can think of on the boat is accessible in some way.

So, I will be looking into doing this myself here in the next week or two!

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And now, the truth comes out.
Good luck.

I would much rather cut an access panel than try to remove the headliner. If you have an inspection camera you can drill a small hole first to see if anything is in the way before you cut the large hole. Good luck.

Shrew said:

I'd get a accessory hatch. Cut the headliner the dimensions of the rough installation cut out. Cut out the ceiling. Use the flange from the hatch to secure the headliner during installation. Now they are forever serviceable.

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That's my plan - cutting the headliner leather with a sharp knife, then a hole saw to go through the wood/whatever behind.

OldDan1943 said:

And now, the truth comes out.
Good luck.

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That it has

Comodave said:

I would much rather cut an access panel than try to remove the headliner. If you have an inspection camera you can drill a small hole first to see if anything is in the way before you cut the large hole. Good luck.

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I completely agree. Removing it would be a huge project with a lot of collateral damage. I do have an inspection camera, and will be using it before boring a big ass hole.

Greetings,
Mr. s. Any thoughts about installing a ceiling fixture (lighting)? Cut the proper sized hole, fix the wiper, install the light fixture. Yup, you meant to do that...

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. s. Any thoughts about installing a ceiling fixture (lighting)? Cut the proper sized hole, fix the wiper, install the light fixture. Yup, you meant to do that...

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That's an interesting idea. The starboard side one might work out, although these motors look to be pretty big based on the replacements suggested, so it might be quite a light!

The port side is in the head, and I doubt a light would make sense weirdly in the corner, but I will keep this in mind!