Wiper Stalling Mid-Windshield

[inkuisitive]

When I do a wiper wash, the wipers are stopping mid-wipe after the last wipe that comes after a pause. I have to switch to slow mode and they will stall at different points before finally stopping where they should be.

They also do so when wiping in showers in the slow settings.

Wondering if it's a coincidence that this began after wipers were removed then returned for a bonnet paint job, or I should assume motor is on the way out and simply buy another before heading to the garage.

 

[martinq]

Make, model, year?

 

[inkuisitive]

Make, model, year?

It's a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander with about 201,000 kms

 

[Rand]

check and see if they put the wiper arms back on properly.
otherwise likely needs a wiper motor.

 

[meep]

Inspect physical nuts and bolts like @Rand says.

BEFORE BUYING NEW, open up the old motor. IDK if they’ve changed, but the motors I’ve known have a cam that presses against a set of contacts. So basically the “intermittent” feature is just a pulse that first starts the motor going. As soon as the motor is going, the pulse is done but internal contacts closed by that cam will keep the motor energized until it makes it all the way back home. If those contacts have gotten tired or dirty, the motor will stall until it gets another pulse. This could be fixed with a screwdriver and a pair of skinny pliers.

 

[wings&wheels]

Some cars have an external delay relay. Check that first.

 

[MHartfield]

I had the exact same thing happen afterI replaced my windshield. As Rand said, turns out the wipers were not re-installed properly.

I had my mechanic fix it, and she told me that the ignition needs to be on (?) before the arms are re-installed.

 

[Huskyguy68]

I used to be an AUTO GLASS technician for about 30 years.
I just want to mention something we used in the shop to really clean the outside of the windshield: Cerium Oxide powder.
Pink fine powder. You can buy it off Amazon or try asking your local auto glass shop if they sell to the public.
You just need a pinch of it, toss onto a wet windshield. Use a gloved hand (nitrile -latex / mechanic's gloves) , make a paste and do circular motions all over the surface of the glass.

When done, use a garden hose and wash off the windshield/wash off your car's paint. KEEP YOUR DOG/CAT inside so it does not go lap up the waste water on the ground and also hose off your driveway/shop floor.

Anyways, i'm sure there are YouTube vids explaining how to use Cerium Oxide on your windshield. This Cerium Oxide really cleans all the crud off the glass, the road film, oils and waxes. Stuff that can make windshield wipers chatter . Once clean, the wipers will glide effortlessly across the glass.


Also, if you have fine wiper burn marks (nothing too deep) or fine scratches, you can use a good power drill with a buffer attachment , make the Cerium oxide paste and try buffing the scratches out. That can be more involved, but worth it.


* regarding the wiper issue inkuisitive is having, I agree with others here, could be incorrectly installed windshield wipers/ could be a worn down wiper motor and time to replace it. Also, if you are handy, maybe the wiper motor might benefit from being sprayed with electronic contact cleaner. Might even have to remove it, open it up and spray inside it. Not saying for sure this will work, could be dirty/corroded parts inside and maybe it just needs a good cleaning. A can of electronic spray cleaner is cheap versus buying a new wiper motor plus the labor .

 

[dogememe]

I believe there is an indexing or calibration procedure when you remove the wiper arms.

 

[Arc]

Inspect physical nuts and bolts like @Rand says.

BEFORE BUYING NEW, open up the old motor. IDK if they’ve changed, but the motors I’ve known have a cam that presses against a set of contacts. So basically the “intermittent” feature is just a pulse that first starts the motor going. As soon as the motor is going, the pulse is done but internal contacts closed by that cam will keep the motor energized until it makes it all the way back home. If those contacts have gotten tired or dirty, the motor will stall until it gets another pulse. This could be fixed with a screwdriver and a pair of skinny pliers.

9 times out of 10 that's the issue.

 

[97prizm]

I used to be an AUTO GLASS technician for about 30 years.
I just want to mention something we used in the shop to really clean the outside of the windshield: Cerium Oxide powder.
Pink fine powder. You can buy it off Amazon or try asking your local auto glass shop if they sell to the public.
You just need a pinch of it, toss onto a wet windshield. Use a gloved hand (nitrile -latex / mechanic's gloves) , make a paste and do circular motions all over the surface of the glass.

When done, use a garden hose and wash off the windshield/wash off your car's paint. KEEP YOUR DOG/CAT inside so it does not go lap up the waste water on the ground and also hose off your driveway/shop floor.

Anyways, i'm sure there are YouTube vids explaining how to use Cerium Oxide on your windshield. This Cerium Oxide really cleans all the crud off the glass, the road film, oils and waxes. Stuff that can make windshield wipers chatter . Once clean, the wipers will glide effortlessly across the glass.


