Signals Telling that the Windshield Wiper Motor of your Car Has Problems

Driving on the road on a rainy day poses some dangers, one of which is the lack of forward visibility. To solve this, cars are fitted with wipers that can clear rain – as well as snow and debris -- from the windshield. You can actually depend on the windshield wipers to improve your visibility especially during a rainstorm.

The entire wiper system of car is not just made up of the wiper blades. While the wiper blades actually do the job of clearing the windshield, they can’t move without the wiper motor. Yes, the wiper motor can be considered as the heart of a wiper system. Once its fails or is failing, then the wiper won’t be able to function properly when needed, especially when the driver can’t see the road due to the water or ice on the windshield. As a possible result, an accident may occur and there could be fatalities.

Hence, before anything happens, you have to know whether the wiper motor is failing. Here are some signs that could indicate any problem with the wiper motor.

First, a problem exists if the wiper blades won't move even after you turned on the wiper switch. In this case, you may not also hear the wiper motor running. If this happens, the culprit could be many things. For instance, the fuse that operates the wiper motor might have blown or burned out due to electrical overload. An electrical issue could also be the culprit. In any electrical problem, it is imperative to have it repaired to prevent it from damaging other car components.

Likewise, if the wiper blades aren’t moving, the wiper motor could have sustained the damage.

Second, there could be a failure if the wiper blades don't park properly. Your car’s wiper blades are supposed to move in to a "parked" position – as locked at the bottom of the windshield – once the wiper switch is turned off. The wiper blades have to be in this position to ensure that it won’t block the view of the driver. If the wiper blades don’t move into position, the wiper motor might some issue, and this would usually entail replacing the windshield washer motor. Nonetheless, there are vehicles which wiper blades don’t park at the bottom of the windshield.

Third, the wiper motor could be experiencing some problems if the wiper blades move slower than programmed. Most vehicles in the road are now fitted with programmable wiper blades that operate at different speeds and delays. If the wiper blades are moving slowly even though the selected speed is fast or high, the mechanical parts of the wiper motor might be clogged with grime and debris, thereby affecting its speed.

As aforementioned, today’s wiper blades can move at different speeds. So fourth, if they only move at one speed – although there are low or high settings -- the wiper motor or the wiper module might be experiencing some problems.