V70 rear wiper issues + solution
 

Hi all,

Since I spend a lot of work on the rear wiper, and I didn't find a sticky on it, I thought I'd post this, as it is quite different from the one in the 850 forum.

It is a write-up that I posted on another forum, so please forgive the copy-paste action and let me know if something has to be changed. I will try to make it into a coherent posting...

Original problem description:
My V70 '04 's rear wiper doesn't work anymore. It only makes a ticking noise (sounds like a relay) coming from INSIDE the motor/gearsystem of the wiper. I think this is trying to switch it on to get it to return to the 'zero'position, which it is not atm.

It had issues before I think (it would stop at 2/3rds from left to right, then continue a second later and go to 1/3rd from right to left), but now it has failed completely.

Checked the hinge cabling mentioned as a possible culprit, but that is in pristine shape. Fuses are all OK.
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/3372/dsci0976.jpg
The whole unit of my '04 model. Getting it out is straight forward and I don't have any pics on it (4 torx screws will take the bootlid-doorcard off (pull off gently as there are still pins keeping it attached to the bootlid), three 10mm bolts fix the motor, take off the washer-tube (gently wiggle while pulling), take off the wiper (flick the hinged plastic part up to reveal the 13mm bolt which you undo, wiggle the wiper (use the 'arm' of the wiper to exert force) to get it to slide off) and pull out the total motor assembly gently).

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/9704/dsci0985.jpg
Issue in getting it disassembled: turns out you can carefully pull the spray-nozzle (the actual jets that spray on the window, 1" piece of plastic) out, and this means you can pull the entire water-tube out of the axle (beware of the tiny o-ring that closes this inner-tube of brass (? at least brass colored) from the rest of the axle!!!))

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8347/dsci0991.jpg
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/3999/dsci0979.jpg
Both sides of the PCB. Clearly visible is a Diode (black round electronic component that will only pass current one way, so will stop any current from flowing through the motor if someone would apply the 12V the wrong way around) and the thermal fuse (silver rectangle next to the diode) that makes the infamous ticking noise by switching off when too much current is passing through it (and automatically restoring itself once cooled off).
Also visible is three contacts for the positioning circuitry (see pictures of backside white toothed wheel, this is where they attach) and two contacts for driving the motor.
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/9361/dsci0997.jpg
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/9238/dsci0998.jpg



White toothed wheel that is driven by the motor and turns a round motion into a back-and-forth-swinging-motion. Note the backside that features a simple system to 'tell' the assembly in which position the arm is. It's a very dumb system, it will supply current or not (probably to the interval-relais through the yellow wire), depending on whether the middle contact-sleeve is making a short to either the outside or the inner one. I heard a mention about the resting position of the arm not being the same: this makes it very plausible: the friction of the wiper to the window combined with the inertia of the whole system will determine the end-position. Not saying it is a bad system, but it is crude. And therefor simple, and therefor durable. But not nearly durable enough, or this thread wouldn't exist...
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/8841/dsci0999.jpg

The three contacts that interface with the rear of the white toothed wheel.


A separate part that came out ofter thoroughly cleaning the o-ring groove: turns out this part makes up the o-ring groove (along with the entire housing of the assembly). Possibly I have tapped it in too hard, causing the o-ring to have too little room to properly settle, so as soon as I find a replacement o-ring, I will be taking this part out again, and next time will be mounting it with less force.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6893/dsci1003.jpg

The actual o-ring (pardon the lousy quality of the pic... The measurements were 1.4mm thick and 12mm outside diameter, IIRC!!!!! Will try to get a replacement at work and will mention which size works best If I ever find out.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6171/dsci1001.jpg



Couple of pics of the metal gears and the thing I always refer to as the "axle" (I hammered this out of the plastic housing: not the best of ideas, as I damaged the top a little):
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2724/dsci0995.jpg
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9133/dsci0996.jpg
Note the spring loaded ring on the pin that slides into the white toothed wheel:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1688/dsci1000.jpg

