Slowwwwww wipers (1 Viewer)

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Sep 26, 2022
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cedar falls
I've read through this thread and nobody tried anything that worked. Wiper motor is fine but wipers physically are sllloowwwwww. New wiper blades and windshield so they are not "sticking".

Anyone have any ideas?
 
I've read through this thread and nobody tried anything that worked. Wiper motor is fine but wipers physically are sllloowwwwww. New wiper blades and windshield so they are not "sticking".

Anyone have any ideas?
Maybe the but isn't tightened down or it's stripped out. Do you have the correct arms attached? Maybe a grounding issue?
 
Maybe the but isn't tightened down or it's stripped out. Do you have the correct arms attached? Maybe a grounding issue?
I would think if it was stripped I'd hear bad noises and or they would not park in the correct place. They work smoothly, just very slowly. That thread I linked shows many others with the same issue, just no solution.
 
I would think if it was stripped I'd hear bad noises and or they would not park in the correct place. They work smoothly, just very slowly. That thread I linked shows many others with the same issue, just no solution.
I guess try moving the switch into different speed settings to see if that will help. Maybe your in a in-between setting and it's not getting enough contact to the wire that supplies the motor.
Just trying to help. I'm pretty certain I didn't! I hope you can get this sorted before any precipitation begins to fall
 
What are you working on?
How have you determined the motor is good?

The 1996 diagram for the wipers shows a pretty simple circuit. Looks like a two speed motor so the motor controls HI/LO speed.

If you pull the wiper connector you should have 12V at pin 6 with key on.
If you then turn the wiper to LO you should have 12V at pin 3. HI should give 12V at pin 2.
If that all checks out then verify ground at pin 1. I suspect your ground is good because IE grounds a lot of systems.

The +B/+S at the motor is for intermittent/washer/off so shouldn't affect speed.

1665850678090.png


1665850714228.png
 
I have the same problem. I've not pursued diagnosing it yet. Im thinking the switch in the stalk is worn and causing a voltage drop. Just a guess. Might be best ultimately to route the 12v through relays.
I disassembled the complete wiper system. Cleaned and lubricated everything. Speed improved, somewhat.

The area of highest friction was the posts for the wiper arms themselves.
I removed them and put them in a drill and polished with Scotchbrite and also used a bore brush on the bushing in the body. Lubricated and reassembled.

I’m not totally satisfied so I’m eventually going to add relays to provide full voltage. Having the switch deliver the voltage is a bad idea by Toyota imop.
 
IME one cause of slow wiper movement is if one of the magnets pop loose inside the case. A clue that this may have happened is if the motor is louder than it was before.

And if a magnet pops loose it can (magnetically) stick to and drag on the armature. If both magnets come loose the armature won't turn at all, IME.

Here's a link with photos and discussion:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Below are a couple of photos from two different FZJ80L front wiper motors showing what happens when the inside of the case rusts which can cause one or both of the magnets to pop off.


Look closely at the top photo (click twice to magnify): one of the magnets has come loose and slipped down inside the case. Note also the grind marks from the armature rubbing on one magnet. The rust is visible at the bottom of the case.

FZJ80 wiper motor rust loose magnet.JPG



The next photo shows a motor that would just get hot, no movement of the wipers at all. When the case was pulled off both magnets came out with the armature:

Again, note the rust on the inside of the case where the magnets
used to be attached (click photo twice to magnify):

FZJ80 wiper motor loose magnets rust in case.png



Unfortunately I think this may be the fate of most (?all ) of our front wiper motors as the inside of the case does not appear to have any sort of rust-resistant plating, or if it did originally it wasn't enough to prevent rust.

FWIW
 
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You can remove the cowl panel and reinstall the wipers and watch the show, to make certain the problem isn't in the linkage. If it's not there. I agree with @Kernal, it's the motor.
 
I guess try moving the switch into different speed settings to see if that will help. Maybe your in a in-between setting and it's not getting enough contact to the wire that supplies the motor.
Just trying to help. I'm pretty certain I didn't! I hope you can get this sorted before any precipitation begins to fall
Appreciate it brother! Luckily here in central oregon we barely get any rain, but snow... yeah, hoping for lots of that!
What are you working on?
How have you determined the motor is good?

The 1996 diagram for the wipers shows a pretty simple circuit. Looks like a two speed motor so the motor controls HI/LO speed.

If you pull the wiper connector you should have 12V at pin 6 with key on.
If you then turn the wiper to LO you should have 12V at pin 3. HI should give 12V at pin 2.
If that all checks out then verify ground at pin 1. I suspect your ground is good because IE grounds a lot of systems.

The +B/+S at the motor is for intermittent/washer/off so shouldn't affect speed.

View attachment 3141232

View attachment 3141234
Wow so the switch itself provided power to the low/high speed circuits. Thanks for the diagram that's the first thing I'll check. I'll see what the voltage drop under load is and possibly drop some relays in line to hurry things up!
I have the same problem. I've not pursued diagnosing it yet. Im thinking the switch in the stalk is worn and causing a voltage drop. Just a guess. Might be best ultimately to route the 12v through relays.
Let's keep in touch and see what we find. I think this is a common problem from the searching I've done so far.
Windshield wet or dry? Mine are fairly slow on a dry windshield -- which I avoid -- but work great on a wet windshield.
Wet... noticed it the first time we had rain this year a couple months ago. I don't really have a use for them in the dry.
I disassembled the complete wiper system. Cleaned and lubricated everything. Speed improved, somewhat.

The area of highest friction was the posts for the wiper arms themselves.
I removed them and put them in a drill and polished with Scotchbrite and also used a bore brush on the bushing in the body. Lubricated and reassembled.

