# Rear wiper broken - motor okay! Advice pls



## MatcherMike (Oct 16, 2008)

Hi all,

The rear wiper stopped working on my x-trail. I quickly checked there was power to the 4 wire plug and then ordered a new one. This doesn't work either!

I've had another check of the plug with a voltmeter and i can't find any changes in voltages when the ignition is on and switch is moved into off/on/intermittant. There is power getting to some of the pins permanently and the fuse is ok.

Are there any other components to it? Relay etc? Does anyone know how the voltages should be fluctuating?

Appreciate any advice,

Mike A


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

Just happened to us. 4+ years and 104K km, and our first real "problem". In fact, my wife reported it wasn't working on Friday, so I went to the garage, turned the key halfway, and it worked fine. Looked at my wife like she was crazy, and carried on with life. On Sunday, I tried the rear wiper as we were driving, and it didn't work. Wife looked at me like I was a loser, and we carried on. Karma's a bitch.

Here's a previous thread with some things to check:

http://www.nissanforums.com/x-trail/139575-rear-wiper-problem.html


aussietrail said:


> It could be poor Earth connection, blown fuse or faulty rear wiper motor. Check the fuse box under the steering wheel.


I'll be attacking the problem this week. I'll report back if I fix ours. If I can't, I'll leave this forum in shame.


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## MatcherMike (Oct 16, 2008)

Hi Chansen,

Fixed our problem last week - asked the vauxhall garage while it was in for a service.

Our problem was a worn wire where the motor wires go between the boot and car body. If you open the boot and look under the tubing at the top left (as looking at the boot), this is where the rear wiper wiring is. Apparently is quite common for them to wear through.

Bit of a pain as i had a very similar problem with an old rover i had and i never thought to check it for this!! Wiring for the boot lock had worn through in the same fashion and kept shorting.

Anywho, let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Mike


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## Joppy (Dec 19, 2008)

Hi Guys,

This happened to me around 130 000km. I priced out a new motor and they wanted $450 (Canadian) !! I couldnèt believe it, 12V motors should be pretty cheap nowadays. Anyways, I took the motor out, disassembled it and cleaned the brushes, relubed and put it back together. Its working fine now. I think the garage torqued the wiper nut a little too hard and wedged the spline internally. Before replacing, I would try doing the same, it really is not that difficult to take apart.
Joppy


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

Great info, thanks.

One thing I have done is unsnap and take the inside cover off the "boot" (hatch, according to this Canuck) and checked that I was getting 12 volts when the switch was on. I was.

So I'm thinking the wiring is probably fine, and that it's more likely to be the motor, just like Joppy's.

At the time, I did try to take the motor out. I took the external plastic cap off the wiper assembly and removed the nut, but then...nothing. I could not get the wiper arm off the bolt.

Any ideas?


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## Joppy (Dec 19, 2008)

Hey Chansen,

Have patience and lightly tap around the wiper arm close to where it mounts on the bolt. Try some penetrating oil, it was difficult for me to remove too. Once you get this off, you'll have to pop out the interior panel and remove 3 or four more nuts / bolts and unclip the wiring harness to remove the whole wiper assembly. The assembly consists of the motor and transmission as one unit. The motor housing is easily removed to reveal the brushes etc. I checked the gears and other parts when I had it apart and everthing looked OK. 

Joppy


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

Thanks so much. I'll give that a try. Much better than paying $450+ for the part and labour to replace it!


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

OK, I've had it apart, cleaned the brushes and commutator, put it back together and....nothing.

Damn.



Edit:

OK, if you look at the plug on the wiper assembly, there are 4 conductors. The two outside conductors carry through to the motor, and the inside two carry through to the transmission unit - I suppose for the intermittent function. Of the two outside conductors, with the wiper switch on, the positive is OK, but I have nothing on the negative wire. That is, the motor doesn't have power going to it.

It's not the fuse. I looked at the wiring issue MatcherMike pointed out, but didn't see any obvious rubbing or bare wires.

This one will go to my local garage for further troubleshooting. The good news is, it's probably not the wiper motor.


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

Finally got it into the local garage. He didn't have time to troubleshoot it (and wants it overnight to do so, which is a problem), but it appears to be due to a broken wire leading to the wiper motor. Specifically, the yellow/green wire, which (iirc) is negative.

So, I get to pick up an electrical tester and figure out where the break is. Probably at the point the wire assembly enters the hatch inside that rubber boot. Shouldn't be a big deal - just annoying.

I suppose I have to take the tape off that bundle of wires, then confirm the break from wherever that yellow/green wire starts. Anyone know where _that _is?


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

Finally got around to fixing this one. I found a broken yellow/green wire inside the rubber flex tube that "protects" the wires running from the left-had-side of the vehicle, to the hatch. No sign of wear - it just snapped. I ran a new piece of wire to the connector and soldered it all together. The rear wiper motor works again.


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## mgfiest (Sep 13, 2009)

good job....


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## chansen (Feb 7, 2005)

Thanks. I'm feeling manly for fixing that. I might just have to get into a bar fight to celebrate.

The soldering job isn't the best, but I heat shrinked it, so hopefully it stays protected. The wire that broke was negative, so if the heat shrink wears through, it's not like the result will be catastrophic.


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