Magnetic, so pulling it loose will feel like you're pulling apart some wiring... Also notice the bent tabs. If there is no need to take the motor apart: then DON'T!!!!! You will always damage the plastic that the tabs hook on to, so after doing this a few times, the plastic will be severely damaged!
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9371/dsci0989.jpg
The motor insides:
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3758/dsci0986.jpg
Also note the spring-ring and tab lying on the newspaper. Don't forget this when reassembling it (yes, I did forget... and had to bent the tabs loose for the second time...).
What this does exactly is not quite clear to me: the tab moves outward once the wiper arm changes direction and the spring-ring keeps it from falling out (this means the bulk of the motor actually moves 1/8th of an inch as well I think). So even though the white toothed wheel goes round and round, something in the motor shifts during this reversal of wiper-arm direction. Possibly this is build in the absorb the direction change and the accompanying forces. The wiper arm goes back and forth, the white toothed wheel turns around, and the part of the motor also moves back and forth..... ????? It has to do with the first part of the movement: the motor is "pushing", the second part, it is "pulling".
Just a wild guess...



Here's some extra info:

And the plot thickens...


After doing all the work mentioned above, it still didn't work, and I thought it may have something to do with the o-ring being old, or the axle unround.

So I got it out for the third time and did some measuring.
The motor used 3 ampere and the voltage at my powersupply dropped to 8 or 9 volts (it is a 3A powersupply). I then reopened the box that contains the PCB and rang the manufacturer of the current limiting switch. It does not have type-number markings on it, but they confirmed my thoughts that this may be on the bottom. So after desoldering the unit, I gave them the numbers and they gave me the specsheet. Which they would not let me place here.

But the essence is that it trips at 7.2 A within 4-10 seconds. Testing showed this was about right, and further testing showed it tripped at 3A after 2 minutes. Since my motor uses 3A@8 volts, it will simply never work, so I deduced the motor has to be faulty.

I did a quick test with two powersupplies paralleled and the motor (without the currentswitch in place) now used 3+3=6A at ~12V.:eek: And this was without any gears attached!!!!!
So I opened up the motor. Again. And as said last time: you have to fold away metal tabs and you can only do this so often, as they damage the plastic housing.

I tried to reassemble it away from the gearhousing so I could turn it to feel the friction, but this didn't work well for two reasons: (1) the upper bearing is fixed in the gearhousing (and without it the magnetic force pulls the two motorparts together, so you cannot determine if it runs freely), and (2) the axle of the motor wouldn't go through the bottom bearing.

So I also removed the lower part of the motor housing (once again: tabs, even worse ones than the ones holding the motor attached to the gearhousing...). The bottom bearing was misaligned. After thoroughly rotating, lubricating and fiddling, it seemed quite smooth again.

I reassembled the bottompart, attached the motor to the gearhousing, whacked all tabs into place and hooked the motor up: succes: currentdraw at 14V: 0.7A. About 10 times less (!) than half an hour earlier.
Resoldered the current-limiting-switch, and after hooking everything up in the car, I now actually have a working rear-wiper [thumbup]

So to recap:
My problem was the axle running from the gears to the wiper.
When fixing this I may have added a new problem, or may have overlooked an existing (possibly bigger) problem: the bearings of the motor.

Two pics of the top-bearing. Not sure whether the axle is supposed to rotate inside the shaft or that the 'ball-jointed' bearing is supposed to rotate within its outer part as well. The fact that it is somewhat of a ball-joint (?) was the reason it was misaligned at the bottom of the motorhousing, and I couldn't get the inner-part of the motor to slide in. That's what forced me to open up the bottom part, of which I obviously have no pics, as I got carried away and forgot all about pictures. Both bearings, top and bottom, seem identical.
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/7705/dsc04250.jpg
And at a slight angle
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/5260/dsc04253.jpg

The thermal current limiting switch. The 24V3T marking is NOT a 24 volts 3 ampere slow-tripping marking, but a date Week 24 in year 03 probably. The "T" is the plant where it was made.
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/1986/dsc04252.jpg
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/6396/dsc04251.jpg

Two more pics of the motor. Take note of the V-shaped tabs on the left side of the pic holding the plastic bottom part attached to the metal middle-housing... Pita to open (vice works well) and close (hammered a pin inbetween to wedge them apart again, but you cannot put the metal middle housing into a vice while doing this, as you may deform it and screw up the entire motor...)
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/2162/dsc04248.jpg
http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/7763/dsc04244.jpg

Hope this helps you lot, as this seems a pretty common problem. I have heard people getting good results from simply drowning the thing in WD40, but where's the fun in that... :)

Excellent post, but how did you get the motor off?
 