I’m not totally satisfied so I’m eventually going to add relays to provide full voltage. Having the switch deliver the voltage is a bad idea by Toyota imop.
Interesting I'll see about taking things apart when I have time and try to clean it all up. 300k miles...
IME one cause of slow wiper movement is if one of the magnets pop loose inside the case. A clue that this may have happened is if the motor is louder than it was before.

And if a magnet pops loose it can (magnetically) stick to and drag on the armature. If both magnets come loose the armature won't turn at all, IME.

Here's a link with photos and discussion:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Below are a couple of photos from two different FZJ80L front wiper motors showing what happens when the inside of the case rusts which can cause one or both of the magnets to pop off.


Look closely at the top photo (click twice to magnify): one of the magnets has come loose and slipped down inside the case. Note also the grind marks from the armature rubbing on one magnet. The rust is visible at the bottom of the case.

View attachment 3141359


The next photo shows a motor that would just get hot, no movement of the wipers at all. When the case was pulled off both magnets came out with the armature:

Again, note the rust on the inside of the case where the magnets
used to be attached (click photo twice to magnify):

View attachment 3141360


Unfortunately I think this may be the fate of most (?all ) of our front wiper motors as the inside of the case does not appear to have any sort of rust-resistant plating, or if it did originally it wasn't enough to prevent rust.

FWIW
Thanks for all the info. The wipers do work... so maybe I'm a one magnet failure situation. Does low speed use one magnet and high speed the other magnet? Do you know what adheres the magnets to the case? Thank you!
 
In the last hour I pinned and ran the wipers with the engine running.

Measured 13.7 bolts.

They are 18 gage wires, I may measure load next.
 
If you read through the linked thread above it describes what I did to try to resurrect a wiper motor. Basically cleaned everything up and stuck the magnets back on using Marine Epoxy however the motor was still slow. My best guess is/was that the magnets were damaged (weaker magnetic field) by the armature grinding on them.

To answer the OP's question, both permanent magnets are required for a DC electric motor to work.

Here's a video showing how DC motors work, watch it until the end:

 
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In the last hour I pinned and ran the wipers with the engine running.

Measured 13.7 bolts.

They are 18 gage wires, I may measure load next.
13.7 when the wiper was moving? I'd be curious if voltage dropped when loaded maybe a wire size issue.
If you read through the linked thread above it describes what I did to try to resurrect a wiper motor. Basically cleaned everything up and stuck the magnets back on using Marine Epoxy however the motor was still slow. My best guess is/was that the magnets were damaged (weaker magnetic field) by the armature grinding on them.

To answer the OP's question, both permanent magnets are required for a DC electric motor to work.

Here's a video showing how DC motors work, watch it until the end:


I did read through your thread ending with the special tool you made. But I may have missed 1)if you got the wipers to go full speed and 2) if it ended up being that you just used the new-used unit you had.

My wiper always work... they are just slow! Thanks Kernal.
 
I replaced the original unit that had the magnets pop off (after attempting to fix it) with a used unit I pulled off another 80 in a salvage yard. That wiper motor is still working 10 years later at all speeds, variable intermittent, slow, and fast.

Do your wipers work on intermittent speeds?
 
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These photos shows the wiper spindles (from the wiper linkage) disassembled, this is where the wiper arms are attached.
They rotate back and forth, not continuously in one direction, so it's important IMO to have a good lube inside the assembly.

When opened I found the original lube almost completely gone
along with some water that had gotten inside. The shafts/spindles had some scuffing/fretting wear and pitting from erosion/corrosion. I cleaned that up with 4-0 steel wool.

Then had a machinist drill a hole half way down the center of the shaft along with a small communicating hole out the side so that grease could be pumped into the top of the shaft (by just removing the cap nut that holds the wipers arms on) into the small space between the bushings to keep them lubed and to help keep water out.

Before I put them back together I coated the shafts with a Moly coating that goes on wet then dries which I then polished by hand. Then stuffed a Moly-graphite synthetic PAO grease (Molykote G-4700) into the assembly.

This linkage was working before I pulled it apart; the mod was done as a pm for longevity along with lubing the linkage ball joints with Molykote 33 (a silicone oil, lithium based, grease).

FWIW

Double click on the photo to magnify to see the chamfered grease port in the top of the shaft and the small opening on the side of the shaft to keep the bushings lubed:

Wiper spindle assembly 2.JPG



Look closely and you can see the brass bushings the spindle rotates on with a small space between them for grease:

Wiper spindle assembly 1.JPG
 
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That's exactly why I recommeded watching the show before trying to perform motor surgery.
 
I replaced the original unit that had the magnets pop off (after attempting to fix it) with a used unit I pulled off another 80 in a salvage yard. That wiper motor is still working 10 years later at all speeds, variable intermittent, slow, and fast.

Do your wipers work on intermittent speeds?
Yes so the higher wiper speed "tries" to go a little faster and attempts to move the wiper arms with more authority so there is a difference, but the actual wipe speed is still very slow. I keep finding more and more threads/comments about this happening with no clear explanation. I'm hesitant to use another used wiper motor since it seems to be a common problem, and the aftermarket ones just seem like junk! I'll keep this thread updated with what I find.

Thank you!
 
@fcmisc : have you attemped to take your motor apart to check the condition internaly? (tip before you do: getting the armature back in a bit of a trick as you have to push back three small spring loaded carbon brushes, but it can be done with some persistence)

Try this: get the windshield wet (and keep it wet with a hose for example), turn the ignition Key to ON but don't start the engine (no engine noise), then turn the wipers on.
What happens? What do you hear?

Is the motor loud like it's struggling to move, growly/grinding??
 

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