'68 Beetle Wiper Motor

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:20 pm

One thing after another! The wipers now stall about 1/4 way thru their revolution. I can push them along by hand but they stall again.
Does this sound like the motor has gone bad?

karl · Post by **karl** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:21 pm

Why do you need wipers in Portland OR? It does not rain there, it only rains down here in Coos Bay!

Sounds like the motor is dying. Either the brushes are worn out or the commutator is history.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:57 pm

Thanks Karl. Well I'm probably gonna take it apart, clean it and lube it. We'll see, a rebuilt motor is like $100.00 OUCH.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:46 am

Any thoughts on this? A complete assembly for the same price as a rebuilt motor. Aftermarket, but it looks pretty decent actually. A plus would be the new splined shafts replacing those horrid early "clamp style" wiper shafts.
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp ... D989%2D955

There's also this guy on The Samba but it's kinda pricey...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=549641

I just don't want to go through all the trouble of taking apart the original and cleaning/greasing etc. and have it fail again. Installation is sort of a pain (according to Bentley anyway...) but I'll bet the original is better quality than aftermarket. I have never dealt with wiper motors before so I'm sorta stumped.
This is also a good wake-up to lube the motor etc. on the bus soon! Gah.

covelo · Post by **covelo** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:04 pm

My bus wipers did this when we first got the bus. Turned out to be a bunch of gunked up "lube" in the mechanism. Once I took it apart, cleaned it, and reassembled it, it was working just fine. (And has been for two-and-a-half years now). Your mileage may vary.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:07 am

Ok, maybe I should take it apart first and look before I spend a lot of cash. Thanks, good advice.

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:11 am

If the cleaning doesn't do the trick I wonder if a local auto-electric shop could get it fixed up, but you would probably drop just as much cabbage as the CIP1 part (which looked nice BTW).

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:16 am

I just don't want the car to be out of service for 2 weeks. If I order the part today it should be in by the end of the week and I can install it and be done (in theory). It's the $150 gamble! If the cleaning doesn't work then it's ANOTHER week of sittin' around. Crap.

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:07 am

I checked Wolfsburg, nothing in stock and they want $154 for just the motor.

You could get the Cip1 in, try to clean yours up and see if it works. If it does, send the Cip unit back for a refund?

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:09 am

Another good idea. Nothing wrong with having a spare either.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:14 am

I ordered the CIP1 assembly. We'll see how it goes.

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:51 pm

Hiya Hammy,

While Karl is correct in that the motor may be giving up the ghost, I'd bet that your problem lies in the wiper pivot shafts.

The wiper pivot shaft(s) in a Type 1 should be cleaned and lubricated on a regular basis. This is almost NEVER the case. As a result, dirt, moisture, and assorted crud work their way into the shaft. The net effect is that much restrictive friction is put on the pivot shafts in their threaded housings. This can greatly slow down the wiper action or stop it all together.

A very cheap fix; disassembly, clean, lube, reassembly. Unless the friction has damaged the parts involved.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:45 pm

I guess I'll know more after I get the thing apart. CIP1 says they don't accept returns on electrical items. It would SUCK if all I needed was a cleaning and a lube and then are stuck with parts I don't need. Bleah!

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:17 am

This will NOT fit on a '68-69 Beetle. The mounting bracket interferes with the motor. A '73 motor is off to the right as opposed to centered, therefore it will not mount properly. Also, the mounting hole on the assembly is 9" off vertically. I'm so tired of vendor claims and aftermarket nonsense, but I guess it's all a lesson.
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp ... D989%2D955

Gypsie helped me rebuild the original unit, and it works! Problem turned out to be a frozen wiper shaft, Bookwus had it right. Repainted everything, repacked the gearbox, cleaned the motor, lubed all the linkage and replaced the body grommets. I'll post a couple photos.
Thanks guys! Next time maybe I'll listen?????

Update: CIP1 was good for their word and finally refunded my money even though the part was returned to them with a few scratches after the aborted installation. Although they are slowwwwww they took care of business. They haven't updated their website with the correct vehicle application info though!

Customer Service: A
Time to respond (including delivery): D+
Quality of parts: A
Accuracy of parts description: F
Shipping costs (free): A

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

'68 Beetle Wiper Motor

'68 Beetle Wiper Motor