Rear Wiper Motor

[rollinstone]

'97 Explorer, AWD. I think the rear wiper motor is bad. Checked all the fuses that have to do with rear wiper. If there's a separate relay, I can't find it under the hood with the rest of the relays.

So...the problem is getting the rear hatch panel trim off. I gave a pretty good tug, but afraid any harder and I'm gonna snap something. What's the step-by-step process for removing that trim?

Once I get to the motor I'll give it a close inspection to see if maybe there isn't some corrosion in the drive or whatever else you might suggest.

 

[rollinstone]

Got it off. Found a super video in detail. Video showed removing the pull-down strap, the cover and screw around the lock indicator, and the top compression clips using a 5-way bar (small carpenter's crow bar), slipping it under the head of the clips around the top and sides of the trim and popping them out. Once all the clips are removed, push up on the trim and the lower hooks disengage allowing the entire piece to be removed.

I can hear the rear wiper motor clicking on-off when I activate the switch. It just won't wipe. And when I manually move the blade to vertical, and then turn off the switch, it snaps back to the parked position.

Does this indicate a bad motor? I'd think so.

 

[crunchie_frog]

Yes, bad motor. Try searching the forum on this there are likely dozens of posts about this motor failing.