Windshield Wiper Motor Wiring Tutorial 

Glad it was helpful!

Same here Jeff, but wrenching more like 45 years. That trick getting the wiper back to starting position has escaped me for "YEARS", until I watched this video. I lost count of the fuses I have blown somewhere in the hundreds ($$$$)...LOL A great video... Thanks a bunch!!!

Now I watched the video again.....the switch that flipped between the content and the internal switch.....in either position one is getting power 🤔 ....so it seems I need a second switch to kill power before that, since this will be only used once when opening a door, then off the majority of the time.....or is the relay responsible for that?

@@justintyme1449 Sounds like a great use for these motors. Best of luck with that!

Glad you found it helpful!

It depends entirely on the wiper motor. Those colors just happened to be the colors of the wires on the motor I had at the time. It took a lot of experimentation with a 9 volts battery (yes, it will get VERY hot if you try to run a wiper motor for more than a couple of seconds) to determine which wires did what. A multimeter is very handy for some of this, too.

Perfect use case for that!

Don't forget, the body of the motor is often ground. You might have to find a screw or small bolt your can loosen to attach a wire. That's what I did.

@@AnimationGoneWrong awesome, thank you. Then I'm assuming I run that wire to the neg terminal on my battery, since there's no framework to attach to?

@@nicholassteichen4552 yes, if what you are working on/building has no actual chassis, then the "ground" wire from the body of the motor would go to the negative terminal on your battery.

@@AnimationGoneWrong yep, no chasis

only one way to find out.... now go get some wire cutters ;)

Assuming the same colours for the wiring, the blue wire needs to be connected to a constant source of power (at least while the vehicle is running). The green wire HAS to be switched into the red wire. It can't be permanently connected to red, or the internal switch will short out the powered red wire to ground during normal slow operation. See the diagram at around 3:00. I hope that clarifies things.

​@@AnimationGoneWrong Hi It is not so much the wire colours as they are different to the Black, Red, Green and Blue. On a VW wiper motor they have numbered wire locations 31 at the top which I believe is ground then 54 then 31b then 54d. I am told it is a 2 speed with park motor, just need to know how to connect the GM pull switch and retain the functionality as if it was originally designrd to operate.

@@michaelmchenry353 Sorry, my friend... I have no idea.

Technically, nothing... other than bad wiring. If wired up as I show it, it can't ground the motor winding. But yes, it is possible if wired incorrectly. So always check everything twice! 🙂

@@AnimationGoneWrong Sorry mate it just clicked only the green wire goes to the ground as we cycle through the park and on your run switch has it left open in the run mode i don't know why i struggled with it so much ..

Thanks, it would probably be pretty easy to do it with an Arduino so I'll probably go that route. If I pulse the on-off switch for 1/2 second the wiper will go all the way in one direction and then come back to the park position. If I send that pulse at different intervals (depending on the potentiometer setting) that should do it. Unless I'm missing something, which maybe I am.

I'm not sure I understand your question. The video clearly shows what the red and brown wires do. Red is slow (normal) speed, and brown is high speed. They are used independently and are never wired together. The park function is also never used on the high speed side either. What else were you expecting?

@@AnimationGoneWrongThanks for the quick reply! I guess I should have been clearer--sorry. Yes, the red wire is for slow speed and the brown wire for high speed. You clearly showed how to get the park function to work if you were using the slow speed. My question is how to use it for the high speed? You say that the high speed does not have a park function(?). I guess you have to go from high speed to low speed before shutting off the wiper motor. My problem with that is my stalk/switch went bad and I hard wired my wipers to a on-off-on switch--one for low speed and one for high speed. That is why I asked my question. I guess to park when I am in high speed is to go from high speed to low speed to off. Or can I do the same process for the high speed as you explained for the slow speed using two relays instead of one> Thank you for your time.

@@nothingbutmathproofs7150 In theory, you could add a second switch between the upper relay and the red and brown wires. It should function the same, but I cannot guarantee it as I have never tried to park a motor running at high speed.

I usually use old PC power supplies. They are cheaper, reliable and produce more power than you'd ever need to run a wiper motor. I've got videos on how to do that, too!

I tried powering a vw caddy 2015 wiper motor (with a pcb board) directly from battery and nothing happened. It’s a 3 wire, pin 1 is a power supply control unit, nothing on pin 2, pin is ground and pin 4 is from ignition switch. Then I tried powering a Ford ranger 2015 wiper motor (with no pcb board) and it worked. How is the one with a pcb board operates compared to one without a pcb board inside?

@@khakalethumbete5269 No idea. I would Google that particular vehicle and see if there is something special that PC board does.

