Rear Wiper Not Working

[JasonC]

Hello Everyone,

The rear wiper on my '03 Rubicon does not work. The fuse is fine, and I disassembled the switch and it seems to be okay. I just bought a new switch today and that didn't fix the problem. I used a multimeter to test for voltage at various different points throughout the system including at the point where the wires mount to the motor and the harness connection at the hard top to find that there is no voltage going to those spots. The light on the switch itself lights up so I know that there is power going to the switch in some capacity, but it is not making it to the motor. The sprayer for the wiper fluid also doesn't work. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[macleanflood]

Have you found the factory service manuals and wiring diagrams in the resources section?

Have you applied power to the wiper motor and pump to verify they both function?

Check grounds?

-Mac

 

[GaTechTJ]

Hello Everyone,

The rear wiper on my '03 Rubicon does not work. The fuse is fine, and I disassembled the switch and it seems to be okay. I just bought a new switch today and that didn't fix the problem. I used a multimeter to test for voltage at various different points throughout the system including at the point where the wires mount to the motor and the harness connection at the hard top to find that there is no voltage going to those spots. The light on the switch itself lights up so I know that there is power going to the switch in some capacity, but it is not making it to the motor. The sprayer for the wiper fluid also doesn't work. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

With both not working, the first thing I would check is to make sure the connections to the hard top are plugged in. They are located on the driver's side at the rear of the jeep. (Just above the tub.) There is a plug for the electrical & a hose connection for the spray.

 

[JasonC]

Have you found the factory service manuals and wiring diagrams in the resources section?

Have you applied power to the wiper motor and pump to verify they both function?

Check grounds?

-Mac

After checking out the factory service manual, I tried step 2 on page 8R-27 which says "(2) Turn the ignition switch to the On position. Check for battery voltage at rear wiper and washer fuse (Fuse 6 - 20 ampere) in the fuse block. If OK, go to Step 3. If not OK, repair the open fused ignition switch output (run) circuit between the fuse block and the ignition switch as required."

When setting the ignition to ON, there was no voltage across the fuse, so I assume that I need to try what step 2 says, but I am unsure how to go about doing that. Do you know what the open fused switch output circuit is?

 

[JasonC]

With both not working, the first thing I would check is to make sure the connections to the hard top are plugged in. They are located on the driver's side at the rear of the jeep. (Just above the tub.) There is a plug for the electrical & a hose connection for the spray.

I made sure they are plugged in but that didn't change anything. Using a voltmeter on the plug that goes into the hard top, I was getting no voltage through the wires for controlling the wiper, but I did get voltage for the wire powering the defroster in the back.

 

[LONGJP2]

When setting the ignition to ON, there was no voltage across the resistor, so I assume that I need to try what step 2 says, but I am unsure how to go about doing that. Do you know what the open fused switch output circuit is?

You won't have power across the fuse.
Check each side of the fuse back to a ground.

 

[JasonC]

You won't have power across the fuse.
Check each side of the fuse back to a ground.

You're right. I checked again and there is voltage at both sides of the fuse, so that isn't the issue.

 

[LONGJP2]

Did you confirm you have 2 pumps attached to your washer bottle and they're both plugged in.
You should be able to hear it run.

 

[JasonC]

Did you confirm you have 2 pumps attached to your washer bottle and they're both plugged in.
You should be able to hear it run.

I didn't notice a sound coming from the pumps, though there is no issue with washer fluid going to the front windshield. Though I only checked with ignition set to on, without the engine being on.

 

[joelachr]

If the rear wiper and rear washer are both not operating, I’d suspect a poor connection at the plug or in the hardtop wiring. There should be a safety loop back that goes thru the hardtop connector. The voltage to the washer pump goes thru there to prevent you from activating it when the top is off & disconnected. I forget which pins it is, but you could jumper that and see if it gets your rear washer working. Then I’d also second the recommendation of trying voltage directly to the wiper at the hardtop connector to be sure the motor is working.

My issue ended up not being electrical. Enough corrosion had developed on the motor shaft that it wouldn’t operate. I freed it by turning the switch on and tapping (very) lightly on the shaft a couple times with a hammer while the wiper arm was off. Only took a few taps and it started running.

 

[Lukasz]

If the rear wiper and rear washer are both not operating, I’d suspect a poor connection at the plug or in the hardtop wiring. There should be a safety loop back that goes thru the hardtop connector. The voltage to the washer pump goes thru there to prevent you from activating it when the top is off & disconnected. I forget which pins it is, but you could jumper that and see if it gets your rear washer working. Then I’d also second the recommendation of trying voltage directly to the wiper at the hardtop connector to be sure the motor is working.

My issue ended up not being electrical. Enough corrosion had developed on the motor shaft that it wouldn’t operate. I freed it by turning the switch on and tapping (very) lightly on the shaft a couple times with a hammer while the wiper arm was off. Only took a few taps and it started running.

Hi
I have the same problem.
Voltage going to the rear window heater but not to the wiper and no water.
I have only one pump but with two pipes coming out, one says front and the second says rear.
Have you resolved issue with your Jeep

 

[Stretch97]

May have a similar issue, but I wired in both rear defrost and wiper myself. I noticed my rear defrost switch was stuck on (orange light) and my rear wiper would no longer work, but the pump does. I shared two wires between each switch, the lamps feed wire and a ground. I thought the ground might have been bad so I snipped it, no change. Snipped the lamps feed wire and sure enough it stopped. The wiper switch was back feeding through the wire to the defrost switch which then back fed to ground through the defrost circuit.

I jumped the always hot wire pin to the wiper pin on the pigtail and the wiper didn’t move, so I don’t think the switch is bad. I did this again but to the wiper pump and it worked. So either I have a bad connection in the wire OR the wiper motor is bad itself.

Anyone know if the rear wiper failing could cause back feeding?