Windscreen Wiper Motor

[KillerByte]

Ok, first let me fill you in on tonight's MINI adventure gone wrong...

I was travelling back from Gloucester in very heavy rain when all of a sudden my front windscreen wipers decided they weren't going to work anymore. There I was on the M1 in heavy rain at night with no windscreen wipers so I parked on the hard shoulder with hazards flashing and called my breakdown company. They sent a guy out who checked the fuses and found them to be fine and he suggested the motor has died. I was only two junctions from leaving the motorway and a 5 minute drive home after that so he towed me and my car back to my house.

The car is out of warranty unfortunately, and I'm unable to use it until it is fixed (in case it rains while I'm out in it), so I was wondering if anybody knows a guideline price for replacing the motor which drives the front wipers? Also, is this a common fault on the MINI or was I just unlucky?

Thanks for your help.

[ScienceGuy]

Depending on how handy you are and what equipment you have on hand, you could do some
testing yourself first.

Grab the wiper arms and gently encourage them to move when the wiper switch is on.
If you can get them to move you might be able to tell if the motor is turning or not.
If the motor is turning, but the arms aren't able to move without help, the linkage might
just be stuck.

Pop out the hexagonal mesh cowl opening from the base of the windshield and look at the
wiper arm linkage. DON'T STICK YOUR FINGERS IN THERE! carefully inspect the
joints and apply some oil if they look stuck. If you want to take this apart, disconnect the
battery before diving in. Please. It's fairly easy to get a finger chopped off by these kinds
of linkages. If it is stuck and you unstick it, Whammo, you've got to start counting in base-9.

If the mechanism looks free, unplug the motor connector and measure the voltage at
the terminals. It should be around 12 Volts DC when the switch is on. You can wrap some
wire around a tail-light bulb and use it to "measure" the voltage. If the light lights up, you've
got the correct power. If it doesn't, go back to the fuses.

Check the fuse F09 in the engine compartment and check the two relays in the engine
compartment (Two black relays closest to the firewall) . Just unplug the relays and plug
them back in. Maybe tap them with a screwdriver when the wiper switch is on to see if they
are finicky.

Let us know what you come up with.

[Root Ginger]

The wiper motors failing is a common problem on MINI's particulally early ones. Mine failed but luckily I had taken out the extended warranty so it was all done FOC. Usually fail after around 4 years with UK driving.

[KillerByte]

Funny you should say that. My MINI is an October 2002 build so it is 4 years old this month.

I would prefer not to use a BMW/MINI dealer if possible to save money so I'm going to speak to a couple of recommended local garages later today.

Can anybody else help with a guideline price?

[ScienceGuy]

Quote: Originally Posted by KillerByte (original)

I would prefer not to use a BMW/MINI dealer if possible to save money so I'm going to speak to a couple of recommended local garages later today.

Can anybody else help with a guideline price?

This is a job a local garage can handle easily.

Call the dealer and get a price and also call the dealer parts dept and get a price on just
the motor. Then call your local garages and ask them. That's the only way to get a price.
Anyone could tell you it'll cost US$10.99, but that does you no good.

[Root Ginger]

Don't think you can by the motor without all the linkages.

The parts and numbers are here on RealOEM.COM * BMW R50 Cooper WINDSHIELD WIPER SYSTEM, RHD

[KillerByte]

Well, I'm back on the road again. Took the car into a local garage today and they isolated the problem. Apparently one of the electrical contacts in the wiper motor had split. They've soldered it together again and the wipers are working fine now.

Still cost a small fortune with the labour involved in doing this, but at least I'm back on the road again now.