Wiper fuse short somewhere....

[kewlcoconut]

Alright, so I'm driving home from work today, nice and rainy in Vancouver, and my wipers just stop working. I figured the culprit was the fuse since the washers wouldnt work either. I replaced it, and as soon as I start the car again, fuse blows again. Checked out the wiper motor, looked for loose connections or wires, and couldnt see anything.



Soooo, I have a short somewhere. Im no electrical genius, in fact, I know squat about the electrical system. Ideas where this short could be? and how to fix it? This is the only fuse that keeps blowing, every other fuse is fine.



Re-cap

-wipers suddenly stopped working out of nowhere

-replaced blown fuse, started car, blew again

-checked connections (as much as i know, which is nothing haha)

-only fuse that keeps blowing for some reason

 

[CRE]

Still raining? You might start checking for dried out and cracking insulation on the wires. Then check any harness clips for moisture in them (if this is the problem you may be able to use some dielectric grease to keep the water out and the contacts dry).

 

[kewlcoconut]

oh yea, still raining. good old vancouver rain =)
which wires should i check to see if they are dried out and cracked? and as well as the harness clips?
sorry, not THAT great with everything on my car. :S

 

[CRE]

This should help:

http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK3/manual.aspx?Section=BE&Page=31
http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK3/manual.aspx?Section=BE&Page=33

The wiper motor is mounted on the firewall on the right hand side. Check the plug that connects to it for signs of moisture or corrosion. Follow the wires back to where they enter the firewall.

Test the motor as specified as well the problem could be there as well.

EDIT: Oh, and no prob about not being great with your car... that takes experience. Learn too much too quickly and it's usually because you've bought a complete lemon... like me! :biglaugh:

 

[kewlcoconut]

thanks, i'll look into that for sure.
someone was telling me that i might wanna try putting in a higher amperage fuse? the stock one is 20a, so would putting in a 25 or 30 change anything? or would the electrical problem just easily blow those?

 

[CRE]

thanks, i'll look into that for sure.
someone was telling me that i might wanna try putting in a higher amperage fuse? the stock one is 20a, so would putting in a 25 or 30 change anything? or would the electrical problem just easily blow those?

Most likely, using a higher amperage fuse would only increase the risk of burning up wiring. Something's wrong and it needs to be addressed. If the current draw of the motor is spiking that much a 25A or 30A fuse probably won't do a thing. You can try a 25A, but I bet it blows just as quickly.

After checking the wiring, disconnect the motor from the chassis, make sure the wiper arms can be moved and are not seized, and then check that the motor isn't seized.

 

[kewlcoconut]

well im gonna try to throw in a 25A and see what happens. but otherwise, tomorrow when i have time, im gonna take off the wiper motor and check out all the wiring. but again, its not just the wipers that arent working, its the windshield washers AND headlight washers.
and the wiper motor doesnt control those washers right?

 

[CRE]

Whoa... sorry, so is it the Washers, the wipers or both? If it's both, it's most likely a short in the wiring.

 

[kewlcoconut]

Whoa... sorry, so is it the Washers, the wipers or both? If it's both, it's most likely a short in the wiring.

it's both. i was reading that the fuse controls the washers and the wipers. so i tested the washers to check, and they dont work.
so the washers AND the wipers arent working at all.
honestly, how hard would it be to track down this short?

 

[CRE]

I don't have the headlight washers, so bear with me. Does the fuse blow when the headlight washer button is pushed? I presume the windshield wipers don't activate when the headlight washer button is pushed, do they?

 

[SupaMan]

well when you push the washer for the windshield the wipers come on automaticly (im sure you knew that) but the headlight washers i believe are on the same motor as the windsheild washers my book says the 20 amp for the wipers controls everything (wipers,headlight washers,rear window washer,rear window wiper,and windshield washer)

 

[kewlcoconut]

yea supaman is right. the same fuse contols 2 different things. the washer motor and the wiper motor. and so they both dont work. as soon as my car starts up, the fuse blows. the first time it blew, i was just driving and the wipers stopped. now everytime the fuse is replaced, it blows when the car is started. so the wipers and washers dont work.
if i get a multimeter, where should i check for a short? :S:S

 

[jetjock]

If that 25 amp doesn't work just keep going higher. You'll eventually find the problem .

Seriously, since you can operate the wipers and washers independent of each other it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which is at fault or if it's the wiring. CRE's suggestion to unplug the wiper motor is a good one.

If that doesn't help install a 12 volt light bulb in place of the fuse and turn the circuit on. Then go snooping ie; disconnect stuff or wiggle the wiring. As long as the short is there the bulb will burn brightly. It'll dim when the short is cleared. That way you won't burn (pun intended) through many fuses.

Another way is to disconnect the battery and put an ohmmeter across the fuse and ground. As long as you have low ohms the short is there. The downside to this method is you won't be able to turn on any relays in the cirucit so it limits short hunting to the power side of the circuit only.

Course, the best thing would be to learn some electrical basics. It's nearly impossible to work on cars without them. It's not hard and it's quite safe. Keep in mind most of the people in cemeteries who thought they understood electricity were dealing with house wiring

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

LOL @ JJ's last statement about household wiring. :rofl: Yeah, 12v is NOTHING compared to a 220 or a 110...also remember, DC doesn't shock, it will burn you

 

[kewlcoconut]

im skeptical as to whether or not i should try putting in a different fuse. i posted this on www.toyota-supra.info/forums and someone said dont use a higher fuse....lol. ughh

 

[kewlcoconut]

ok.....so i went ahead and tried a higher amp fuse. tried the 25A, and the wipers worked once then it blew haha.
put in a 30A, and they work now. so im guessing the spike is just barely over 25A.
so i have a 30A in there right now. should i keep it in? or is this going to fry or screw up wiring in the future??

 

[jetjock]

Well, lets put it this way: If I were you I'd keep a bag of marshmallows in the car....

 

[CRE]

^^^FTW

Trust us on this one... don't just try to bandaid this, it's likely to bite you in the ass later. If you don't understand how, think "more wires burning, more wires burning" OR "Wow, I can't believe I've replaced EVERY fuse in this car four times this week" OR (my personal favorite) "my dash is on fire, my dash is on fire".

 

[kewlcoconut]

^^^FTW

Trust us on this one... don't just try to bandaid this, it's likely to bite you in the ass later. If you don't understand how, think "more wires burning, more wires burning" OR "Wow, I can't believe I've replaced EVERY fuse in this car four times this week" OR (my personal favorite) "my dash is on fire, my dash is on fire".

haha i know. this was just a temp fix for the next few days. i have no way to work, so i needed that. now that i have the next few days off, im calling around. i certainly cant fix this myself. i dont own all the right tools and have the knowledge of what to do. so im definately NOT keeping that fuse in lol. in fact, its out right now. i just threw it in because it was raining. but its out for the moment.

 

[jdub]

Well, lets put it this way: If I were you I'd keep a bag of marshmallows in the car....

LOL!!!

:evil5: