Whats Wrong With My Wipers 1997-2001 Toyota Camry
Created on: 2016-08-24
How to diagnose a malfunctioning windshield wiper on 98 Toyota Camry
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step 1 :Checking the Windshield Wiper Fuse
- Find the fuse location in your owner's manual
- Remove the fuse panel
- Pull out the wiper fuse
- Check if the fuse is blown
- Push the new fuse into place if necessary
- Otherwise, reinstall the old fuse
- Push on the fuse cover
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step 2 :Checking the Wiper Switch
- Access the wiper motor by removing the cowl
- Disconnect the wiper motor wiring harness
- Turn the vehicle on
- Turn the wipers on with the switch
- Check the wiring harness posts with a test light
- Move the switch to different positions and test the posts again
- If the test light activates, then the wiper motor is the problem
- If the test light does not activate, then the wiper switch is the problem
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step 3 :Checking the Wiper Arms and Transmission
- If one wiper arm works but the other doesn't, try tightening the wiper arm nut
- If the wiper arm still doesn't function, check for worn teeth on the wiper arm or the wiper transmission post
- If the teeth on the wiper arm are broken, replace the wiper arm
- If the teeth on the post are broken, replace the wiper transmission
Tools needed
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Complete Metric Socket Set
Ratchet
Test Light
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Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I want to take a few minutes to talk to you about windshield wipers and how 1A Auto can help you out. You can have different problems with windshield wipers, the most obvious would be if your windshield wipers didn't work at all. In that case, you'd want to find the fuse for your wipers. Consult your manual for your vehicle. On our Camry, our wiper fuse is behind this little door. If you look at the map, if you look at the key, it's the fifth one down on the left side. You can't really video it, so you'd use this tool. You go in and clip on to the fuse and pull it straight out. You get in there with your little fuse tool clip-on, squeeze it and it should come out. Just double check. The little thing says it should be a 20 amp fuse. That's 20. It's a 20 amp fuse. You look through and you can see that little hill in there basically. If that is all fine and good, then your fuse is good. Here's an example. It’s a different size but you can see what a bad fuse looks like and you can see that that little hill in there has been basically blown up. Too much current went to this fuse and so it's blown. This is what a good fuse looks like and that's what a bad fuse looks like. You want to replace that fuse, we'll put this one back in for now. Make sure you put it in the right slot and push it in. Then put whatever covers your fuse up.
If your wipers are totally not working and you've checked your fuse and your fuse is good, then it's either your wiper switch or your wiper motor. To test that out, unhook your wiper motor and I have a test light here. It's grounded here. I'm just going to check it real quick by hitting the positive part of the battery and I see the lights going on. Then I have the keys on and the wipers are turned on. I'm going to probe each one of the contacts. Nothing there. I get a light there, nothing, a light and nothing. That's okay because I just have it on one speed and I can go to the next speed and I'll see that I get nothing, a light, a light, nothing, and nothing. On the second speed, I get different ones. I know at this point that my switch is working.
When wipers aren't working, check the fuse. Fuse is okay. Probe to check to see if your switch is okay. Switch seems okay so it has to be the wiper motor. Once you find out it's the wiper motor, or if you come in here and you probe and you make sure your light is working correctly and you don't get anything, that means the switch is usually bad. If you have a wiper motor or a bad switch, at 1A Auto.com, we sell either one of them for a wide range of vehicles.
A more difficult problem is that maybe you have one wiper working and not the other. Sometimes this is easy. You can see this, I actually have this disconnected just to show you this. Sometimes you can just tighten up the nut or bolt that holds your wiper here. Other times, unfortunately, what happens is if it gets loosened up, the teeth on the wiper transmission or the wiper arm itself get stripped. In those cases, you either need to replace the wiper arm or the wiper transmission. Good thing: at 1A Auto.com, you can find either one of those for a wide range of vehicles
Thanks for tuning in. We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
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