R-P, this is one of the most thorough posts I've seen on a forum, thank you.

Alas, I have a but: you start at the point where the motor is on the bench.

Are you able to bullet the steps involved in taking the motor out? I have a highl-level understanding, but would really appreciate a little more detail.

Thank you.

Tedmonds: Sorry, didn't see your post sooner.

There is a description on how to remove the motor, but I didn't take pics on this. If I ever take it out, I will try to do so, but until then, this text along with seeing the bootlid in front of you (so you actually recognize what I am writing bout), should work quite well:
And obviously disconnect the powerwiring, the 'snap' that holds it in place can be 'unsnapped' from the bottom (it's at the underside, against the housing, you'll know what I mean with my crooked English when you have the item in your hand)

Hope this helps.

Best post ever ! At least for a wiper motor issue ! Had the same problem with my 2004 v70 and decided to follow your tutorial... Actually the problem on my motor is the motor bearing. The motor body was filled up with all sort of dust... and I can barely turn the motor manually. I proceeded to a thorough cleaning and spray WD40 until the motor turns freely. Before having the linkage back into place, I connect the motor to the car and did some trials, as I did before any cleaning and greasing, and the motor turned freely and continuously ! Great news !!! So I reinstalled, linkage, motor to the car and wiper arm....and....it still doesn't work !!!! Arrrggghhh !! Actually it works much better but it stops time to time. The fact that the motor housing is hold with 4 tabs doesn't help the axle to bearing alignement to be accurate....
Thanks for your post, it's very useful !

Can you hear a clicking noise from the thermoswitch? That could be a clue there is still too much current being drawn. If you DON'T hear this, there may be something else wrong.

Let us know if you solve it... I'm still planning on trying to find out what the third wire on the connector does (interval?) and why my wiper doesn't go all the way back to its restingposition...

BTW: thanks for your kind words, always very nice to know my efforts are helping others. As other people's efforts are very much helping me!

I can clearly hear the thermoswitch click.

I will having it disassemble this week end and let you now.

Thanks

Thanks R-P.Your post is very helpful. Mine stopped and I could hear the overload switch clicking. The spindle was corroded in the housing. A bit of cleaning and some grease has fixed it completely. Humans 1 : Dissimilar metals 0

Simpler
 

Hi Guys,

i thought i'd add in my experience on this one.

Had same problem - wiper stuck half way across and feint clicking from the motor.

Followed the instructions above and took apart the "gearbox" part of the mechanism but left the motor in place. I didn't fancy bending the tabs up and as the motor worked fine on its own didn't see the need.

Hammered the axle out (also damaged it a bit - should have put the nut back on before attacking it).

The mechanism on mine was full of rust and crud. Dismantled and cleaned it and put it back together with plenty of grease.

Looks like the problem with mine was leakage from the washer pipe somewhere within the spindle.

Had exactly the same problem on my 10 year old Audi A4 - although why is an Audi wiper motor assembly £80 and a Volvo one £220?

Now working fine.

So, for anyone thinking about tackling this job it's a lot simpler that the instructions above look - as long as the motor is OK, which it probably will be.

Great post , really appreciate the time and effort you have put into doing this ( just noticed it was 2009 ) and never noticed it before , makes me wonder what other similar stuff there is if you search for it .

Done all this, it is easier than it looks, because motor wasn't working but after freeing everything and reassembling I find the teeth are stripped on the white wheel and it now doesn't do the full cycle. Any suggestions?

Secondhand unit and build one good one from two?

Rear Wiper Repair
 

Superb Post - Future reference material.

Had this problem on my previous (97) V70. After the garage fitting a new motor it failed again within 1 year. As I had by then moved to the other end of the country a return visit to "discuss" the issue was impractical. I left it unused for several months and then asked my new local garage for an opinion. They said new motor, (lots of £,) I said dont bother. For want of somthing better to play with, had a look for myself.