Also, if you have fine wiper burn marks (nothing too deep) or fine scratches, you can use a good power drill with a buffer attachment , make the Cerium oxide paste and try buffing the scratches out. That can be more involved, but worth it.


* regarding the wiper issue inkuisitive is having, I agree with others here, could be incorrectly installed windshield wipers/ could be a worn down wiper motor and time to replace it. Also, if you are handy, maybe the wiper motor might benefit from being sprayed with electronic contact cleaner. Might even have to remove it, open it up and spray inside it. Not saying for sure this will work, could be dirty/corroded parts inside and maybe it just needs a good cleaning. A can of electronic spray cleaner is cheap versus buying a new wiper motor plus the labor . View attachment 332890

Is this similar to glass science glass scrub?

 

[Huskyguy68]

Is this similar to glass science glass scrub?

I have never heard of it, so I needed to Google it. Says it was rebranded and Glass Renew.
But I do not know what it's made from. From the description, it sounds similar and for the same usage.

But I only know the Cerium oxide, which is just the generic name for the powder and that is the only thing we used in the auto glass shops I worked in. Also the glaziers used it on the flat panel of glass (tempered/laminated glass) , so it's a common thing in glass shops.
-

- note that if you just want to clean the windshield, you can just use a gloved hand , rub the Cerium oxide paste in a circular motion all over for a minute or so, apply some light downward pressure.
For tougher, deeper scuffs, scratches , use the buffer tool as in the video. But if you have really deep scuff/scratch marks, you can only buff and clear up so much, might get some visual distortion if you use the power tool and keep power buffing it over and over.

 

[Wylie6G72]

The junky little VW I rented in Florida last week had stop-start and the windshield wipers would stick in the middle of the windshield if the timing was just right when I accelerated away from a stoplight. Could that be it?

 

[Marcozi]

Inspect physical nuts and bolts like @Rand says.

BEFORE BUYING NEW, open up the old motor. IDK if they’ve changed, but the motors I’ve known have a cam that presses against a set of contacts. So basically the “intermittent” feature is just a pulse that first starts the motor going. As soon as the motor is going, the pulse is done but internal contacts closed by that cam will keep the motor energized until it makes it all the way back home. If those contacts have gotten tired or dirty, the motor will stall until it gets another pulse. This could be fixed with a screwdriver and a pair of skinny pliers.

My E30 BMW had this problem. In that case, the disc had 2 concentric conductive rings on a plastic disc. One had a gap in the conductive material. That corresponded to the "parked" position. Both intermittent and single wipe didn't work properly. Turned out the disc had grease smeared on it. Cleaned the disc and all was well.

 

[inkuisitive]

I used to be an AUTO GLASS technician for about 30 years.
I just want to mention something we used in the shop to really clean the outside of the windshield: Cerium Oxide powder.
Pink fine powder. You can buy it off Amazon or try asking your local auto glass shop if they sell to the public.
You just need a pinch of it, toss onto a wet windshield. Use a gloved hand (nitrile -latex / mechanic's gloves) , make a paste and do circular motions all over the surface of the glass.

When done, use a garden hose and wash off the windshield/wash off your car's paint. KEEP YOUR DOG/CAT inside so it does not go lap up the waste water on the ground and also hose off your driveway/shop floor.

Anyways, i'm sure there are YouTube vids explaining how to use Cerium Oxide on your windshield. This Cerium Oxide really cleans all the crud off the glass, the road film, oils and waxes. Stuff that can make windshield wipers chatter . Once clean, the wipers will glide effortlessly across the glass.


Also, if you have fine wiper burn marks (nothing too deep) or fine scratches, you can use a good power drill with a buffer attachment , make the Cerium oxide paste and try buffing the scratches out. That can be more involved, but worth it.


* regarding the wiper issue inkuisitive is having, I agree with others here, could be incorrectly installed windshield wipers/ could be a worn down wiper motor and time to replace it. Also, if you are handy, maybe the wiper motor might benefit from being sprayed with electronic contact cleaner. Might even have to remove it, open it up and spray inside it. Not saying for sure this will work, could be dirty/corroded parts inside and maybe it just needs a good cleaning. A can of electronic spray cleaner is cheap versus buying a new wiper motor plus the labor . View attachment 332890

Is generic Cerium Oxide from random Chinese manufacturers okay or do I have to stick to something like 3M. I have grooves esp from sand and previously when the wipers were quite old about 2 years ago.

Is there a risk of the buffer attachment breaking the glass or can any buffing garage do it as long as we have the Cerium Oxide?

