Wiper issue

Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
It's me... I'm back... the unluckiest C5 owner in the world :cautious:
This time not with an oil leak (makes a change), but a wiper issue!
My wipers misbehaved a few months ago. They would stutter up and down the window and not do anything the wiper stalk told it to do. After taking it to Parts USA last month for a series of oil leaks to be sorted, I asked them to fix the wiper issue and they said the wiper motor was full of water (even though the drain udders are clean and functioning). They fitted a new wiper motor for me and everything worked fine.
Come to my car today to drive it and enjoy the weekend sunshine.... NO! not today. The wiper seems to be stuck on its intermittent setting whilst in the off position. If I move the stalk, I only get intermittent or full wiping speed and nothing in between. The washers work but that sets the wipers off at full speed also.
Any ideas???
Thanks
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Could be weak ground or dirty corroded splice pack
G201 at the bottom of the left A pillar is where you’ll find it and is tied into a splice pack (SP 201) which is where a bunch of other grounds are tied into it

There are 11 or 12 grounds from other ground circuits on that splice pack
you may have to remove the bus bar from the splice pack and check for corrosion at that particular wiper ground

C5groundsplice.jpg

Or maybe the contacts in the stalk are dirty or bent
This has some small screws and base comes apart

Very carefully check all contacts (several on both halves) that they make contact and are clean and no burnt spots
and check that CAM is not sticking when turning the wiper positions of stalk

turnsignal.jpg
 
Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
Cheers for that 👍

I had a quick look again and took the wiper motor back off.
Whilst taking it off, water came out of it 🙄

20240601_151301.jpg

20240601_151252.jpg

Not very good for a brand new unit that's only been fitted to the car for 1 month (only seen light rain for approx 30 miles the day I picked it up from PartsUSA).

I did however possibly find out why it got water in it, despite being silicone and O-ring tight............

20240601_151806.jpg
That's right... the connector itself has huge gaps that would easily let water in 🤦‍♂️
Not forgetting that the connector itself is the first that's hit for water dripping off the windscreen cowl.

Anyway, I disassembled it as you can see. I thoroughly dried it all out and cleaned any signs of corrosion. Fresh silicone and packed with grease here and there.
Checked the udders again and yup, all good and bone dry.
The wipers are now working fine again 😎👍

Hopefully this quick thread might help someone that's suffering the same issue 🙃
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
That connector should be a weather type and have a seal between the 2 connectors
Any way to cover in plastic or something to keep motor and connector dry ?
 
Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
The rubber is there but given the age of the car, I can only assume it doesn't seal its best.
You can see one connector pin that started to corrode a little in the picture above so evident that some water has somehow made its way through.
The motor does have a rubber cover that sits on top to obviously shield water off the motor. If I remember correctly, I think it was just laid on top of it instead of the edges pushed around to direct water off and around the motor, rather than just sitting on top of it.
I've made sure to waterproof the unit as best as possible with fresh silicone, grease and fitting the rubber cover correctly.
Only time will tell now hahaha (y)(y)(y)
 
Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
Didn't take long for time to tell 🙄
I drove it for 2 hours last night with no issues.
Drove it for approx an hour and a half today before the wipers decided to randomly go full speed again and they wouldn't shut off at all! I've had to pull the fuse out to stop them so I could drive home.
No rain and haven't washed the car... so really puzzled by this one!
I'm going to call PartsUSA tomorrow and ask for a replacement wiper motor... seems this new one they fitted has only been on 1 month 🤦‍♂️
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
I would question that a motor would dictate speeds over the stalk switches and contacts ?
Or due to water getting in motor or wiring connector caused a problem to the BCM as it commands what the stalk functions do
 
Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
Update: PartsUSA have a replacement motor for me ready to install :D
I have a holiday booked next week with the car but with wipers that don't work, it looks like I won't be taking it anywhere with the current forecast 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️
PartsUSA unfortunately don't have any time to fit me in until the 12th of July to fit the replacement, unless I can leave the car with them for a night. I have no way of dropping off and collecting the car sadly, and also due to work commitments and with such short notice before my holiday, I can't get any time off this week to do this during works hours :rolleyes:
Alternatively, I thought about posting a 'WANTED' advert for a 2nd hand working motor? Just so I can at least go on holiday with the car... but for some reason, I don't have the 'privileges' to post anything in that part of this forum??? Can anyone shed some light on that please, because I am a paying member 🤷‍♂️
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
If you look to the left of your post, you see it shows you just as a "well-known user" and not a club member
so if paid the membership you need to tell the mods they need to correct that so you have full membership access

You can still go on your trip

Just drive Corvette fast, and the rain will be carried over the top and not on the windshield :) :)
 
Lewis Kingston

Lewis Kingston

Well-known user
Krusty said:
Alternatively, I thought about posting a 'WANTED' advert for a 2nd hand working motor? Just so I can at least go on holiday with the car... but for some reason, I don't have the 'privileges' to post anything in that part of this forum??? Can anyone shed some light on that please, because I am a paying member 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Krusty, I've got a new wiper motor on the shelf for a C5 – this is the reference number: CARDONE 8510190 (85-10190). Think it was about £80 landed but would be happy to let it go for less than that. If it's of interest, let me know and we can sort something out.
 
Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
theseoldcars said:
Krusty, I've got a new wiper motor on the shelf for a C5 – this is the reference number: CARDONE 8510190 (85-10190). Think it was about £80 landed but would be happy to let it go for less than that. If it's of interest, let me know and we can sort something out.
Click to expand...
Can you send me a private message please?
This would be a HUGE help!!!
I apologise for the late reply (12 hours later 🙈). I've only just seen this... I've been in work and then went straight to the tail end of a track day on one of my motorcycles for a few laps whilst the sun was out... for once 😂😂😂
 
Lewis Kingston

Lewis Kingston

Well-known user
I don't think I can send you a private message as your account needs to be updated to member status for that – the 'profile posts' bit isn't private.

However, drop me a line on the following and we can go from there! Cheers!

I'll remove this later, once you've had a chance to drop me a line. :cool:(y) (Done!)

And no apologies needed, not by any stretch!
 
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Krusty

Krusty

CCCUK Member
6 months later
This issue has came back!

So just to recap whats happened from the start. 6 months ago, my wipers started stuttering up and down the window with no change whatever position the wiper stalk is in.
PartsUSA fitted a new wiper motor for me because they said my original motor was full of water.
The new wiper motor then started doing the same, again... full of water!
PartsUSA swapped the motor for free and all has been fine. Although admittedly, I have not driven then car much over the last 5 months since it was replaced (not at all for the last 2 months).
I have a spare wiper motor that I bought from member theseoldcars. But I am very reluctant to fit it when I could have an issue elsewhere???
I mean, what are the odds I've had 3 wiper motors gone faulty due to water ingress in a 6 month time frame?!

I guess its probably best that I remove the wiper motor and inspect it for water again. But I want to give PartsUSA a call first before I do.
I just don't understand why I kept getting water in the last ones when my drainage is all clear (the factory udders free from any blockages) and its all nice and dry in there every time I inspect it. But I have had water in the motors (as you can see from the images in previous messages). So it might be worth seeing if this one has water in it? Then I'll know for sure that I have a problem with water skmehow getting in to all of the motors 🤷‍♂️

Worth noting that up until now, its been working absolutely fine... which has been leading me to believe that I don't have an issue elsewhere.
But I could be wrong...
 
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