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I sprayed my rear wiper arm with WD-40 because it wasn't touching the glass. Now, it wipes great, but when I turn the wiper off, it doesn't return to the cradle correctly. When this happens, the wiper will not work until I physically push the arm down. How can I fix this problem?

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Does it look like you have some slack in the arm? It could be the motor that doesn't come back to is original position or some parts in the wiper arm that may be stripped. – Gabriel Mongeon Mar 9 '11 at 16:59
@Gabriel - there is enough slack for me to push it down into the cradle but it won't go anywhere else. – divided Mar 9 '11 at 18:57
Why the downvote? Do I need to provide more information? – divided Mar 9 '11 at 18:58
Don't know why you were downvoted. I countered it for you though. – Iszi Mar 9 '11 at 19:24
@Iszi - thank you! – divided Mar 10 '11 at 16:59

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I found some information that indicates that a dirty ground connection on the motor could be causing the issue. That, or the control board is shot. You might want to clean off the ground connections with some fine sand paper (400 grit) to see if that fixes the issue.

WIPER MOTOR TROUBLESHOOTING.PDF

I have also found threads that suggest using lithium grease to lubricate the moving parts of the motor assembly (WD40 is a desiccant, not a lubricant). Good luck!

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