10YR LEAF OWNER. wiper problem we cannot figure out

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

billrotecki

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2025
Messages
5
Location
ketchikan alaska
I have a leaf (115K miles) and recently the wipers failed inconsistently - of course they working fine when I took them to a mechanic and he inspected everything and we could not diagnose the problem so he suggested the most common problem in other vehicles was the wiper motor, so we replaced the motor and the transmission,

what the hell
this was good for a week, and then they failed again, except this time it was a permanent failure. When inspecting, wires all look good (those that are easily accessible) battery tested in limits under load. (battery was 12.4v before being tested) the switch on column checked ok. if you put voltage to the wiper motor it works... damn - so it seems it has to be the battery or the charging system, but they test ok near as we can tell.

mechanic had taken battery out to test it and while it was out he hooked charger up where battery resides and
oh my
wipers worked
so he charged the battery some more and installed it and then wipers worked - but then -
I took the care home, it worked that day, but the next day the wipers failed (of course the day it failed again was 4" per day, not unusual here)

so now I am beside myself. I live in SE Alaska so I live out of reach of a dealer (if they would or could figure it out).
but if I were desperate it would be about 2500$ round trip to a dealer, and this is a 10yr old leaf so this does not seem a wise way to spend my money

I suppose it could be the control module, but of course they are expensive and if I were to buy one and I do not even know if that would solve the problem, and I especially do not know if my mechanic would be able to program it as he is not a Nissan certified repairman, and Nissan keeps their cards close to their chest.

I was thinking even though the battery checks out and it is only 2 years old, could the battery somehow cause the problem? (especially if it worked for a short time once it has been charged.) Since I believe the charger provide some higher voltage (what? 14-16v?) in that case it should not be the charger. that means either the battery of the control module. now I am talking myself into believing it might be the control module.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS MALADY?
THANK YOU
 
Switch/stalk? Make sure it's seated all the way. Perhaps a good code reader can see if the module is getting the input to run from the switch. Fuse seated properly, no corrosion on connections ....
 
Battery is very unlikely to be the problem. 1) 12.4 v at rest is well above the minimum required to operate the electronics. 2) jumping the wiper motor caused to to operate, if jumped from the battery, there is proof it is not the problem.

I don't have any good direction to point you in, but am trying to prevent you from spending on things that will not help.
 
Switch/stalk? Make sure it's seated all the way. Perhaps a good code reader can see if the module is getting the input to run from the switch. Fuse seated properly, no corrosion on connections ....
Running the windshield wipers is the manual method of boosting the battery. When the wipers are on (even in lowest intermittent mode) the system voltage should be at recharge level which is over 14 volts. If that isn't happening then its the controller.
 
Running the windshield wipers is the manual method of boosting the battery. When the wipers are on (even in lowest intermittent mode) the system voltage should be at recharge level which is over 14 volts. If that isn't happening then its the controller.
when you say controller, is this the BCM? One trouble I anticipate if I buy a new one, I believe it will have to be programmed, and yet there are no Nissan Mechanics here and my local mechanic, who so far is impressing me with his knowledge and honesty, cannot make any contact with Nissan, so I am hoping there is a way to program it without having the proprietary tools and information. thoughts?
 
We had a similar issue. I thought for certa9n it was either corrosion or a dead spot in the wiper motor. Mechanic found neither. He did disassemble and reassemble the connections which appears to have done the trick for us. No issues since. Guessing g something was just a little loose.
 
when you say controller, is this the BCM? One trouble I anticipate if I buy a new one, I believe it will have to be programmed, and yet there are no Nissan Mechanics here and my local mechanic, who so far is impressing me with his knowledge and honesty, cannot make any contact with Nissan, so I am hoping there is a way to program it without having the proprietary tools and information. thoughts?
DK. Try this. Launch LEAF Spy, then turn on the windshield wiper. System voltage should rise to about 14 volts. If that isn't happening, then its not the wiper system. There is "something" that initiates the voltage rise to enable wiper operation.
 
Back
Top