E.Areingdale

Hi, I have a 1984 RX-7. The windshield wipers do not budge when the switch is hit, but the lights in the car grow a bit dimmer, so something happens. The "Washer" warning light is always on. Defoggers don't work, but the light comes on in the instrument cluster when I hit the switch. They run off of the same circuit I think, so the problem might be linked. I don't have a fuse diagram for the car, but all the fuses look fine, although with the diagrams I've found, the fuses have different amperages than the ones in the car. Arrangement's different too, so I'm not sure I'm looking at the right diagrams. The car has seen better days, so I won't be surprised if it's the wiper motor or something of the like. I'll try to get pictures up of the fuse box and diagram I found.

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

The wiper motor might be locked but and pulley a lot of current. This would cause the lights to dim. Try unplugging the wiper motor power and see if the light dim when the wipers are turned on. While the wiper motor is unplugged, try supplying 12V directly from the battery and see if the motor turns.

E.Areingdale

Got the wiper mechanism out and took the motor off of it. I hit the switch to turn the wipers on (with the motor unplugged) and the lights did not dim at all. Sweet, progress. I used a couple wires to test the motor with the battery. Got a spark, but no movement. I tried to clean the motor out a bit, but still no movement. It might just need to be replaced, it might be 30 years old after all (looks original). I decided to take out the motor first, I needed to clean the mechanism and the surrounding area. Thanks!

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

This motor is not cheap and can be hard to find. RockAuto has them for about $100.

E.Areingdale

Yeah. I found a kinda cheap one at Advance Auto Parts for about $90 (Cardone), but they stopped selling them. I think my best bet would be finding one from a scrapyard. Not a u-pull-it, though, because I wouldn't really know if it'd work or not. I think there's a junkyard not to far from me that sells working parts like that, usually cheap too. My fuel pump decided to give out too, so I have to buy the pump, and wait for next pay check to buy the wiper motor.