Disconnected linkage and motor tested OK! Evidence of a long term leak from washer fluid hose onto spindle. Disassembled, (with great difficulty,) and cleaned. A (bronze?) insert if I recall correctly. Reassembled and worked perfectly from then on.

Moral of this story - Do not assume it is the motor or that the garage are acting in your best interests ! ! ! ! But then you all know that already ! !

It's a shame that Volvo don't do a repair kit.

Audi do one consisting of the brass washer tube, jet, spindle assembly and all the O rings and some really good instructions on how to do the job. £35. A;though the dealer wasn't aware that they did a repair kit - I had to give him the part number!

Maybe Volvo do a repair kit that noone knows about?

There is a repair kit.

You need Vadis then you can find the part number you need and order accordingly rather than buying the whole deal.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1.../rearwiper.jpg

I am having a problem with my rear wiper at the moment. The wash works in the car but the wiper doesn't. On the test bench at 12V both the wiper and wash work.

I am confused. Fuses are ok, wondering if there is a problem with a relay?

IIRC there's three wires running from a relay in the side of the trunk to the wiper.
I never looked into the working of the 'third wire'. I do have the schematics of the Volvo somewhere, but I cannot understand them properly (I am an EE, but they are seriously unreadable!).

My best guess would be that either the power is not getting to the wiper and/or the relay is causing this.

Cannot really help you beyond what you already figured out yourself...

LOOM for rear wiper???
 

Hi,

I've got my Volvo in the dealers now and Im not particularly happy with them at the moment - Im having the top service done one my car and they've just rung me up with a whole host of things that I can do myself i.e replacing bulbs etc, however, I asked them to look at my rear wiper as it stopped working (I dont hear any faint clicking nose though) and the woman has just said that I need a new loom at over £200 and that would also get my tailgate light working - Im not worried about the tailgate light (Im assuming that this is the 'third' light - I HOPE its not my rear lights) but what alarmed me from her call is that when I asked her what was wrong with my current loom she actually admitted that they don't know and would have to take it all out and test it!!!! SO, it might not even be the loom and as she eventually mentioned with a bit of probing, it COULD be a loose screw????? I have no idea why Volvo would think its acceptable to advise me to buy a new loom without even suggesting a diognostic on the old one (if no visible faults) AND without checking the 'screw' to the rear wiper (I was advised by a man who works at the same volvo that it could be the screw needs tightening).

Maybe its me - Im not too clued up when it comes to cars so maybe Im over cautious about being ripped off???

Sounds fairly typical. I think the "third light" would be your high level brake light which if I remember correctly isn't an MOT item (I stand by to be corrected!)

At around £90 per hour it is sometimes cheaper for the customer if the main dealer replaces parts rather than attempts to repair anything. I would get an independent auto electrician to check it out, or have a look yourself. I used to have a Peugeot estate which gave problems with the wiring loom between the roof headlining and the tailgate where the cables get frequently bent when the boot is opened and closed. it was fairly easy to find the broken section using a sharp multimeter probe and then cut it out and solder in a new bit of wire using expandable rubber sleeves to make a neat job of the insulation.

Axl,
You may be paranoid - the question is - are you paranoid enough?
Carry on questioning - unless you have remarkably deep pockets. Lots of info in threads on this forum regarding both rear wipers and broken wires at tailgate hinge, (use search facility,) with frequent success at no or little cost.

Cant remove wiper
 

Tedmonds: Sorry, didn't see your post sooner.

There is a description on how to remove the motor, but I didn't take pics on this. If I ever take it out, I will try to do so, but until then, this text along with seeing the bootlid in front of you (so you actually recognize what I am writing bout), should work quite well:


And obviously disconnect the powerwiring, the 'snap' that holds it in place can be 'unsnapped' from the bottom (it's at the underside, against the housing, you'll know what I mean with my crooked English when you have the item in your hand)

Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]
I have tried this but unable to remove wiper after removing bolt - does it rquire brute force? does it unscrew?

This should just slide off. You can use the arm to leverage a little, but be gentle as it is glass you're working on...

