Update! Success! Help with rear wiper issue

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Rktennis

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2011
Messages
65
Location
Atlanta, GA
Update: $30 used wiper motor purchased from ebay. Removed rear hatch panel, had difficulty with removing electrical connection, swapped out motors, and rear wiper now working correctly. My motor looked much newer than the one I bought, but I guess there was a short somewhere. Took about an hour, but I’m pretty novice. I’m very happy since I have to go out and we’re getting a lot rain here in Atlanta. Thanks for the input!

Hi, I’ve noticed my rear wiper is not working correctly (2011). It will move in spurts, halfway then stop, another half, then pause. The pauses can be a few minutes.

I took the arm off and didn’t see anything wrong. I noticed that the motor is not constantly on. Is there a switch or fuse I should look at?
 
You'd have to check the schematics to be sure but I would guess that if any fuse or switch failed, the motor would not work at all.

I suspect the problem is either in the motor or possibly the gear/linkage driven by the motor (if there is one it is probably built into the motor assembly) or possibly a combination of both.

Does it work correctly with the wiper arm removed (ie with a very small load on the motor)?
 
It could still be an electronic fault but I think it more likely that some teeth are missing from a gear inside the motor assembly. A lot of the gears for this type of thing are plastic and if a few teeth are missing or damaged it could cause a pause when those teeth are engaged.

If it were me, I'd try to find a replacement motor assembly. I haven't done anything to my Leaf but on my other cars, the plastic cover on the inside of the hatch more or less snaps in/out after a few screws are removed. Once the cover is removed, the motor and its assembly should be easily accessible.
 
The wiper control system is more complicated than you might think and involves the Body Control Module, CAN message traffic, etc... If a quick inspection doesn't turn up clues I'd suggest getting the service manual or taking it in for diagnosis.

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This video shows a front wiper but I bet the rear is about identical except there is no linkage involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa4jv8FvjAQ
 
Well, I’m planning on buying a motor on eBay and replacing (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=2011+nissan+leaf+rear+motor+wiper&_sacat=33657)

The new motor is only about $40, so I won’t be out too much. It is weird how it’s intermittently working though.
 
Wouldn't it make sense first to back probe the connector to the motor to see if the voltage to it is constant or intermittent?

Rktennis said:
Well, I’m planning on buying a motor on eBay and replacing (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=2011+nissan+leaf+rear+motor+wiper&_sacat=33657)

The new motor is only about $40, so I won’t be out too much. It is weird how it’s intermittently working though.
 
Very good point, I wish I knew how to do something like that! I’m good at following directions on YouTube, but sadly not as good at basic electrical skills!

css28 said:
Wouldn't it make sense first to back probe the connector to the motor to see if the voltage to it is constant or intermittent?

Rktennis said:
Well, I’m planning on buying a motor on eBay and replacing (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=2011+nissan+leaf+rear+motor+wiper&_sacat=33657)

The new motor is only about $40, so I won’t be out too much. It is weird how it’s intermittently working though.
 
Rktennis said:
Very good point, I wish I knew how to do something like that! I’m good at following directions on YouTube, but sadly not as good at basic electrical skills!

Buy yourself a DVM (digital volt meter). They can be had for about $10 these days although you can spend a lot more. Auto parts stores usually have them although they will probably be a bit more but you should be able to find one for $20 or less.

With a meter, it's pretty easy to trouble shoot a lot of electrical issues. In this particular case, you would set the meter to the appropriate setting by moving the dial on front (it will probably have a 20V max DC setting, which is fine for car work) and then put the meter probe tips on the 2 wires supplying power to the wiper motor. Turn the wiper switch to turn the motor on and see if the voltage is a constant 12V or not.

Another way to test the motor would be to just supply 12V to the wires to see if the motor runs normally or not. However, you will need either a power supply or some jumper wires to connect to a 12V battery. I have all that stuff around the house - somewhere - but if it was me, I would probably just order the part on ebay too since a) it's easy and b) I think the odds are good that the problem lies there.
 
Great info/explanation, thanks!

goldbrick said:
Rktennis said:
Very good point, I wish I knew how to do something like that! I’m good at following directions on YouTube, but sadly not as good at basic electrical skills!

Buy yourself a DVM (digital volt meter). They can be had for about $10 these days although you can spend a lot more. Auto parts stores usually have them although they will probably be a bit more but you should be able to find one for $20 or less.

With a meter, it's pretty easy to trouble shoot a lot of electrical issues. In this particular case, you would set the meter to the appropriate setting by moving the dial on front (it will probably have a 20V max DC setting, which is fine for car work) and then put the meter probe tips on the 2 wires supplying power to the wiper motor. Turn the wiper switch to turn the motor on and see if the voltage is a constant 12V or not.

Another way to test the motor would be to just supply 12V to the wires to see if the motor runs normally or not. However, you will need either a power supply or some jumper wires to connect to a 12V battery. I have all that stuff around the house - somewhere - but if it was me, I would probably just order the part on ebay too since a) it's easy and b) I think the odds are good that the problem lies there.
 
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