Windscreen Wipers - A story
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 3:39 pm
I have mentioned this a few times and it may be useful to tell the whole story for the elucidation of others.
My NB8B does not go out in the rain often. I don't enjoy driving in the rain so if it looks like rain, I do not go for a drive.
That said, I have been caught twice in 17 years. Once in May 2016 and once in May 2018. The story starts in 2016.
Caught in a downpour on the highway, I found that the wipers did not work. I drove directly to my 'backyard' mechanic who removed and briefly inspected the wiper motor, said he couldn't see a problem, refitted it and asked me to come back next week for a detailed look.
On the drive home I could smell a strong acrid burning smell and upon arriving home, I quickly checked the wiper motor which was too hot to touch.
I discussed this by phone with said 'backyard' mechanic who suggested I take it to an Auto Electrician. Without thinking, I took it to the first one I came across, who duly pronounced the wiper motor dead, and charged me $170. for the opinion. A new one was several hundred bucks so I decided to locate a good second hand one myself. Brain finally kicked in and I remembered that I had previously used a different (really excellent) Auto Electrician, and would ask him to do the work.
I obtained a second-hand motor and Mr.Excellent fitted it and everything worked the way it should. He gave me the old motor and I took it home and dismantled it to see if I could see any particular problem. When I opened the case, I found that one of the small bushes was broken and jammed against contacts. This is the only explanation I can see for the burned-out motor as it wasn't a problem until my 'backyard' mechanic opened the case.
Fast-forward to May 2018. Again caught in rain on a drive. Wipers again do not work. Penny drops - not the motor - probably either the relay or the switch. Back to Mr. Excellent who tests the system and determines that it is the switch (almost certainly the switch all along)
He phones the local Mazda Dealer to be told "Mazda doesn't have that part anymore ".
He is currently trying to source the part from an after-market supplier. I have recently spoken with a Miata.net Member in Arizona who had exactly the same problem as me with his identical NB8B - so there is obviously a demand for a part that regularly fails - but Mazda don't provide it and they don't know who does. One would think a part like a wiper switch would be pretty standard/universal, or at least there would be an interchangeable one still available that is used on another model. Probably is but local Mazda Dealer parts dept. don't know about it.
Watch this space for the exciting conclusion to the story (sometime in the near future - I hope)
My NB8B does not go out in the rain often. I don't enjoy driving in the rain so if it looks like rain, I do not go for a drive.
That said, I have been caught twice in 17 years. Once in May 2016 and once in May 2018. The story starts in 2016.
Caught in a downpour on the highway, I found that the wipers did not work. I drove directly to my 'backyard' mechanic who removed and briefly inspected the wiper motor, said he couldn't see a problem, refitted it and asked me to come back next week for a detailed look.
On the drive home I could smell a strong acrid burning smell and upon arriving home, I quickly checked the wiper motor which was too hot to touch.
I discussed this by phone with said 'backyard' mechanic who suggested I take it to an Auto Electrician. Without thinking, I took it to the first one I came across, who duly pronounced the wiper motor dead, and charged me $170. for the opinion. A new one was several hundred bucks so I decided to locate a good second hand one myself. Brain finally kicked in and I remembered that I had previously used a different (really excellent) Auto Electrician, and would ask him to do the work.
I obtained a second-hand motor and Mr.Excellent fitted it and everything worked the way it should. He gave me the old motor and I took it home and dismantled it to see if I could see any particular problem. When I opened the case, I found that one of the small bushes was broken and jammed against contacts. This is the only explanation I can see for the burned-out motor as it wasn't a problem until my 'backyard' mechanic opened the case.
Fast-forward to May 2018. Again caught in rain on a drive. Wipers again do not work. Penny drops - not the motor - probably either the relay or the switch. Back to Mr. Excellent who tests the system and determines that it is the switch (almost certainly the switch all along)
He phones the local Mazda Dealer to be told "Mazda doesn't have that part anymore ".
He is currently trying to source the part from an after-market supplier. I have recently spoken with a Miata.net Member in Arizona who had exactly the same problem as me with his identical NB8B - so there is obviously a demand for a part that regularly fails - but Mazda don't provide it and they don't know who does. One would think a part like a wiper switch would be pretty standard/universal, or at least there would be an interchangeable one still available that is used on another model. Probably is but local Mazda Dealer parts dept. don't know about it.
Watch this space for the exciting conclusion to the story (sometime in the near future - I hope)
