The rear wipers on both my 98 and 99 don't work. I've checked every fuse I can find and not seen a blown one.

Is this a common problem with an easy fix, or am I looking at new wiper motors?

Dealer wants $222 each for wiper motors, and the salvage yards won't sell me one since the rear hatch seems to be a popular item and they want to keep them intact.

I'm going to dig out my multimeter and do some diagnosing as soon as I get some cooperative weather on a weekend, but in the meantime was just wondering if there was anything really simple I should check out.

 

Don't fork out that for a new motor right away. A not-uncommon problem with this age is the switch in the dash going out. Pull the dash fascia and undo the bottom part with the switch and first make sure theres power getting to the switch and make sure it's switching alright.

If the switch is alright open up the back panel and check out the motor and see if it's doing anything. Chances are something could be stripped and it is the motor but it's good to diagnose it before going all in.

Like you said bust out the multi-meter and do some voltage readings.

I'm also going to shed some light on the situation, you can get a remaifactured wiper motor for $77 on RockAuto so if I were you, I'd take up on that before forking over a dealer $200. Just my .02

 

Another thing to check is where the wire harness goes from the lid to the body. A wire might have gotten pinched and is shorting it out. If it is your motor that is bad try contacting LKQ corp. I know you have one in your state because i work for one in wisconsin and we transfer parts everyday to Iowa. They run $25 with a 30 day warranty. They might say they don't have one, but ask if they have a junk lid. I know here in wisconsin, every 98,99,and 2000 lid is rotted on the bottom lip and we part out the motor glass ect.

 

I replaced the motor on mine a few years back.. I found out that the problem was just excessive corrosion on the nut securing the wiper to the motor.. I ended up frying the old motor just after finding out that the problem wasn't all that serious.. The rear motor has a strange thing where you cant shut down in mid wipe or something like that.. you'll have to look it up.. it might be that you cant disconnect power in mid wipe.. either way, my new motor is in and its worked since..

 

+1 SumAmerican. "the problem was just excessive corrosion on the nut securing the wiper to the motor" should be an exact hit on the problem. The setup isn't water tight and usually one will find a level of corrosion back there especially in the 98 and 99s.

IndyDurango

 

Awesome! Thanks guys!

That's why I love this place. Instead of forking over $450 for parts, I now have a couple of easy things to check, and a few places to track down the parts for much less if I do end up needing them.