Interesting idea. I've found the regular speed is usually more than adequate for any haunt props I have built in the past.

@@AnimationGoneWrong pos low spd brush, neg isolated ground brush = 36 rpm. Pos high spd brush, neg isolated ground brush = 48 rpm. Pos high spd brush, neg low spd brush = 99 rpm (but counter-rotation). Pos low spd brush, neg high spd brush = 77 rpm. Speed inverse to torque.

Not quite sure I understand the question, but I'll try... if power is cut to the RED line completely, it will stop. Voltage applied to the BLUE wire has to be connected to the RED wire through the GREEN wire. See around 2:38. Without any other circuitry, applying voltage to just the BLUE wire will do nothing.

@@AnimationGoneWrong Thanks i think i got it.

That's exactly what that internal parking switch is for.

No idea, but I don't see why not. The wiper motor probably drew more power than the fog lamp will anyway,

Although I have built timer circuits for controlling these, I have found it is cheaper, and easier on my sanity, to purchase a ready-made circuit or kit. A great example is the MK-111 Interval Timer kit from Electronics123 www.electronics123.com/shop/product/mk111-interval-timer-kit-4911?page=2&category=344#attr=14,356 You can't beat it for the price and it also runs off of 12 volts, so it's a perfect match for a wiper motor.

@@AnimationGoneWrong Yes, after seeing what that ready-made one consists of, it does look like that's the way to go. Thank you.

I don't see why you couldn't do that. The motor would certainly be powerful enough to handle moving a step around, as long as you're not standing on it! LOL It would be an interesting project.

Hello, can i have this tutorial also with timer. Thanks

the output of 555 timers is a square wave if connected to a relay the relay close and opens. study the 555 timer it has many uses

Garry Robinson yes, absolutely. If your speed controller is also rated for 12 volts, no worries at all!

To be honest, it sounds like your switch is shorting out somewhere, either in the physical switch itself, or in the wiring. Other than that.... no idea, sorry.

thanks

Are you talking about the washer fluid pump? In that case, two leads does seem unusual. If it's a motor, then it's like a high and low speed connection.

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Not sure, to be honest. Without that extra wire (blue, in the video) you can't get the proper operation for park. Yes, the park wire should be grounded at the park position, but something is missing. If you have a voltmeter, I would suggest getting the motor turned a little bit, then see what is connected to what when you aren't in the park position. This might reveal some more information.

@@AnimationGoneWrong Thanks, it's off a new BMW so there was probably a whole module controlling it. I was able to wire it eventually using a changeover relay and DPDT ON/OFF/ON switch. 12v to 30, 87A to left center switch position, 85 to bottom right switch position, 86 to park, 12V to right center switch position, high speed to top left switch position, and low speed to bottom left switch position. The top right switch position and 87 disconnected. Basically flicking the switch up will activate low speed with 12v going through 87A but also the other side provides a circuit for the relay, so the wipers will go low speed, park and relay switches to 87 which kills the power. Flicking the switch down will power high speed but not use the relay. I lose low speed this way but it's a race car so all good. I can use down position for high speed, up position to park the wipers, and center is off. I will change to an ON/OFF/(ON) switch because if I were to leave the switch in the park position, the wipers will nudge every time the car is turned on while relay kicks in, until eventually they are no longer parked and the wipers do a cycle. I'm sure there will definitely be a way to wire it better but this works for me. Your video was super helpful, thanks

The internal switch is controlled by the rotation of the output shaft. It's impossible to see, obviously, because it's all hidden inside.

Typically. on older vehicles there was no delay relay. Newer vehicle usually have them now. There were a lot of after-market wiper delay sold... they are pretty simple. By default, the motor doesn't have that.

@@AnimationGoneWrong THANKS for the reply, I have a Winnebago motor home that the wipers are giving problems, they only work on high setting . No mist or delay . I have replaced the wiper motor and the results are the same. That why I was asking about a relay?. THANKS DENNIS.

@@dennismorgan8889 if you vehicle has a wiper delay, it is definitely possible that it is interfering with the normal (slow speed) operation. It could even be a wiring issue... something broken in the path to the slow speed side of the motor.

+Ray Kent The ground is the body of the motor. So, it is always grounded.

A SPDT (single pole, double throw) relay is required.

thanks, I'll try to include it to my project.

hey...that question also Arised in my mind, But here is the thing battery is always connected to the Negative terminal by connecting it to the Body, Only the Relay diagram is shown because for the operation of Motor returning to Initial position it should stop and positive current should bypass Motor through connection. Hope you Understood. If not You can Ask me Again.

