My windshield wipers won't go on. The fuse is OK. Any suggestions for troubleshooting? Thanks.

Elliott DeGraff

 

On my 87 I had the same problem a couple of times. Finally figured out that wiper motor was losing it's ground and ran a separate wire from one of the mounting bolts to the firewall and no more troubles.[sm=americanasmiley.gif]

 

Bushing that holds the linkage to the motor rotted out on mine and caused the linkage to fall off. If you haven't already, might check to see if the motor still works (listen for it). If not might check the linkage. And BTW if that IS the problem, there isn't a replacement bushing that I know of. Home Depot helped out on that one...

 

Most of the time on a Dodge, it's the vinyl bushing that attaches the main wiper arm from the motor to the wipers. I paid $2.88 for a package of 2 of them at an auto supply store. Look for the HELP! rack of prepackaged parts. The packages are red. Most auto parts stores carry these. Installing it can be very tricky and I tried to tackle it today but gave up till later.
First of all, you have to remove the wipers. Flip up the bolt cover and remove the bolt on each one. You'll have to use pliers to pull the wiper off the shaft. If the wipers have washer fluid spray hoses, just set the wipers aside.

Then remove the grill below the wipers. It has several Phillips screws. Then peel up the black rubber leaf cover below it. You'll see the wiper arms.

Turn on your wipers and if the motor is ok, look at it and it will be spinning round and round. Remove what's left of the old bushing from the large hole in the wiper arm. There's a slot and the tab on the bushing goes in this tab. Now the tough part. You have to press the bushing into the hole on the wiper arm. I've yet to get that done but would welcome any tips.
At least you don't have to remove the dash! That's all I have good to say about it.

 

As I said in my other post, bushings are easily available at auto parts stores or if you want to pay big bucks, go to a Chrysler dealership and pay 10 times the amount. Wiper arm bushing failure is a very common problem with Dodges.

 

Hmmm well I'll give that a try; I couldn't find any when mine went out nearly 6 years ago. It could use an original fit because the one i rigged in there allows for a lot of slack and the wipers don't seat correctly nor do they make a full wipe. It does enough to see, that's all I really cared about at the time.

Thanks for the help!

 

A guy I know who owns a wrecking yard used to work in an auto part store here and he told me he couldn't count how many packages of those wiper bushings he sold over the years. I live in a small town, so these should be available at any auto parts store anywhere. Dirt cheap. I still haven't went back and tried to install the bushing again. I asked my dad how he did it and told him how difficult it was to insert the bushing in the hole properly and he said he couldn't remember how he did it but that I should try putting Vaseline or something greasy on it and maybe it will slip into place. I have to try soon since inspection time is looming.
I'm attaching a pic of the pkg of bushings. They are made by dormanproducts.com. Part #49440.
Link to part:
http://www.dormanproducts.com/cgi-bi...tegory_list=:0

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Don't use the HELP! ones, they break very easily. The problem comes since they are hard plastic and they cannot flex. The ones at the dealership, although they are $5/piece, have the ability to flex slightly, so they will not snap. I went through 5 sets of the HELP! ones before getting the Mopar ones. The HELP! ones lasted on average for about a week, while the Mopar ones have been on there for four months now.

 

The bushings are a little tight when they snap in. The best thing to to remove all the linkage and press them in using a bench vice and a socket, kinda like replacing u-joints. Use a bit of silicone spray or grease to install them easier. They also need a small dab of white grease in the hole. Replace all 4 bushings while you have it out.

49440 in the Help section
BK 6651537 at NAPA
Mopar# 3799089


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I just finished replacing the windshield wiper bushings. First, I removed the linkage from the truck, as has been described in an earlier post. It is a must to get the linkage out where you can work on it and it is not that difficult to remove. I knocked the old ones out with a small bolt. I placed the new bushing in the hole, then, with the tip of the arm resting on the edge of the concrete, I hit the bushing with a hammer and it poped in. Then, I placed the back of the bushing on the concrete, placed the pin in the hole, and hit the back side of the pin. They poped in easily. I was using the Dodge bushings. I was not aware of aftermarket bushings, but maybe that was best.
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