My windshield wipers (ww) cut out on me driving in the rain last Feb going to the Annual TCC gathering in Austin. After it had been drizzling a while, they stopped working. Perfect!
Even though we weren't getting wet (on the highway), we couldn't see! Anyway, I checked the fuse, and sure enough, it was blown. I stopped at a gas station, bought some more fuses, but ever time I started the ww again, they would go for maybe a second and then stop; the fuse would be blown again.
A few folks suggested it might be a water induced short, which would go away when things dried out. Well, last night I replaced the fuse and tried to fire them up...nothing. I went to remove the motor unit and noticed one of the 3 leads looked like it might have been off already. So I plugged it back in and tried it again. The ww tried to move, but were at the bottom of their travel (at the bottom of the windshield), so they could not...but the fuse was not blown. Hmmm. I forced them up a little and tried again..they tried to work but got stuck again. The fuse still wasn't blown though. I forced them higher and turned them on...they twitched and stopped. Blown fuse. Tried again...blown fuse.
1) How do you adjust the ww, in terms of their height with respect to the windshield. Forcing them can't be a good thing.
2) This doesn't seem to be water related now, does it? Any hints from the behavior what might be going on? If forcing the arms has placed the mechanical "drive train" in a way which over stresses the motor, would this cause the fuse to blow like I am seeing?
FYI, the motor is a Lucas (oh no!) and it drives the wipers via a coiled wire, sort of like the kind used for clearing out a clogged drain.
Any advice or info would be appreciated.
Thanks