Hardtop Rear Wiper Issues

ebenk17

ebenk17

Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2020
Messages
48
Location
Miami, Florida
Hi all,

I recently rewired my Jeep to support a hardtop using @Jamison C 's instructions.
I found that my rear wiper motor does not work... I took a voltmeter to it and saw that it was receiving 12 V whether I pushed the wiper switch or not.

I bought an aftermarket motor to replace it (front wiper motor, figured I could.make it work the same), I reconnected the wire and it runs even when the switch is off, as you'd assume based on the constant 12 V.

Does this mean my switch is to blame?
IMG_20200408_164322.jpg


Top is original harness wiring, bottom is aftermarket wiper motor.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
 
My rear wiper quit working and I’ve determined the motor is bad. This makes me curious to open it up and see if I have the same problem. Are you gluing the magnets back in place?

As for the wiring, did you put the voltmeter on both of the wires that aren’t ground? Are they both 12v To the ground with the switch off? Mine has a ground, 12v ignition hot, and 12v from the wiper switch.
 
Quick update... I was stupid to try and use a front wiper motor - won't work.

Anyway, I pulled the motor apart and found that there are two magnets on the inside of where the shaft turns. Seems like those are supposed to stay fixed to the sides of the housing in order to allow rotation. Mine were stuck the the shaft/transformer thing.

I know this isn't the most interesting thread, but I'll continue to update in case it's helpful to someone in the future.

IMG_20200408_201625.jpg


Magnets in housing:
IMG_20200408_202117.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
joelachr said:
My rear wiper quit working and I’ve determined the motor is bad. This makes me curious to open it up and see if I have the same problem. Are you gluing the magnets back in place?

As for the wiring, did you put the voltmeter on both of the wires that aren’t ground? Are they both 12v To the ground with the switch off? Mine has a ground, 12v ignition hot, and 12v from the wiper switch.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I decided to just crazy glue the magnets back to the housing. I used WD40 and a brush to try to clean up the rust as best as possible.

Maybe I was reading the voltage wrong... I was definitely getting 12 V on whatever I was testing, but I'll have to double check I was testing the right wires. Do you know for sure which colors correspond to what?
 
ebenk17 said:
Yeah, I decided to just crazy glue the magnets back to the housing. I used WD40 and a brush to try to clean up the rust as best as possible.

Maybe I was reading the voltage wrong... I was definitely getting 12 V on whatever I was testing, but I'll have to double check I was testing the right wires. Do you know for sure which colors correspond to what?
Click to expand...

Is your harness from a different year? The 2001 wiring diagram shows black, black/light green, and brown/pink wires to the rear wiper. Black would be ground, brown/pink is ignition hot, and black/light green is from the switch.
 
My harness is from 2002 and my top is a 98. I think those colors match mine though. I may have not been testing the right sides. Thanks for the info!

I found this YouTube video where someone explains just that:

 
I tried testing my wiring at the hardtop connector and I wasn't certain I was reading it right. I ended up taking the cover off the wiper and testing the connector there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ebenk17
joelachr said:
I tried testing my wiring at the hardtop connector and I wasn't certain I was reading it right. I ended up taking the cover off the wiper and testing the connector there.
Click to expand...
Yeah, thanks so much for specifying because you are totally right. My hardtop was actually receiving the proper voltages. Unfortunately, my rear wiper motor still doesn't work even after taking it apart, cleaning it, and gluing the magnets to the housing.

I am considering buying a rear wiper motor from 03-06 year and seeing if I can get it to mount to the 98 rear glass with a custom bracket or something.

Not sure why it seems IMPOSSIBLE to find any 98-02 TJ rear wiper motors for sale ANYWHERE. Does anyone know why?
 
These wiring harnesses use both a negative and a positive grounding system throughout the Jeep. If (and I do not know) the wiper is using a pos ground then you should be showing 12 v all the time.
 
Does anyone know if the front wiper motor housing (the cover with the magnets) is the same part as the rear wiper motor cover...to me it seems they should be because why would Chrystler want to need different parts? However, I don't think this is a listed part WRT a separate part number.

My magnets came unglued too...I see there are plenty of front wiper motors available. I'm thinking (hoping) maybe I can buy a front and just use the cover with the magnets on my rear motor

What have you guys used to glue the magnets back to the cover? I tried a couple of glues and tapes with no success...they eventually come off again.
 
moops said:
Does anyone know if the front wiper motor housing (the cover with the magnets) is the same part as the rear wiper motor cover...to me it seems they should be because why would Chrystler want to need different parts? However, I don't think this is a listed part WRT a separate part number.

My magnets came unglued too...I see there are plenty of front wiper motors available. I'm thinking (hoping) maybe I can buy a front and just use the cover with the magnets on my rear motor

What have you guys used to glue the magnets back to the cover? I tried a couple of glues and tapes with no success...they eventually come off again.
Click to expand...
BTW, I haven't tried JB weld yet...any thoughts?
I'm getting tired of removing old glue from the casing and magnets.
 
Top Bottom
Back