How do I troubleshoot wipers
 

My front wipers do not work at all. I get nothing when turning them on. They didn't work when i bought the car so i do not know when and how they failed. Most of the results from my searches deal with cleaning and rebuilding the motor. That may be required but before I go to the trouble a removing and tearing it down, how can I trouble shoot to make sure it is getting proper power, switch is working etc? I assume there are some test points and voltages to check for. I also see mention of a relay. Which relay is it and how do i test it? It's a 85.5 NA.

Thanks

the relay is located in the fuse box (look on label for the location). Also check the fuse before you do anything.

If those check out, there is a 6 or 8 prong plug by the motor ( believe it is attached to the fan assy under the black cover). You will need to reference a wiring diagram, but at least one on those prongs should have 12v with the wiper arm turned on and ign on.

The windshield wiper motor fuse is #24 30 amp.

Cheers,
Larry

I noticed when I turn on the wipers I see the voltage reading fluctuate slightly. Is that a good indication the switch is probably working? I haven't had a chance to check voltage on the 6 prong connector yet. That will be my next step.

Yes, the switch is working and the motor is trying to turn. Watch your other small gauges closely at the same time, do you see them move? I'll bet they do, because they're actually all volt meters.

Try this - at warm idle, with the windows up, press both window switches "up" for a moment. You should see all of the small gauges move, and you might even see the idle drop. The temp sensor will move up, the oil pressure will move down, and the volt meter will move down.

It won't fix your wipers, but it'll verify you're pulling amps, and that's one checkbox ticked.