Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Please restrict your questions and replies to Capri related technical issues!
Post Reply
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

Hey chaps, (and Chapettes)

My rear wiper motor has always worked fine and never had any issues but since about two/three days ago it just hasn't come on at all when I press the button.

I referred to the bible (Haynes) and as part of diagnosing the issue it said to check "the gearbox cover and gear assembly for damage"

Pardon my naivety but why am I checking anywhere near the gearbox for my rear wiper motor?? I am stumped :headscratch:

any help/advice would be great!

Thanks
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
User avatar
Peter-S
Donator
Donator
Posts: 7453
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:57 am
Car(s): 1985 Capri 2.0
1983 Capri 2.8i
Location: Kent
Contact:

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by Peter-S »

D366Y wrote:Hey chaps, (and Chapettes)

My rear wiper motor has always worked fine and never had any issues but since about two/three days ago it just hasn't come on at all when I press the button.

I referred to the bible (Haynes) and as part of diagnosing the issue it said to check "the gearbox cover and gear assembly for damage"

Pardon my naivety but why am I checking anywhere near the gearbox for my rear wiper motor?? I am stumped :headscratch:

any help/advice would be great!

Thanks
It will mean the gearing mechanism for the wiper motor.
Before investigating anything like that I'd find the live wire under the cover that lines the tailgate and see if it has current when your dash switch is on. It could just be a bad connection in the switch - or a fuse. Is there anything else that's not working?
ImageBanner by Peter Smith, on Flickr
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

Peter-S wrote:
D366Y wrote:Hey chaps, (and Chapettes)

My rear wiper motor has always worked fine and never had any issues but since about two/three days ago it just hasn't come on at all when I press the button.

I referred to the bible (Haynes) and as part of diagnosing the issue it said to check "the gearbox cover and gear assembly for damage"

Pardon my naivety but why am I checking anywhere near the gearbox for my rear wiper motor?? I am stumped :headscratch:

any help/advice would be great!

Thanks
It will mean the gearing mechanism for the wiper motor.
Before investigating anything like that I'd find the live wire under the cover that lines the tailgate and see if it has current when your dash switch is on. It could just be a bad connection in the switch - or a fuse. Is there anything else that's not working?
Thanks for the quick reply Peter; All the fuses are still in place and don't appear to be broken and I tried John's tip of moving them all as well just to roll them around a bit to see if it was a dodgy connection but no luk, and so far there is nothing else I've noticed that isn't working apart from the reverse lights but that's because the wire isn't plugged onto the connectors on the gearbox.

What would the best way to test the live be? I've taken the wiper cover off and it all looks brand new under there, disconnected the two clips (look like the same connections as the front speakers) and it all looks to be a good connection in there?

Thanks
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
johnd444wph
Posts: 248
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:26 pm
Car(s): 2.0laser 86

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by johnd444wph »

Is the connector clean where the tail gate meets the bar above the lights where to boot catch is ? That springy black thing is a earth I believe ? I once sprayed mine then my wiper didn't work worth a try
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

johnd444wph wrote:Is the connector clean where the tail gate meets the bar above the lights where to boot catch is ? That springy black thing is a earth I believe ? I once sprayed mine then my wiper didn't work worth a try
Thanks for this, will have to try over the next few days when I get a chance to check, had to put the glass back in the passenger door after my dad accidentally pulled it out of place and it dropped into the door earlier so ran out of time tonight :doh: :lol:
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
User avatar
pbar
Posts: 7420
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:29 pm
Car(s): Capri 2.0 Laser, frequent driver.
Location: North-West

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by pbar »

As John says, I'd be checking the tailgate switch also.
Mr B
Donator
Donator
Posts: 635
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2016 9:07 am
Car(s): Four 3 litre Capri's and 2 Mark 1 GXL's

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by Mr B »

Hi buddy,

Depending on the model it could either have one or two switches, one is for wiper and the black button type is for the boot light if fitted, everytime I have had issue's with the wiper it's normally dirty contacts on the switch that's located on the passenger side, a gentle rub with sandpaper should do the job :)
If an honest man is wrong and after demonstrating that he is wrong he either stops being wrong or stops being honest
johnd444wph
Posts: 248
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:26 pm
Car(s): 2.0laser 86

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by johnd444wph »

Did you get it fixed ??
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

johnd444wph wrote:Did you get it fixed ??
No not yet! I didn't get a chance to try it yesterday, I did check the contact you mentioned, and noticed it was quite dull, scratched it a little with my keys to see how bad they were and loads of shit started to come off! It was pretty shiny underneath all that crap so will have to try that when I get a chance, might be later this week or over the weekend.
pbar wrote:As John says, I'd be checking the tailgate switch also.
Also how would I go about checking the switch itself?? It still presses in and clicks?? :?

Cheers
Danny
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
User avatar
Arya2.0S
Posts: 1249
Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:23 pm
Car(s): ford capri 2.0 s

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by Arya2.0S »

You can get to the switch but taking off the dash trim under it you should be able to unplug it and push the switch out from there (push it out towards you), or you can take the fascia off too if you want to be thorough, though that means taking all of the lower dash trim off, and if your fascia still has the metal clips on the top holding it in, you'd best loosen off the steering column and drop it down a bit to allow you to pull the fascia out from the bottom to avoid scratching the top of the dash with the metal clips.
User avatar
pbar
Posts: 7420
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:29 pm
Car(s): Capri 2.0 Laser, frequent driver.
Location: North-West

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by pbar »

Arya2.0S wrote:You can get to the switch but taking off the dash trim under it you should be able to unplug it and push the switch out from there (push it out towards you), or you can take the fascia off too
He was asking about the tailgate switch.
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

Thanks guys, I know how to get it all off without a hitch as I took it all out the other day to check the switch but other than it still clicking is there anything else to check??
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
User avatar
Arya2.0S
Posts: 1249
Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:23 pm
Car(s): ford capri 2.0 s

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by Arya2.0S »

pbar wrote:
Arya2.0S wrote:You can get to the switch but taking off the dash trim under it you should be able to unplug it and push the switch out from there (push it out towards you), or you can take the fascia off too
He was asking about the tailgate switch.
Oh, my bad.
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

Thanks for all the replies guys, it was the earth switch in the boot! Never knew what that was for until now! :lol:
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
User avatar
pbar
Posts: 7420
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:29 pm
Car(s): Capri 2.0 Laser, frequent driver.
Location: North-West

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by pbar »

What is it that you did to fix it?
User avatar
D366Y
Donator
Donator
Posts: 2568
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:26 pm
Car(s): 1986 Laser 1.6, daily runaround project
1981 GL Auto 2.0, Barn-Find-Resto, now also a runaround project
1980 3.0S, crash damage resto
1993 Fiesta 1.1

Currently full up and no more space but I still want a 2.8...
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by D366Y »

pbar wrote:What is it that you did to fix it?
Got some sandpaper on the earth contact point on both the bootlid itself and also the button like thing above the rear lights and gave it a quick rub, problem solved
A wise man once said... "you can never have too many capris - buy another" :beer:
It's me, I'm the wise man.
User avatar
pbar
Posts: 7420
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:29 pm
Car(s): Capri 2.0 Laser, frequent driver.
Location: North-West

Re: Rear Wiper Motor Not working

Post by pbar »

Great, thanks, always handy to know how an issue was resolved!
Post Reply