rear wiper not working AGAIN

[bnichols04]

I have a 2000 explorer and this is the 3rd time that the rear wiper has stoped working. :fire: The last 2 times the dealer replaced the wiper motor. What would make the motor keep going bad? Or is it something more serious. Please help!

 

[Eddie2000]

There is at least one (if not two) cutoff switch between the dash switch and the motor. It prevents the motor from operating with the window open. It is located at the rear window latch assembly on the rear tailgate(top). There may also be another one on the rear tailgate latch(bottom). Try slamming the window/tailgate (careful not to break window) with the dash switch turned on. If the motor starts you have found the problem. By the way, the arm shaft does tend to seize. Unless you can take the assembly apart and pack it with grease, then it's only a matter of time.
Good luck!

 

[jimcom]

I've had my wiper motors replaced twice.
There are three problems, number one - it's a poorly designed system that affects probably 80 percent of all late 2nd gen explorers, even when the wiper motor works it misses half of the glass which causes us the consumers to fiddle with it till its out of it's normal path, leading to extra wear and tear on an already piss poor motor, which is problem number two, its a bad part, plain and simple, they aren't made well, problem number three is when it gets replaced it's installed by poor mechanics.
The motor gets an internal short and goes kaput, when you take it to get replaced, under warantee (like I did), they give the job to the newest recruit on the floor, apparently it's the unwritten/unoffical ford dealership policy to give ALL warantee work to the new kid on the block, which means a lot of warantee work is shoddy at best.
Sorry for the rant and run-on sentance. But I feel your pain, it's frusterating as hell to have something fixed and then go bad a week later.

 

[IAmTodd]

Is there anyway to fix it yourself? Mine just went out. Thought there was maybe a better solution than taking it to the dealer to get replaced.

 

[jimcom]

You have to remove the liner from inside the truck and get to it that way. I think the actual part is like 50 bucks, it's a labor intensive job from what I understand.

 

[bnichols04]

I am guessing it is the motor that went bad again!! I am gonna take it out and test it out of the truck. Is there a relay that could of went bad (starting with the small and cheapest ways first). Could it be the switch. Yes it still squirts water on the back window.

 

[Eddie2000]

I'm not sure if the circuitry for the '93 is the same as '00, but try this: disconnect the connector from the motor and turn the dash switch on (make sure both the rear window and hatch are closed). You should see some power (>12 vdc) at the connector. If not then the problem is with switches/relays/wireing. A friend of mine is a senior mechanic at a Ford dealership and he told me the cutoff switches on the rear hatch commonly make a bad connection due to corrosion/dirt. If you have acces to them spray some electrical contact cleaner in them.

 

[the_tool_man]

I've been having this problem, too.

I finally broke down and removed the hatch liner to take a look. I had assumed something on mine was broken because of the way the wiper arm could be flopped around. However, once I got in there, I saw that it's mounted with a flimsy sheetmetal bracket that flexes easily. I removed the wiper arm, and did some testing, but everything checked okay electrically. I turned it on via the dash switch, and it worked. While I had it apart, I bent the mounting bracket so that the wiper would be properly aligned when it was parked. After reassembly, it worked fine for two days. Then, yesterday, it quit again. I opened and shut the rear hatch and rear window several times, but this had no effect. I wiggled the wiper arm with the switch on, but this didn't help. Finally, it started working again, seemingly at random. It still works as of today, but I'm wondering if it's going to keep working. I'll try cleaning the switches, but I don't think that's it. If it were, the "door ajar" light on the dash would come on, right?

Regards,
John.