Also beware that my advice comes from fiddling with a right-side wiper, yours seems to be a left-side version.
I am assuming they are the same, but do not know this for a fact!

R-P, as others have already said, your post is excellent. I managed to disassemble the motor just as you described despite not having photos of those stages. (I managed to snap the wiper arm though as it was weakened through corrosion and well stuck on the spindle.)

I left the motor alone but opened up the gear housing which had a lot of debris in it. However I couldn't get the main nylon gear off its spindle to see the contacts underneath. It came part way off (about 3mm) but then seemed to have a "notch". Have I missed something?

Anyway, it had a good clean up and after re-assembly wiped ok but wouldn't park in the right place. I'm guessing this is due to contacts under the main gear wheel which I couldn't access. Any thoughts?

As for the nylon wheel not coming off: I think I see a newer V70 (Would that be considered a Mk4? Mine's a Mk2 I guess) in your pic, so that *might* make the setup different.

But as I remember, it (the gearassembly) was simply kept together by the lid of the gear-box and the only thing I had trouble getting apart was the water-tube running from back to front of the whole gearhousing.

So afraid I cannot tell you why you can't get it disassembled any further... :(

And I haven't solved the not stopping in the correct position either (the tip of my wiper is about 1.5" too high too, goes down an inch first before going up and wiping the window), but it's close enough to know when to stop fiddling :)

thanks for your post. The motor is the same as yours (it's not from the car in my pic). I'm of the same opinion as you, sometimes enough is enough!

Found some possibly new pics that may still help (although enough might be enough :) )http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/3493/dsc04249u.jpg

There's the infamous spray nozzle in the left part of the pic covering the date "15" on the calendar.

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/4504/dsc04245m.jpg

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7480/dsc04246t.jpg
And the 'brass' tube supplying the water to the spray nozzle sticking through the backplate of the gear-housing-lid.

I did just think you may not have been able to remove it due to the motor still being in place!!!

hi guys!

I have the same problem with my v70. I have found the problem earlier than this page.
The problem is a simple mechanical damage. The white toothed weal has a worn part about 2cm long. At this point does the wiper stop and I hear a ticking noise. The repair would be easy if I would know from where I could get a white toothed weal to replace this one. I could not find a similar one in any catalog.

That was the story with my wiper....

Was just wondering,

Will a motor for the rear wiper from a 2000/2001 v70 fit a 2003/2004 model

Cheers KW

I'm trying to find whats wrong with mine, I pull the motor out yesterday and it looks like is stuck, once you remove the metal casing you can spin the wiper and I'm talking about the motor casing where the bushes ect. are and not the casing where the plastic gear is, relay is clicking, washer is working so not sure what can be wrong, also when I dicided to strip the whole unit and fitted the coil in to the casing I could turn by hands is well so I was thinking is sorted baybe got a bit stuck, so I put the coil back in place then I put plastic part which have brushes on and back to the same problem you can't even turn by hand not sure if you would be able to understand what I'm saying but is this mean my motor is gone?

It was changed from the wiper's resting position being to the left and then to the right. Or vice versa. And when it was changed exactly, I don't know. :)

I think it will fit, but I cannot promise this, as I am no expert. You might be able to find a working copy of VADIS somewhere and compare the ordering numbers.

May be the language barrier, but I have a hard time visualising what you actually did, so here's some questions:
- can you spin the motor with ease once you remove the white wheel? I do not remember if you can even remove the white wheel without taking the motor apart, so if you can clarify this, that would also help (a few threads up I questioned this)
- did you take the motor apart completely?
- if so, did you thoroughly clean, rotate and lubricate the bearings of the shaft of the motor? They were most likely my main problem.

Cautionary Tale
 

Wife's '06 exhibited this problem this past winter. (Canada - salt, snow, cold, therefore problem crops up earlier than elsewhere?)

Finally tackled it on Good Friday, since some sun finally showed up.

