Windshield Wipers Don't Work

[topher91]

I am having a problem with my windshield wipers.  They don't move at all. 

I have tested the motor itself, and it works perfectly.  I bought another wiper switch, and they still don't work.  My wiper fluid works fine, but the wipers themselves don't seem to want to work.

What else can I check?  I need to get this fixed before next weekend!

[WagoneerXJ]

fuse?

[jpthing]

Some where power is not flowing...find out where. you've established that the motor works, and that the switch is not faulty, so figure out if there is power coming into the circuit, and if not try to figure out why by finding as near as possible to the exact spot where power ceases to be present.

On a nicer or newer car I would always fix it properly.
On a beater or older car I would consider just running a new circuit if the fault cannot be found in a reasonable period of time. You can pick up a little fuse block from PA, and run new circuits from that.

If you run a new circuit be sure to disconnect the old circuit so you are3 less likely to have trouble if the old circuit spontaeneously starts working again.

It's a lot easier to point you in the right direction if you mention the year make and model of your ride.

Good luck!

[topher91]

If it helps, its a 2000 Cherokee Sport.  I've thought about the fuse, but I read that this is a self-tripping, resettable circuit breaker and so I'm not sure that could be the issue.  I'll break out the multimeter and see where it is, but in the meantime is there an alternate breaker I can pop in from somewhere else on the jeep to test?

[jpthing]

you need a test light with an aligator clip and a probe...and ANYTHING could be the issue. circuit breakers can fail and so can wire. the circuit breaker could be fine but making poor contact. Using the test light you can look for actual power. I prefer the test light to a multimeter because you can see it more easily while you are probing wires, and also because it is possible to have a connection which reads as providing 12 volts on the meter but interupts when a greater load is applied. The light doesn't pull much juice, but it is is some, wheras the meter pulls almost no current.

Another test is to determine if the problem is on the ground or the positive side...you said you tested the motor, I'm guessing you attached another battery or another set of leads, but you should test both + and - seperately. Run a jumper from the wiper motor negative to the ground or battery negative and see if it works...if it does you had a bad ground. If not run a jumper from the battery positive to the wiper motor...if it works than the posive side of the circuit is the problem...it is unlikely that both + and - are both not connected, generally only one side fails...and the ground is more often the problem then the positive side (aside from blown fuses of couse).

Good Luck!!


Edit: It's a good idea to always use a fuse when you are connecting jumpers to various stuff for testing or diagnosic purposes...I learned this the "smoky" way.