Re: Winter Wiper Woes

[Andrej Dolenc <adolenc@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dave asks:

>I have had an ongoing problem with my wipers. If the wipers are running but
>there is only a bit of snow or rain on the windshield they will jerk and
>sometimes freeze. What usually happens is that the wiper comes half
>detached from the arm and I have to get out of the car and put it back on.
>Not a big deal just an inconvenience I though but last night I lost a wiper
>and started to wonder what would happen if this happened on a major highway.
>
>I have tried cleaning the windshield with BonAmi but it did not seem to
>help. My first though is that the wiper motor is bad but the fact that it
>has enough force to pull the arm off the blade makes me question this. 

While my problem with wipers may not have been as severe, the solution
might be applicable.  My '97 M3 (with wiper blades already replaced once)
was having problems wiping when there was a limited amount of moisture on
the windshield.  Especially the passenger side wiper blade would skip a lot
across the windshield, not accomplishing much.  

What I figured would be worth a try before putting on new wiper blades was
to take the blades off the car, and first clean them thoroughly.  Next, I
grabbed my tube of Gummi Pfledge (sp??) rubber care goop and apply that to
the wiper blades.  Left them to sit inside for about an hour, let the
rubber take in some of the rubber care stuff.  A good cleaning to get all
the messy rubber care stuff off the blades (don't want that on you
windshield!), then back on the car.  

The result - wipers wipe as they did when they were brand new.  Now even if
the windshield is bone dry, the wiper blades wipe smoothly with no
skipping.  Guess a hot summer followed by a cold winter just took too much
of a toll on the wiper blades.  

New wiper blades would have also done the trick.  But I examined my wiper
blades pretty carefully, and they still looked to be in good shape.  

Hope this helps ya,

Andrej Dolenc
'97 ///M3
CCA #142510 / NCC

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