Wiper motor not working

[Boberto33]

Hey guys new to the site. I have an 83 944 that had been sitting ten years. Got it out running cherry cleaned up and fixed a few electrical issues so far. The issue is I’m not getting anything from the windshield wipers. Is there a relay or fuse that would have blown or is it likely the motor is shot from sitting so long? Look forward to hearing your expert opinions!

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by Boberto33

Hey guys new to the site. I have an 83 944 that had been sitting ten years. Got it out running cherry cleaned up and fixed a few electrical issues so far. The issue is I’m not getting anything from the windshield wipers. Is there a relay or fuse that would have blown or is it likely the motor is shot from sitting so long? Look forward to hearing your expert opinions!

First welcome to our home ...Boberto 33....I would first start by checking the fuse panel,wiper fuse will no6 see fuses panelThen you could go to this Garage for trouble shooting any of your 944 problems....Google Clark's-garage.com ,once on site click on shop manual ,then on trouble shooting ,scrool down to ...Trouble shooting TS-09 electrical.

[Ernie944]

Clark's Garage Home Page here is your link to Clark's-Garage

[pfarah]

Good Morning Ernie,
I hope that posted diagram is not for the early 944 models or I'm in big trouble...

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by pfarah

Good Morning Ernie,
I hope that posted diagram is not for the early 944 models or I'm in big trouble...

LOL did I ever goofHere is the fuse panel for the early carRelay X is the wiper....Lower fuse bank ...no 11 fuse is for the wiper..Sorry Boberto 83 mistakes does happen when you get old,specialy early in the morning

[OK-944]

Another possible issue is that the grease inside the wiper motor may have dried/hardened over the years...especially during the 10 years that you'd mentioned the car had been sitting. Come to think of it...I'm guessing that this may be a fairly common issue for older Porsches in general - as lots of folks seem to avoid driving them in rainy weather.

I had this issue on my previous 85.5, and managed to take the wiper motor apart to give the internals a thorough cleaning/regreasing..after which it worked great.

What I cannot find right now is an actual reference to instructions on how to disassemble and clean the wiper motor...but do a web search and I'm sure you'll find something.

My guess is that if your problem is (or includes) dried grease, and if you only address electrical issues, then you'll know right away when you first activate the wipers...by quickly blowing that fuse!

[Boberto33]

Awesome thanks guys! I’ll check into it and let you all know what I find!

[spugeddy]

I had to remove the whole wiper arm assembly off the car... not hard, but takes a minute, and remove the motor and clean it. I think they are known to get water inside the metal housing and rust. There are some DIY's you can find on taking it off the car and opening up the housing and cleaning the brushes, etc.

Mine went from not working at all to working after a good cleanup. If the fuses are good, you may have to spend an afternoon getting it off the car.

[TheSecondChris]

I've got to do this with my motor. Fortunately it works but makes a sad groaning sound with each wipe.

[djnolan]

I had similar issues, My rebuilder figured out the problem. It turned out to be the dry rotted rubber suspension (NLA) of the brush plate. The brushes were no longer keeping good contact with the armature. Since the rubber was NLA he had to rivet it in place. Yes, it whines a little more...

This was on an 87 944

[Ernie944]

Guess I was lucky with mine on the 83 -944 ,I had to disconnect the arm assembly ,got the motor on the bench ,spray the shaft with W-40 & give her a little twist with a pair of vise grip and it ran like a charm ,from then on I would spray it once a year & never had to take the motor apart.