Windscreen wipers not working after heavy snow

jonj123

Hi

There's been heavy snow over here in the past couple of days. When I tried to turn on my windscreen wipers after cleaning the window I could just hear a noise but the wipers won't moving. I realized there was still ice on the windscreen and stuck to the blades so I poured hot water over it until all the ice melted. But when I tried turning them on again they still don't work and the noise it makes is much fainter. Is it possible that I've wrecked the windscreen motor because I didn't de-ice the windscreen properly first time round?

I'd appreciate any help please. Many thanks.

UsernameAlreadyExists

Do the wipers move if you "assist" it when they're on? (I.e. get out of the car and move the wiper arms in the right direction).

You can't have damaged the motor if they're stuck to the screen. electric motors don't work like that. If they meet enough resistance they simply don't turn. You might have damaged some linkage if the motor is strong enough though.

Tilt

jonj123 wrote: »

Hi

There's been heavy snow over here in the past couple of days. When I tried to turn on my windscreen wipers after cleaning the window I could just hear a noise but the wipers won't moving. I realized there was still ice on the windscreen and stuck to the blades so I poured hot water over it until all the ice melted. But when I tried turning them on again they still don't work and the noise it makes is much fainter. Is it possible that I've wrecked the windscreen motor because I didn't de-ice the windscreen properly first time round?

I'd appreciate any help please. Many thanks.

Not the smartest thing to do TBH. You could of cracked the screen!

It is possible that the spindles have 'chewed' the teeth inside where they fit into the arms. Try removing the arms and re-fitting them.

jonj123

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

Do the wipers move if you "assist" it when they're on? (I.e. get out of the car and move the wiper arms in the right direction).

You can't have damaged the motor if they're stuck to the screen. electric motors don't work like that. If they meet enough resistance they simply don't turn. You might have damaged some linkage if the motor is strong enough though.

I can move the blades even when the motor is off. They're definitely no longer stuck to the screen.

redux

I inadvertently did this once, then they would not move, no noise.

Check the fuse. That's what is was on mine. The overload is more likely to have done this than damage the motor

UsernameAlreadyExists

jonj123 wrote: »

I can move the blades even when the motor is off. They're definitely no longer stuck to the screen.

... and don't even sound like they're stuck to the motor either

If you're hearing the whirring of the motor running when it's supposed to be on, and yet the wipers are "free moving" then it definately sounds like the linkage has become detached somewhere. It may be broken, or it may requires refitting ... impossible to know without having a look. It doesn't sound like the splines though as you'd see the wipers wobbling at the base and at least "trying" to move.

closed

tighten the bolts holding them on

shortcrust

redux wrote: »

I inadvertently did this once, then they would not move, no noise.

Check the fuse. That's what is was on mine. The overload is more likely to have done this than damage the motor

That was my first thought - I've done that twice! Don't think it can be the case here though. If it was the fuse nothing would happen at all, not even the faint noise the OP is hearing.

vaio

probably popped a joint on the linkage, with luck it will just need popping back into place

albionrovers

I had linkage problem a few years back but wipers still moved albeit out of synch?

Stooby2

If you move one wiper by hand, does the other blade move with it?

If they both move together but won't work otherwise then it's likely to be a linkage has separated or broken. This can be either very easy or insanely difficult to fix depending on the car. As you've got a French car it's probably more towards the difficult side.

If the wipers move independently of each other, then you simply need to tighten the screw/nut/bolt - whatever the wiper is clamped to the spindle with.