Windshield Wipers Again

[Urchin]

On my '80 Spider, the windshield wipers had started to fail; they barely worked fast enough in cold weather for the car to pass its state inspection.

Recently the temperature rose above freezing so I thought it would be a good time to take the 7 on a drive and see about the wipers. Now the wipers would not rise to their normal level of sweep and wanted to descend below the hood line at their bottom point.

So I unscrewed the nut that seems to hold the wire cable tight against the wiper motor. The cable is intact but I could not find an adjustment of any sort. Is there one?

Worse, the tensioning nut will not, absolutely not, thread back onto the wiper motor housing, no matter what angle I hold it.

Do I need to replace the entire unit? Are the wiper and cable one piece? What holds the cable in place at the point where it travels beneath the scuttle?

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeffrey Aronson
P.O. Box 90
Vinalhaven, ME 04863
USA
'80 TR-7 Spider
'66 Land Rover Series II-A [2]
'66 Corvair Monza

[bmcecosse]

Well - that nut will go back on, after all - it came off. Best to just take the wiper arms off the spindles - operate the wipers and then let them park by themselves - noting which way the spindles were moveing! Then refit one blade and try - if ok, add the second blade! Going very slow can be seized up wheelboxes and /or drive rack, or worn/seized motor gearbox - worn out brushes in the motor - or just low volts. Is the alternator charging the battery ok - and are the connections on the motor clean and firm ?

[Urchin]

The wiper motor seems to operate fine. The windshield was dry the day I tried them. But you could see from the ignition warning lamps that there was a draw from the motor when the wiper stalk was engaged [the engine was not running].

I want to believe that the nut and wiper motor will once again unite so I will keep trying. I like your idea of removing the wiper arms and noting the position of the spindle relative to the wiper arm. It's possible that the spindle and arm are no longer in alignment. If I can get the nut returned to the motor body, then I can move the spindles electronically.

When the wipers seemed frozen in place back in December, spraying some PB Blaster into the left side hole where the cable attaches to the arms seemed to help. I'll spray some more after this is done to preclude further corrosion.

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeffrey Aronson
P.O. Box 90
Vinalhaven, ME 04863
USA
'80 TR-7 Spider
'66 Land Rover Series II-A [2]
'66 Corvair Monza

[saabfast]

If the engine was not running and the ignition lights dimmed it is likely that the battery has a low charge. Would it start the car after? I have found that wipers and indicators are the first things to start slowing/failing when the charge gets low (such as driving with a failed alternator). Try it with the engine running sufficiently fast to trip in the charging.

Alan
Saab 9000 Stg 1
'81 TR7 DHC

[FI Spyder]

I took my wiper system out of the car to clean cable and cover to clean out old grease and put in new synthetic grease. Did the same to gear by motor. Didn't touch motor itself as it was working well. Maybe if there was too much resistance for the cable to go back and forth the wiper wheel box gear(s) may have jumped a tooth if it's worn. If you do this scribe the position of the wheel boxes on the cable shaft so you know where they go back on. The higher resistance would put more strain on the motor causing it to draw more power from the battery.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

[bmcecosse]

If you do take it apart - it's a good idea to turn the wheel boxes through 180 degrees from the old position, then you have an unworn section to use for the next 25 years!