V70 rear wiper issues + solution

[foggyjames]

I'm in exactly the same position - my mechanism is running very nicely, but my white cog is knackered...and Volvo are uninterested is supplying just the cog.

Anyone got contacts at Bosch?

cheers

James

[R-P]

Originally Posted by acseuser

Thanks for this post/thread; very useful.
In dismantling my motor, I discovered ANOTHER o-ring: I assume this one was meant to seal the flared end of the water pipe against the drive tube? It's REALLY small: around 5mm and it's ~1mm diameter.

It's in there somewhere in my 5 pages of text

Originally Posted by R-P

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!!!))

Originally Posted by AlteredCarbon

Thanks for the useful info. My rear wiper wasn't working either - I'm getting the click from the rear of the car, so hoped it might just be some corrosion inside as detailed in earlier posts.

So, I stripped mine down to see what the problem was. Wasn't really all that bad inside - but cleaned it all up and regreased anyway. Assembled it all back together again without mounting it back on the tailgate, and when I connected it up and flicked the switch it did a half turn and then stopped. Thought I'd finish and reassemble it in place anyway, but no joy when it's all back together - still getting the click, the assembly seems free - it's just not moving!

I've checked the fuse, and given the motor did turn once, it looks like it's getting a supply, but I'm a bit stuck now. Any thoughts on what the issue might be or where I should be looking next?

Sounds you actually have my problem: a partly seized motor, not a broken cog-wheel. Follow acseuser's advice to narrow it down.

Some thoughts from me:
The fact you hear the clicking of the thermal-fuse, means its using too much current. Does it (the wiper arm) continue after resting for a short while? Or do you at least get the clicking sound repeatedly?

I don't remember if you can remove the white wheel (I think not) without taking the motor apart, but if you can, do that and run the motor. If it then clicks, you know for sure it is the motor, and not the wheel/linkage/etc.

If it is the motor, then soak it in WD40 for an hour, wire it up and run it for a moment, then unhook it and spray it again.

If that doesn't work, then you need to do the dreaded motor-disassembly...

Good luck, and keep us informed.

[R-P]

Maybe I'll investigate how much it'll cost to make such a cog wheel

I can make a bundle of off Volvo (or Bosch's) inability to produce quality stuff

Guess best solution is to C&C it. I know a company who do plastic mouldings, and then the wheels would probably be 2 quid a piece (after an initial investment of 10k for the mould... )

[AlteredCarbon]

Thanks for the suggestions - I totally stripped it back down at the weekend and ran it with just the motor connected and no cogs. Still getting the clicking noise from somewhere at the rear of the car, but the motor itself didn't move. So I proceeded to strip that down too - cleaned the carbon bushes etc and reassembled it all, but still no joy.

[foggyjames]

If you could make some cogs, that would be great, R-P! I'm currently on the lookout for a complete second-hand mechanism.

cheers

James

[R-P]

I wasn't that serious about making the cog, but will see if I can discuss it with one or two companies. If anyone has a defective cog-wheel they are willing to ship me (in the Netherlands) that would save me from having to open up my wipermotor to show them what I mean.

But don't hold your breath... I'm recovering from an illness, so I only work 1 day a week and it may not be before next year that I even get a chance to visit our co-makers again.

And @alteredcarbon: my problem was in the axle-ball-bearings: they produced the friction causing my motor to draw so much current it tripped the thermal fuse every few motor-turns (hence several times per 'swipe' of the wiper).

I discovered this by accident: I couldn't get the axle back in and couldn't allign the hole in the ball-bearing by simply sticking a screwdriver in it. This led me to the discovery the thing was very hard to move at all and thus led me to the eventual solving of MY problem. There's two of these puppies (one at the bottom of the motorhousing):

[foggyjames]

I just threw my dummy out of the pram, and bought one of the (relatively) cheap new ones currently on eBay. I've had a good month for expenses / mileage claims at work, so that should pay for it. While I was looking into it, I thought I'd do a final piece of research, and post the results in the hope that it helps someone else.

Firstly, the Volvo part number for the later version of the mechanism which parks on the right is 8667188, and the Bosch part number appears to be "443 122 291 017". This may be a "manufacturer protected part" (i.e. Volvo won't let Bosch sell it), but it's worth a try, if someone fancies hitting the phone.

I spoke with "Huddersfield Volvo Breakers" recently, who have been advertising on eBay that they have several motors in stock. They had sold out of "right-park" motors (mine is a 2005 model car), and the guy said he didn't think the "left-park" versions fitted. I was sceptical, but I've found a couple of pictures tonight that suggest that he's correct...




The top (plastic case) mechanism is the late-model "right-park" version, while the aluminium cased one is the older "left-park" version. Note that the mounting bracket "above" the motor on the late-model mechanism is missing from the earlier one. Given that the mechanism is also anchored by the glass, maybe it doesn't matter that one of the mounts is missing? The other two look to be in the right place. What dya think?

cheers

James

[Brendan W]

What are the odds that the rear wiper and tailgate lock fail within days of each other? Normally I suspect coincidences and was getting ready for a harness hunt behind the trim but everything was still getting power. I had cleaned the wiper spindle about 18 months ago and it was still free.With the gearbox dismantled the motor jumped a bit but would not turn. Eventually I opened the motor , cleaned the brush ring and all the dried grease from the motor worm and the infamous white gear wheel , which is in very good shape. Now its running quiet and free. As for the lock , I have posted separately but a piece of 1mm plastic packed under the motor has restored proper engagement of the pinion and worm drive wheel and the operation is whisper quiet compared to the groaning I have been listening to for years. Once again thanks to R-P for the original post - site being down delayed the attack on the wiper motor.

[b1g1an]

I've just stripped my motor down, thanks for the instructions, because it wasn't working and I could hear the 'clicking'. Each bit I took off expecting it to be stuck as described came out smoothly and no signs of any problems. The clicking turned out to be coming from the rear module on the left of the boot!

What I did discover is that if you turn the white cog so it is off the park position the motor happily comes to life and reparks itself so it looks like all is well with the motor itself.

When checking voltages across the connector, there is permanent power across the white and black wires, hence why it will park, but nothing happens between yellow and black wires when you flick the switch on the wiper stalk.

Hopefully someone has a good idea where I should be looking next?

[b1g1an]

Hmm...found the problem, broken wire near the hinge. What I wasn't expecting was two more broken wires and another five where the insulation was split exposing the core, shocking piece of design and surprised there hasn't been some sort of recall as that's a potential fire hazard. Car is coming up to six years old now but doesn't get used that much with only 30k on the clock.

Wonder if the dealer snagged it when they stripped the back to stop the creaking.