Wiper motor issues...

[Partsstore]

Hi everyone,

Since my truck is in the Netherlands now and not in California it has to cope with rain, and a lot of it.

2 days ago my wiper motor stopped working.

I took it apart and couldn't find anything wrong with it. However the brushes were worn at an angle.

I cleaned everything an put it back together. Still doesn't work.

The thermal safety thingy(don't know the right word for it) kicks in after about 2 seconds.

Before I start taking it apart again and alter the brushes I thought it might be a good idea to ask if anyone else has had this problem before?

Here are all the specs and things that came up.

- Truck has negative ground done by previous owner

- Do I need to rewire the wiper motor as well?

- The angled wear of the brushes could be caused by the wiper motor turning the wrong way. Instead of pushing the brushes back in its housing it would drag the brushes sideways. Is this correct?

- Because the brushes are worn at an angle the surface of the brushes has become larger. That way it's hitting more of the copper colored plates it rides on causing it to stall. Is this correct?

- If I have to rewire the motor, what wires do I have to switch?

- Anyone here have a spare wiper switch or knob? Mine came with the knob broken of.

Hope there's anyone here that can help me out.

Thanks and best regards,

Jan

[billwillard]

You say your truck has negative ground. Is it 12 vts and motor 6vts? What does the knob look like? Is it about the size of a pencil and 1/2" long?

[Partsstore]

It's 6V.

I do not have the knob. Only the part of the switch where the knob has to go on. Yes, it's about half an inch long and pencil shaped.

[Partsstore]

I will try and switch the wires that go to the brushes and see if it starts turning the right direction.

[MBF]

Did you check the spring tension on the brush holders? Did you clean up the commutator face? Does the linkage move freely when disconnected from the motor/transmission-the pivots on the firewall may need a drop of oil. I'd also check to make sure there is no added on wiring that may be giving you an unwanted ground at either the motor or switch housing, but make sure that the motor housing is securely grounded to the body. I have a couple of working electric setups if you need one. Mike

[socalkevin07]

i added a 6 volt negative ground alt to my system and the winshield wipers still worked after the installtion. it was 6 volt positive ground before adding the alt.

hope this helps.

kevin

[Partsstore]

I think the motor has been turning the wrong direction. Everythin moves freely.

I am going to grind the brushes back to their original shapen and hook it up to a 6V battry charger and see what it does.

Thanks for the replies.

Might contact you later Mike. I hope I don't have to.

Jan

[Partsstore]

No luck yet.

Motor has 2 brushes. 1 is positive and the other is grounded. No matter what I do it keeps turning the wrong direction(dragging on the brushes instead of pushing them in)

I even put a positive on the casing and hooked up negative on the switch and it still turns the wrong way.

HELP I need to get them working. I almost killed someone today. It was dark and raining and didn't see him.

[TodFitch]

Older DC motors turn based on the relative wiring of the armature and the field. Does not matter which wire is ground or battery. So unless someone has changed the relationship between the wires to the brushes and the field the motor should be turning the correct way.

That said, the motor on my heater can be assembled two different ways and depending on which way you put the back half on the motor it will turn one way or the other. (A cylindrical casing held together with two screws at 180 degrees apart. So you can assemble it 180 degrees out which reverses the the placement of the brushes.)

Maybe your wiper motor is the same way...