Spaarky

I've got a problem with the wipers on my 05 Accord and don't know where to begin.

Long story short, the timing chain stretched on me and jumped a tooth or two on the cam gears. I found this out when I took it to an independent garage.
I don't think he really wanted to fix it as he was suggesting I swap the engine out and was talking $3500+ to fix it.

SO, I drove it over to the local Honda Dealer and got the engine fixed there for less than half that. (Still too much but hey, no choice.)

The trick is, I'm CERTAIN the wipers were working before I took it to the independent mechanic, and I noticed they were completely dead after he'd worked on it, while driving it to the Honda dealer.

So.... I know the first mechanic pulled off the cam cover, etc. and I'm not sure what else.

In another thread here, I read something about a ground for the wiper motor somewhere near the washer fluid reservoir on older Accords and that if the ground is off or broken, the wipers won't work. I don't see anything like that on mine.

Is this the case with the 2005 models?

NOTE: I've already pulled the wiper motor and tested it on the bench with a lab grade power supply. The current draw is around 1.5 amps out of the car with no wiper arms or blades but I think that's reasonable. There IS voltage on at least one of the pins of the plug on the harness when the wiper switch is on. (Which may rule out switch problems or the "integrated control module" which I have not yet found.)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

BLKFLSH

There was a recall on the wiper motors. My 03 was included, but don't know about the 05. The MICU (multiplex integrated control unit) is in the under dash fuse box. Did the motor work when you applied power to it?

Lost Again

Is you car a two or four door....the wires are different colors/locations in the plug so if you want to test more we'll need to know.

Spaarky

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLKFLSH

There was a recall on the wiper motors. My 03 was included, but don't know about the 05. The MICU (multiplex integrated control unit) is in the under dash fuse box. Did the motor work when you applied power to it?

The motor worked fine with power applied. Although the "Pin Numbers" are reversed from the ones I found in drawings on the net.

And, there was power on the harness connector on the appropriate pins. (Which leaves me thinking the ground is missing.) I don't have the means of measuring the voltage on the wires WITH the harness connected to the motor, short of puncturing the wire insulation. (Which I'd rather not do as it invites corrosion.)

I hope you're right about that controller because so far, everything I'm finding says that control unit is an integrated part of the under hood fuse box which would make it a very expensive proposition to replace if that's the problem.

A friend gave me a printout of the wiper systems section of the service manual from Mitchells ProDemand. But I need an OBD reader to see if there are any codes set and I don't have one. (And the engine light is already on because of a known issue so I can't tell if there are TWO issues now, or just the one.)

Spaarky

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Again

Is you car a two or four door....the wires are different colors/locations in the plug so if you want to test more we'll need to know.

Thanks, Lost Again. It's a 4 door, EXL. 4 Cylinder. (Canadian model)

The diagram I had, has the pin numbers reversed. (probably showing the plug rather than the socket.) I can get the motor to run at both high and low speeds with the appropriate application of power. (Couldn't find an analogue meter to check the parking switch.)

One concern is that the way the assembly mounts on rubber grommets, it's completely isolated from ground mechanically and requires the harness ground to operate.

I have a trust issue right now - possibly unjustified - with the first mechanic and wonder if he didn't screw up the ground connection while diagnosing the timing chain issue.

Spaarky

Perseverance sometimes pays off.

I played around more with the motor and discovered that I don't have both speeds on it as I thought I did. No continuity between at least three pins as I'd expect.

It appeared I'm getting continuity between the Hi and Lo speed pins on the motor (pins 3 & 5 in the diagram below) but NOT to pin 2. (Technically, the "ground" or common.

I pulled the motor apart and found a disintegrated circuit breaker INSIDE the motor that's not shown on the diagrams. (I added it in red below.) With the circuit breaker blown, the motor is dead.

Off to find a new motor now. I'm sure this won't be pleasant. (Part prices are quite high in Canada. "List" generally.)



Good to know for future reference.

Jjbaehr

They were recalled, it's a safety recall go to Honda and it will be free!

Spaarky

I tried that. There was also a recall on the power steering pumps on the Odyssey. In both cases, the recall had a mileage limit. And I was well over it.