So I had a 2 hour drive today and it was pouring down rain for most all of it, so I had my wipers on one of the two fastest speeds essentially the entire time. Towards the end of the drive (after picking my fiancee up from the airport) the driver's side wiper overextended out to the left past the windshield (above the side mirror) and then immediately both wipers stopped. Luckily our Airbnb was close to the airport and we were able to get there safely with limited visibility, but it's supposed to be raining the next few days and we have a 2 hour drive home with no tools here to work on it. Help would be greatly appreciated.

The driver's side wiper can be freely moved by hand, but the passenger's side wiper is locked in place. None of the motor settings are causing any movement from either of them. If the car is on and I pull back on the switch, the stream of wiper fluid shoots out, but no movement from the blades. Again, we have to go on a long drive Monday morning that will be nearly impossible if the wipers aren't working, so any ideas would be great! Is there any business (AutoZone, Les Schwab, etc.) I could call that could look at it, or would it need to be a Volvo specific mechanic?

 

there's one motor and mechanical linkage to both wipers. the linkage probably broke, and may have jammed the motor, which might have caused it to overheat and burn out, or maybe its just jammed.

if you remove the glovebox you can access the motor and the passenger side of the linkage. the drivers side you pretty much have to remove the instrument panel to access and its behind a lot of other stuff so not so easy

whoops, wrong car. on a 940, its under the cowl in front of the windshield, remove the wiper arms, and the cowl, to access it under there.

 

Do you hear the motor turning when you operate the switch? If not, you have an electrical issue, may be the motor died. If it's turning, then the problem is with the linkage and that's accessible under the cowl.

You don't need a Volvo mechanic, it's not a very hard job but still... You'd need some basic tools, 13mm for the wipers, 10mm for the three cowl bolts, two on the sides, one in the middle of the bulk head, kinda hidden behind wiring. Once those off, with the hood halfway open lift then and slide the cowl toward the back and remove it. The linkage is under there but no telling at this point what may be wrong.

 

So luckily there's a little toolkit in the back of the car that had a 10mm and 13mm wrench, but unfortunately the linkage is broken. Saw some fragments of it and it's broken off right at the driver's side connection. My question is why won't at least the passenger's side work? When I pull the lever for the wipers I'm not hearing the motor work at all. Could the linkage breaking also have shot the motor somehow? Like I said, when the driver's side one broke and went past the windshield, the passenger's side immediately stopped as well.

 

One caused the other, unlikely the two failed together. I can't see how the motor would cause the linkage to break. Surprised that the motor doesn't work, no fuse, just the connections, check the ground. With the linkage broken AND the motor inop, on a Sunday, tough break! Better wait out the rain before you resume your trip, that's what I'd do.
Post a picture of the linkage if you can...

 

broken linkage can jam the motor, and jammed motors can overheat and die.

 

Luckily a break in the rain is coming up for us... I also have an old 1988 Volvo 240 at home I've been using for parts over the years, is there any chance its wiper system would be interchangeable?

 

No, very different wiper system. But easily found used.

 

yeah, the 240's wipers are /completely/ different. the 240 linkage is behind the dashboard, and the motor is in the engine compartment mounted on the firewall.

 

I was lucky enough to find a 740 with the exact same wiper system at a junkyard! And it turns out my motor was fine, just the broken linkage dislodged the wiring a bit somehow. $25 for the new linkage and I've installed it myself no problem.

Thank you all!

 

Yeah, 740 is the same! Great, good job!

 

Thanks again for the help!
If I can pick your brain one last time (maybe this needs its own thread), I put the new linkage in and got it all set up, but the rods that the wipers bolt onto are rotating counterclockwise instead of clockwise. So like they're off/pause in the upright position, and when I turn the wipers on they rotate down to horizontal then back up to upright. Is this a wiring issue of some sort?

 

Haven't done that myself but this write up seems applicable.

To remove and replace the wiper transmission, open the hood to its fullest extent

• Mark the wiper arms with a piece of tape and label “Right” and “Left” . They are different and it will save you time trying to figure out which one is which.
• Remove the wiper arms and the big rubber escutcheons from the wiper shaft.
• Remove the cowl
• Disconnect the ground wire on the bracket that holds the wiring connector. My bracket bent a little during this part but was easily straightened out.The connector for the wiper motor can be released from its holder by sliding it one way or the other. There are two posts on the bottom that slide and lock into the holder.
• Disconnect the wiring harness for the wiper motor by squeezing the connector and rocking it apart.
• The wiper transmission is attached at 4 points. There are two bolts that are up near the windshield and two nuts that hold the lower part of the transmission. These are very easy to see.
• Once these are removed lift the transmission from the bottom (where the 2 nuts were) and lift it out, over the studs, with a slight rolling motion. It should come out rather easily.
• Remove the nut on the wiper motor and work the transmission arm off the motor. Make a note of the way the arm is aligned on the motor; it must look the same when you’re done.
• Remove the three bolts holding the wiper motor.
• Install the motor on the transmission.
• Don’t attach the transmission arm to the motor yet.
• When reinstalling the transmission fit the top part in first and lower the bottom part over the studs.
• Screw the nuts on the studs, but don’t fully tighten yet. Put the 2 bolts in the top part. When I did mine, I tightened the two top bolts first and the tightened the two nuts.
• Plug the wiring harness back together and attach the ground wire. The connector can then be slid back into the bracket.
• Turn the wipers on and after a few seconds turn them off so the motor parks in the correct position.
• Now you can attach the transmission arm to the motor. Remember how it was originally attached? The arm should be in a straight line to the motor or as close to a straight line as possible. The shaft has grooves on it and so does the inside of the arm. It has to fit into these grooves. Once it’s on tighten the nut. You may want to use a bit of Lok-Tite here although I didn’t.
• Put the wiper arms on and test the movement of the arms, adjust if necessary.
• Take the wiper arms off and reinstall the cowl. Make certain the edge next to the windshield fits into the groove in the windshield molding.
• Install the rubber escutcheons.
• Install the arms and make any final adjustments.