Summary: Rear wiper motors on many types of SUV’s and mini vans commonly fail. One reason they fail is due to infrequent use. Electric motors tend to work better when they are used often. Sometimes a rear wiper motor can be tapped lightly to make it work temporarily. This is a quick test (used a lot on Fords) that will help to verify there’s power present at the motor. The wiper motor may stop again before long, but knowing that the motor is getting battery voltage without having to take the trim panel off for testing is a definite plus. The vehicle featured in this car repair article is a Chevy, which doesn’t have the common Ford rear wiper problem. The 1999 S-10 Blazer hatch has been opened and closed many times over the years. This can cause the wiring from the body to the hatch to weaken over time much like breaking a wire hanger by bending it in the same position repeatedly.

The tap test on the rear wiper motor didn’t do anything on this SUV. The rear wiper motor didn’t seem to be getting any power at all. Knowing that these motors usually are not a common problem, before removing the trim panel it was worth testing for voltage using a power probe where the wiring goes through the rubber conduit. If power was present when testing the orange 12v wire, the hatch trim panel would need to be removed for further testing. On the top side of the boot there was power – on the bottom side of the boot, No Power. A little tug on the wire to check the integrity and it was found to be completely broken in two. Checking the rest of the wires by pulling them slightly and another one was found broken also.

What a simple repair this was going to be! Routing the replacement sections of wire through the rubber wiring loom proved to be difficult though. The wire cannot be simply pushed all the way through the rubber conduit without bunching up. A specialty tool would be needed to snake the wiring. How about a BIC pen? Perfect. After taking a pen apart, the tube left remaining was ideal for guiding the wire through the loom.

Once the wire was in place, a little heat shrink and soldering was in order. After soldering, sliding the heat shrink into place and applying a little heat, black electrical tape was used to button this repair up.

Good for another ten years.

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