I didn't try the motor removal, since I was pretty sure it was shaft corrosion that was the culprit.
The only trick to removing the gear cover is to remove the electrical connector box from the case before sliding the cover off. Otherwise, there is not enough room to get the spray tube out without bending it.
Cleaned, greased (white lithium spray), bench-tested and back in within half an hour!
Upon reassembly and “field testing”, the arm was flopping around, back with my wrench for some additional tightening. Nut was “just about” where it needed to be when the threads snapped off the shaft and the rear glass exploded!
Wife not too pleased. . . . .
This “saving money on repairs thing” doesn’t seem to be working for her.
New glass is $430 Canadian (about 275 GBP today), but I have to wait 4 days for it to come from Montreal.
Dropped by my local “Independent Volvo Service” and discussed my issue and asked if anyone had had one replaced, since I only needed the internals. Turns out someone is coming in on Friday for a new one, and I can have the old for my experiments if they don’t want the old parts.

KW, If you find an old one, just make sure you watch the shaft move and park before you put the wiper arm back on. If it parks on the left, put the arm on that way, so you are not clearing the rear door, rather than the window |>)

IIRC there is no special provision for the arm to park on (some vehicles do have a rest or stop for the arm when parked), so it shouldn't make any difference.

Good Luck (see my "Cautionary Tale" post)

NG8

Question Rear Wiper Question
I have been reading up on rear wiper motor faults as my rear wiper on my 2000 model xc70 has decided to stop working without warning, i have doused it in penetrating fluid but still no joy, i have checked both fuses and relay and these are in full working order i have removed the wiper motor assy and checked white nylon wheel for damage and this is fine i have also checked the wiring harness going from body to tailgate.i have priced this part up from volvo dealer and knew it would be expensive (£240 with the vat)

The only thing i think left to try is strip the spindle out of the motor assy and make sure it is clean and lubricated although i have started looking at second hand wiper motors on ebay and i might try and buy a V40 unit and change the motor as these are loads cheaper than V70 parts.

I know things cant last forever but has anyone else managed to change the motor from another car (V40/850)successfully???any other info would be useful to.

many thanks in advance
scott

Ouch...

You also say you bench-tested it, you mean with power supplied?
This is the way to test if something is wrong: I posted the currentdraw on mine, which (by heart) was in excess of 6A (ampere) at about 12V before solving the shaft-bearing issue and 0.7A after thoroughly greasing it.

So @ scottxc70: if you have a chance to do this, it tells you a lot.
Over 5A draw will probably cause the thermalswitch to kick in (clicking noise and intermittent restingposition of the arm). Under 1A draw: your problem lies elsewhere.

Thanks R-P

Bench Testing, for me, meant holding the unit in my hand and plugging it in to the connector. I didn't measure the current draw, since I didn't want to cut into the wiring harness.

My issue was clearly corroded shaft in the housing. I could barely wriggle it out. Cleaned and lubricated, I could spin it with a feather.

I'm currently trying to find someone else's problem. The failed one I had a line on fell through. The car owner - for the first time in his life apparently - took the failed part. I guess when he looked at it, he thought it looked brand new, as they do, and thought he should check it out. He apparently is a psychologist so I don't expect he will actually get his hands dirty and figure it out. I asked the tech for the owner's address, so I could go through his garbage over the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Northgator8

Rear wiper motor
 

Ive stripped ours down and found the white plastic cog has worn out in two locations. Volvo cannot supply this part-"you'll have to buy the whole motor"!
Does anyone know if/where to get this part?
Many Thanks

Hi,
I have the problem with the white cog, did you manage to sort a solution?
many Thanks

My white wheel was in perfect order, so cannot help you there.

Best solution would be to get a second hand one and make a deal with the breakers that you get refunded when it has the same white-wheel-issue.

I'll add my name to the list of people who need a replacement "white wheel"...! My plan is to find a second-hand one.

My car (2005) has already had one new replacement - these are obviously a seriously crappy piece of design!

cheers

James

Hello all.
My rear wiper doesnt work so i am tomorrow getting to try and fix it.
How does the wiper arm actually come off the spline....nut off and tap/pull/prise arm off i suppose.

Pretty much - keep it straight - bit of hot water does no harm. Take the biggest hammer you have and make a few practice swings in the air and it will put the frighteners on it.

How hard is it to get the wiper arm off....mine will not come off