I am waiting for a starter motor to arrive so I can make a single garage run. Want to check @meep suggestion as I noticed the wipers work continuously as it rains but main issue is they stop at random positions, and if they stop just near the bottom and I switch them off, they will go to the right position by their own after about a minute.

 

[Huskyguy68]

Is generic Cerium Oxide from random Chinese manufacturers okay or do I have to stick to something like 3M. I have grooves esp from sand and previously when the wipers were quite old about 2 years ago.

Is there a risk of the buffer attachment breaking the glass or can any buffing garage do it as long as we have the Cerium Oxide?

I am waiting for a starter motor to arrive so I can make a single garage run. Want to check @meep suggestion as I noticed the wipers work continuously as it rains but main issue is they stop at random positions, and if they stop just near the bottom and I switch them off, they will go to the right position by their own after about a minute.

I think any cerium oxide should be okay as long as marked real cerium oxide.
Only real risks of breaking the windshield is if you already have a stone chip crack or line crack in the glass and you are buffing close to it, adding too much downward pressure. So just use common sense and start off with lite pressure, increase as needed.
When i say Buffer, we used a Drill buffer attachment. And we had shop air lines, so we had good buffer rpm.
But even at home, with a decent electrical wax type buffer, you can try that and should get good results.
Make sure to keep the buffer pad or winshield Wet.
Use a spray bottle with water or water and a few drops of dish soap or baby shampoo. Sprinkle more cerium oxide if needed.
Wear gloves, safety glasses, a face mask not a bad idea so nothing splashes up to your mouth.
Wash your vehicle after so no cerium oxide water stains on the paint, keep pets and children inside the home, away from what you are doing. And hose off your driveway, garage floor when done.
You can also use your gloved hand instead of a buffer, doing circular motions.
We used a Air drill buffer because we needed to clear up lite scratches, scuff marks, etc.
But to just Clean a windshield of road oils etc, we used a gloved hand and that took maybe 2-5 minutes in total , including hosing off the vehicle.

 

[inkuisitive]

I think any cerium oxide should be okay as long as marked real cerium oxide.
Only real risks of breaking the windshield is if you already have a stone chip crack or line crack in the glass and you are buffing close to it, adding too much downward pressure. So just use common sense and start off with lite pressure, increase as needed.
When i say Buffer, we used a Drill buffer attachment. And we had shop air lines, so we had good buffer rpm.
But even at home, with a decent electrical wax type buffer, you can try that and should get good results.
Make sure to keep the buffer pad or winshield Wet.
Use a spray bottle with water or water and a few drops of dish soap or baby shampoo. Sprinkle more cerium oxide if needed.
Wear gloves, safety glasses, a face mask not a bad idea so nothing splashes up to your mouth.
Wash your vehicle after so no cerium oxide water stains on the paint, keep pets and children inside the home, away from what you are doing. And hose off your driveway, garage floor when done.
You can also use your gloved hand instead of a buffer, doing circular motions.
We used a Air drill buffer because we needed to clear up lite scratches, scuff marks, etc.
But to just Clean a windshield of road oils etc, we used a gloved hand and that took maybe 2-5 minutes in total , including hosing off the vehicle.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I do have a couple of chips so will be sure to watch out around those.

 

[Huskyguy68]

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I do have a couple of chips so will be sure to watch out around those.

More Info:
Cerium oxide is generally considered inert, non-toxic, and safe around pets when used properly for tasks like polishing glass or cooktops. It is not considered an ingestion hazard.
However, there are important safety considerations to ensure it does not harm pets:

• Inhalation Hazard: While the powder is not poisonous, inhaling any fine dust is harmful. You should avoid letting pets breathe in the dust while mixing the powder or during the polishing process.
• Irritation Risk: It can act as a skin, eye, or respiratory irritant, similar to many mineral dusts.
• Aquarium Safety: If using it to polish a fish tank, the compound must be thoroughly washed and rinsed out. While it is mostly insoluble in water, the abrasive particles can harm delicate gill structures in fish.
• Best Practices: Keep the powder out of reach of pets, use a dust mask, and keep the area ventilated during use.

In summary, it is not highly toxic, but it should be handled with standard care to prevent inhalation and eye/skin irritation.

--- I will add: IF you do this at home in your driveway/garage and you go to hose off the shop floor/driveway....keep spraying the hose water to dilute It and so it is very very weak stuff if it pools up and a dog or cat or toddler sees '' pink puddle water'' and decides they just have to go frolic in it. Of course, keep whatever baggy or sealed container of Cerium oxide locked up and or far away from little fingers, mark it Cerium oxide and even tho it says not toxic blah blah, educate yourself on just how safe/not safe it may be.