VX SS Problem with Front Wipers

[troublezsome]

Hey guys i have a 2001 vx ss series 2 and i am having problems with the front wipers.

They seem to have a mind of their own when turn them on they go but when i go to turn them off
they dont stop at the bottom of the stroke they seem to stop when they feel like it normally half way
up the windscreen like 5 seconds later so i have to keep turning them on and off until they stop at the bottom of the windscreen.

I changed the front wiper relay under the bonnet which did not solve the problem hell i can take the relay out
all together and they still do the same thing.

Any suggestions i have not checked the wiper motor yet but if they still work i cant see how that would be the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

[blacknight]

If you look at the bottom of the wiper arm that is attached to the wiper blades you can see a 13mm (?) nut that is securing this arm to a splined shaft. Almost always something had caused the wiper arms to jam up and the splined shaft is either worn out or it had gouged out the matching grooves on the wiper arms. Check the wiper arms and see if they are indeed damaged. If they are not, the connecting 'ratchet arm' connecting both wiper arms from the wiper motor may be damaged and needs a simple replacement.

As long as you can hear the wiper motor 'whirring' there is not a problem with the relay switch.

Its quite a simple fix to this problem but if the problem extends to the connecting arm and the wiper motor, you might have to do some acrobatics to get at replacing everything.

I had the exact same problem and it was mighty frustrating especially when it rains. I hope this helps

[troublezsome]

yeah i did notice i took off the wiper arms and the plastic covers just to have a look at the wiper motor itself which looks alright i suppose but i did notice that on the drivers side either the wiper arm spline is worn or the spline on which the wiper arm sits is worn so its really just that 13mm nut forcing the arm to the spline rather than slotting into the spline like the arm on the passenger side. But still how does that affect the wipers?

[blacknight]

Its a friction fit against the splined shaft. Its already tightened from the factory to move within the full arc (Travel) of the shaft. A little worn out arms will not make your wiper blades return to the bottom of the screen. See if tightening the 13mm bolt does anything or remove the bolts, reposition the arms and see if the return to the base of the windscreen. Remember not to adjust the arms till they hit the edge of the windscreen. A little trial and error works but preferably do this on a wet windscreen so any grit on the blades do not scratch the screen.
If this doesnt work, replacing the wiper arm mechanism will do.

[troublezsome]

ok well i took the wiper arms off completely and just watched the splines move without the arms attached. i noticed that the splines themselves dont return to the same spot they start from, they just stop and go randomly and i can hear the relay clicking but at the wrong times hence why they are not returning to the bottom? i also forgot to mention that i only seem to have one constant speed setting which is speed 2 on the stalk and speed 1 functions like an intermittent setting and speed 2 runs at what speed 1 would normally run at. any suggestions?

[helicraze]

There is a plastic thing on the wiper assembly/motor so it knows where its home position is, most likely its up the poop so get it from a wreckers or holden. I replaced mine (due to noise) whole thing with motor was about $100 or so from wrecker.