Yes, the blue wire always has power. But the power passes through the internal switch, so it gets cut off when the motor is in the park position.

True

It makes a HUGE difference. Look at the way the circuit is connected at around 2:51... if you were to connect the power to the GREEN wire (instead of the blue one) you would cause a short, which could potentially fry your power supply, perhaps cause a fire or short out and drain a battery (if that was your power source).

@@AnimationGoneWrong Thank you for the rapid response. I asked because the motor I have has different color wires, and was wondering if the two park wires were isolated from the ground, in which case they could seemingly have been interchangeable, but I'll take your advice. Guess I'll also have to do some exploratory surgery on it. Thanks again.

@@donf3739 The best way to tell is if you have access to an ohm-meter. When in the parked position, one wire (green in this case) will be connected directly to ground (the body of the motor), the other (blue) will not.

@@AnimationGoneWrong Finally got it! I have a motor I found on Amazon for $30, that's for a ~90s Dodge. It wasn't parked when I got it, so I took a guess the first time, and it parked fine, but then the heated-up wire let me know I had them backwards. The wiring diagram I found calls the Park wires P1 and P2. I found that P1 is the one that goes to the positive during park mode (your blue), and P2 is the one that goes to the Low or High wire during park mode (your green). I posted this in case it might help someone else. And thank you for your video. It's the best explanation I've found.

If you are asking if you can CHANGE the direction of the motor, the simple answer is YES. If you reverse the battery contacts, it should spin the other way.

at 1:20 I describe exactly what it is... the high speed setting. Red = normal, Brown = Fast

Did you ever get a reply to this question, I'm baffled also. Thanks,

The position cannot be adjusted. It is base entirely on the motor and its position. The only way to adjust the park position is to literally rotate the motor. Given that there are usually three bolts in a triangular arrangement, you really only have 3 options.

@@AnimationGoneWrong I believe what is happening is gravity is pulling it past park. If I put my hand on the wiper assembly with a small amount pf pressure when at the 3 o'clock position they will park every time. getting past that.. If I were to put a ,manual switch in to shut off the wiper motor which wire would tap into to install the switch. I believe I can do it by tapping into the ground, but is there a better way..

@@bassoneman ground is usually the actual body of the motor, and the vehicle, so there's likely no way to tap in between that. Seems strange that you can put pressure on the assembly and it works... that makes it sounds like a bad connection, perhaps between the motor and the vehicle chassis itself. Maybe what you need to do is install an actual ground wire between the motor and the vehicle chassis, to ensure a better connection. Just a thought... Also, most wiper motors use a work gear to drive the output shaft from the motor itself, thereby virtually eliminating the ability to manually (or by gravity) move the arm. Odd situation indeed.

@@AnimationGoneWrong This AM I took and ran a wire from the negative terminal of the battery directly to the case of the motor. If I turn the key to one click before starting the engine the park position works great. If I start the engine it won't park have to shut off the engine then the wipes will park . Hmmm this is kicking my butt. There is a ground that comes into the motor on its connector. Then coming out of the motor there is a wire that attaches to the outside casing that is where I attached the ground for neg side of batt. I wonder if there is a issue with the ground that is coming in to the connector where is is floating or noise on it. When I put a meter on the connector it shorts to ground. I may have to get a oscilloscope to see if noise is on that ground on the connector.. Or cut the wire and connect it directly to ground neg battery.. Ideas?

@@bassoneman no ideas at this point, sorry! Definitely sounds like you're homing in on the trouble, though... a wiring issue of some kind. So, accessory position, it works. Running, it doesn't. Very strange indeed.

I use a car battery charger, and I put it through a pulse width modulator to get the motor to go as slow as I need. but you need to turn it up high to get it going, and then slow it down.

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That usually means it's not wired correctly. Power needs to be available to the motor, even after you've "switched it off" for the park function to operate properly, which would let the motor complete one cycle so it doesn't stop in the middle.

remove arm&blade form link and fix proper position

Totally depends on the vehicle. What do you mean by bypassing the harness? That's how the power gets to the circuit in the first place, doesn't it?

I want to wire it directly from the motor to the battery and ground it.

my guess is that the motor doesn't reverse direction in normal usage. A simple linkage from the motor to the wipers makes the wipers go back and forth, something like the piston-conrod-crankshaft linkage in a piston engine.

Michael Saari Use a linkage like the wipers have.

If you connect the arm to a second wheel and only let it stay one side of the axe ex; between 7 and 11 or 1 and 5 ,the second wheel will have the rocking movement that your looking for.