i've got a '94 940 wagon. the wipers work great, except for one annoying thing: then they shut off, they dont return to the bottom of the windshield, but instead they come to rest almost halfway up the windshield, so theyre nearly vertical. i have to flick them gently to drop the wipers further down so theyre not right in front of my face. any ideas what this could be? like i said, they work perfectly, covering the entire windshield from top to bottom when theyre on. they just dont reset to the bottom when i shut them off. anyone?

 

um, the wiper motor has two wires to it, one thats always powered, and the other thats powered only when you want the wipers on. there's like a circular contact switch on the motor assembly that connects the always power to the motor when the wiper is in any position except home. if that contact gets dirty or worn out, then they will stop wherever they are, or wherever that dirty spot is. my tailgate wiper has this problem, if 9'oclock is the 'parked' position, it hesitates at about 1-2 o'clock when its in intermittent mode or if its switched off near the beginning of the cycle.


now, when you switch yours off, do they just stop wherever they are, or do they go to this 12 oclock position and stop?

 

hey pierce. thanks for the response. when i switch my wipers off, they do not just stop wherever they are. the return consistently to the same spot, which is between 1 and 2 o'clock, though it seems like over the last year this spot has crept up closer to 1. like i said, if i then flick the wiper switch arm very gently, i can coax them down ever so slightly closer to where they should be.

when they are in operation, there is absolutely no hesitation at any particular spot--they are consistently smooth all along their arc, as they should be.

does this still sound like it could be an issue with that contact?

 

yeah, I think it it does. when they are switched on, they aren't using that contact at all, the contact just keeps them on when you switch them off until they are "home".

say, does it stop on the 'out' stroke, or on the 'return' stroke ? or both? if you flick the momentary on switch to get past the stuck spot, do they eventually finish the cycle and stop at the proper rest position (3 o-clock from the drivers perspective).



the easy fix is a new (or good used) wiper motor. of course, I'm pretty sure this requires pulling the dashboard so its not -that- easy. Its possible that the motor assembly can be opened up and the contact/switch thing cleaned and r&r'd, but good luck. I was going to try this on my rear wiper where the motor is relatively accessible but my initial feeble attempt at removing the motor, I couldn't figure out how to get the 'crank' lever off the motor shaft, and without removing that, I couldn't get the motor out of the tailgate to even begin to see if it could be disassembled (rumor has it some are, but many are riveted, crimped together and not repairable)


ouch, just lookup them up. there's two different wiper systems on a 94 945, one by Electrolux and the other by SWF. The Electrolux motor 3518133 is discontinued, and there's no indication that the SWF motor can be used as a replacement. the SWF motor 3518120 is a $325 part ($225 at Tascaparts, still yeouch)

 

hey, thanks again. looks like i can get a remanufactured unit for about $130. any good source online for detailed instructions about pulling the dash? i cant really find any good soruces for PDFs of the service manual for the 95 940 wagon.

 

oh, you don't need to remove the dash for the wiper motor! its up front.

for some reason, trying to make a PDF from VADIS and it keeps printing to my actual printer :-/ so, here's the quick version sans pix.

1. disconnect battery negative lead
2. remove wiper arms
3. remove rubber seals around wiper arm shafts
4. open hood to normal position
5. unclip washer hoses from clips at front edge of cowl
6. remove 3 screws retaining cowl cover plate
7. remove cover plate by pulling forward slightly then lifting back and up, take care not to damage paint
8. close hood
9. remove 4 wiper unit retaining screws, one is under rubber plug on cover
10. lift off cover
11. cut tie strap, disconnect electrical connector
12. remove motor axle nut and three motor retaining screws, lift out motor.

 

Try this. Pull the covers off where the arm connects to the actuator. You say it stops high, loosen the nut and move the wipers down to where they are supposed to be and then tighten the nut back up. Hit the switch and see what happens. I have has the wipers stick and the actuator move when the wiper did not and then when the wiper did move the it did not sit down right on the bottom of the glass. May not be it but worth a shot.

 

I wouldn't do that if both arms are stopping high

 

Follow this link to what to expect getting to the motor. Post #8 in the thread. The info is dealing w/ a 91 740 but there's not much difference.
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...-issues-52084/

Actually, I remember an instance where what Bigdaddy is suggesting worked for me. A customer had switched their wipers on while frozen to the windshield. Removed both wipers, turned the wipers on, turned them off and waited for them to park. Re-installed the wipers. The splines on the wiper arms and the shafts are very fine and shallow...doesn't take much for them to slip. Earlier 240's wipers don't even bolt on, just a spring and friction fit.

 

thanks for the advice guys. unfortunately i popped the wiper arms off and noted the following: when activated, the wiper system first turns to the right (lowering the wipers) before sweeping back upwards. What this means is that the system itself doest not park at the lowest point in the arc of the wipers. Which, I'm presuming means it's that issue with the contact in the motor, and thus a motor replacement seems in order, no?

 

If you need a replacement, shoot me a pm. I have the entire assembly...wiper linkage and motor assembly in working condition. It's from a 91 but is identical to yours. Cheap!