Removing Tailgate Trim & Tailgate Wiper Motor

My tailgate wiper motor does not work.
I plan to have a look at it this weekend.
My guess is it is not the fuse, because the other electrics on the same circuit (according to the h'book) work ok.
So I guess it is either the switch on the stalk or the motor itself.
Because the rear washer works fine - my money is on the motor itself.
Are the rear wiper motors prone to failure ?

A couple of other queries I'd appreciate some advice on.

1. I know I have to remove the plastic securing pins at the base of the trim, and then a couple of screws behind the interior tailgate release trim before I lift the panel up. But how should I remove the trim around the interior handle ? I do not want to break the plastic. Does it pull out ? Any particular technique or direction of tugging ?!!!

2. Once I get to the wiper motor, any tips on investigating what's wrong with it ? Do they burn out completely ? Or can they be fixed ? I've investigated replacements from my local scrappys, but volvo estates rarely appear in scrap yards !

Any help and advice most appreciated.

[shaunb51]

If I remember rightly from when I did mine, the interior handle part stays attatched to the door. I wouldn't say they are prone, but i've seen a fair few with wipers not working. There a a few being broken on ebay, but if none there, salvo or 247 parts should be able to find a replacement.

[ivor940]

Hi, Check FAQ 700/900 on how to remove the tailgate panel ( I posted procedure recently for other 700 or 900 owner) or you will break the clips. Do check the power at the loom connectors with the rear wiper selected ( Ign on) as your snag could be the loom at the hinge getting work hardned with many open / closes of tailgate ( like 240, but loom does not run in hinge). If there is power at the connectors, check eathe lead then chk motor. It is held with 3 fasteners, one of which is awkward to undo as the arm covers it with the motor in park.

ivor940

[RollingThunder]

Glad you asked before trying - if you get it wrong it'll cost you about £20 in clips! The following is for a 1993 945 - should be virtually the same procedure for all 740/760/940/960 models.

The trim around the internal handle is the place to start. GENTLY insert a flat screwdriver under the outer edge of the trim and ease the trim towards the centre of the handle and out. Don't try to pop it out in one go - go around the trim. Once you have half the trim loose, it'll pop out almost of its own accord. This is the most difficult part, so take it easy!

Once this piece is free, you'll see two torx headed screws - 30mm IIRC. Undo these and remove the sturdy plastic cross piece.

Open tailgate so thats its horizontal - under the bottom of the interior panel are 4x slotted round plastic clips. Turn them 90 degrees and gently prise out - the slots need to point up/down to escape the retaining slots in the tailgate. Support the interior trim panel, as its now being held in place by 4 fragile clips at the base of the window - they WILL snap if you let them take the weight.

Gently push the whiole interior trim panel up and in towards the interior of the car. The trim will come free - you'll need to keep taking the weight of the panel, as it will then be supported by the brake light wires alone. Once you have the panel loose, separate the wiring connector for the brake light and the panel is free

Reassembly:

Re-assembly is the reverse as they say! But, first you'll need to remove the 4x clips from the back of the panel. Each clip has one corner cut away - rotate the clip 90 degrees - it'll only go one way as the cut corner allows the movement. Replace the clips in the slots on the back of the tailgate. They can only slide in one way.

You'll probably find that the foam seal around the centre brake light is hanging free. Take a small piece of the black tar like adhesive that holds the wiring to the inside of the tailgate and puts tiny blobs inside the channel where the seal sits on the brake light. It'll sit in its correct position quite happily after that.

Reconnect the brake light wiring and then position yourself so that you can see down from the rear window behind the trim panel - offer the panel into place ensuring that the 4x connectors line up with the holes in the back of the panel. Gently push the panel into place so that the clips pop into the holes. Do one at a time. Then, still taking the weight of the panel with one hand, put each of the 4 slotted connectors back in place and turn them 90 degrees. Once you have 2 in place, you can let them take the weight.

Finally, replace the handle cross piece, and snap the handle surround back into place.

And thats it - easy, as I said. Once you've done it, you'll have the panel off and disconnected in literally 2 minutes. Just don't get carried away, be careful with the handle surround trim, keep supporting the panel throughout, and be gentle with the clips! If the weather clears up this weekend, I'll take mine off and photograph the procedure and stick it on my website - but I'm sure you'll be fine without it.

Have fun

[PEGE63]

Remember that one possible cause for the motor to burn out is that the wiper arm spindle has ceased up (or at least is very very stiff). I had to replace the motor on my last 940 for this reason. Its easy to get out once the internal panel is out. Remove the wiper arm and the link to the motor, then gently tap it out of the aluminium housing, the spindle is stainless so can take it. Once out clean spindle and the hole itself, I bet is full of 'chewing gum'. Re-assemble and make sure you use a suitable lubricant. I finally applied some serious grease under the rubber grommet to keep the water from entering again from the outside.
Ohh, by the way watch the tailgate lever aswell, its made from aluminium and ceased so badly that it snapped off one cold morning, suggest you take the whole lot out, clean it and re-grease while you are at it. Its easy to do but you need sockets with extensions on it to get to the nuts.

Thanks guys.
The rain held off till mid-afternoon, so I gave it a go after lunch.
The panel does come off easy - but I'm glad I had RT's advice, the trim around the handle is delicate.
The linkage was seized/stiff - I dont know whether this was the cause or a result of it not being used (I've only had the car a couple of weeks, so I do not know how long the wiper has not been working).
Some "plus-gas" (magic stuff) seems to have started sorting the stiffnes out - will try some more tomorrow. The links move now, but still do not feel completely easy.
There are 12 volts at the motor connectors - so wiring & fuses are ok.

I plan to test the motor off the car.
Anyone know what the three wires are - black, yellow/white and orange ?
The black is earth - it is connected to the case. But why are there two other wires - anyone know ?

Thanks again for the advice - it helped.

[Peter Milnes]

One wire is permanent 12V working through the internal limit switch so that the blade parks in correct place, the other is 12V from wiper switch to initiate movement.

All the best, Peter.

Thanks Peter - does anyone know which is which ? One wire is yellow, one is orange.

Here's an interesting thing.
The motor itself is a BOSCH part - "ADP 12V 0390210402"
And if you do a google search on this Bosch part number, it comes up with a whole variety of cars - from Fiat to Mecedes - on a German parts website that I cannot read !
Now my local scrappy is fresh out of Volvo estates.
Does anyone know whether the part is the same on any other cars ?
Thanks.

[ivor940]

Hi, If you run text from German Website through "Babelfish" on "Altavista", you can get a translation.

ivor940

I've looked into tailgate wiper motors from other vehicles - they all look very different - so I've given up on that route.

Anyone know if the 850 motor is the same ?
It looks the same, just supplied screwed to a bracket that carries the linkage as well.
How about the 400 series Volvo ? Would this fit ?

I seem to remember a post saying the 850 or 400 series motors will fit, but the wiring to the connectors need to be fixed. Anyone know any more on this ?

Regards & Thanks.