[Lim Yong]

Happy New Year folks,

Looking for some guidance. All of a sudden, the wipers and fluid for the front windshield won't work.

I checked the fuse box and discovered that I have a blown fuse. The problem is, it now keeps blowing the fuse when I

turn the ignition to the second position.



So I have a short somewhere. How do I check?

thanks much

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[DaveN]

I'd be checking the wires that run around the hood to the wipers and the heater cables to the nozzles. If any of those have chaffed from years of rubbing you will certainly toast fuses.

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[Lim Yong]

Just have the car checked by my indie. He said it is the linkage from the wiper motor could be binding and needs to be lubed, it is an expensive part

and not the same as the 944. So it goes in as soon as he can schedule me....I'll also check the wiring under there as suggested.

Thanks for the reply <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Lim Yong]

OK, just thought of this. If the fuse blows when I turn on the car, is it a electrical issue vs. a mechanical issue?

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[DaveN]

If the wipers are in the parked position, i.e. NOT drawing power and you turn on the key -*POP* then it will be a wiring problem. If the wipers are in a transitory state then there could be too much current draw due to wiper/motor binding therefore popping the fuse.

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[Lim Yong]

Thamks.....makes sense

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[MLB]

Resurrecting this very old thread because I am now experiencing what seems to be the same symptoms

Lim, did you get a solution from your mechanic?

It seems a pain to work on this, so if its an electrical short I will take one approach, but if I have to take the wiper system apart its going to be a pain. plastic cover over the motor cant even be removed without taking off the glued-down "rain gutter" that covers the wiper system.

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[Greystone]

I'd be checking the wires that run around the hood to the wipers and the heater cables to the nozzles. If any of those have chaffed from years of rubbing you will certainly toast fuses.

Last month, my wiper fuse kept blowing when I turned the key on.   I had just gotten the car and I wanted to drive it and it seemed like it rained everyday.  I drove it anyway and managed to avoid severe rain.  It turned out to be the hood wiring harness was damaged at the left side near the hinge.  It looked like it had been chewed up by a dog.  Once I repaired the wires, the wipers worked great - all speeds - intermittent and washers as well!

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[Roboman]

Just to add some thoughts, as I have just tackled this problem ......

 

Page 3 of the circuit diagrams shows the Bk/Ye feed from fuse 24 (30A) feeds the wipers, but also diverts through another loom to the hood.

 

If fuse 24 keeps blowing then leave the blown fuse in place as it permits you to test the circuits in both directions using a multimeter ..... 

 

The side of the fuse nearest the engine is the supply side and with the ignition on should be at 12V..... the other side should be 0V as the fuse has blown, so if you still have power there then you have a short to another supply ..... either a wire has melted or been pinched, or been incorrectly connected.

 

The side nearest the wing should be examined for continuity ...... it should be going through the wiper motor to earth if you move the wiper switch a "wipe" position.  The reading will be in the 10s of ohms, somewhere between 25ohms to 45ohms.

If the reading is zero, or just an ohm or two (most likely if the fuse keeps blowing) then you have a short to earth.

 

Take a look around the front of the bonnet.  In my case the alarm was shorting through the bonnet pull.  However it could be the headlight washer wiring, or other wiring coming through the front loom.

 

You may want to lift the fuse box to have a look underneath to check the wiring there is all okay.  In my case I did this even though I had located the likely problem was front of hood..... the reason I did that was because problems with the front of hood loom are likely to require the front bumper removal which can take a bit of time.  So a quick check under the fuse box allowed me to confirm the problem was confined to the front of the car and not as far back as the fuse box...... I'm not quite sure what my next step might have been had the underside of the fuse box been fried ..... head for the liquor cabinet I suspect!

 

So, a blown fuse can be your friend as is gives easy access to the electrical connections below..... use that access to examine the circuitry up-stream and down-stream of the fuse.  If things aren't right then remove parts of the circuit, one item at a time, to see if/when the problem goes away.  

 

Good luck!

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