Please help me fix a '96 Volvo 850 broken LEFT windshield wiper..

November 13, 2005 12:37 PM

Volvofilter--My left windshield wiper just stopped working in my '96 Volvo 850. The latch that opens the little gas door is finicky and a Volvo guy taught me how to reach inside the liner of the trunk to pull a little wire that releases the latch. (By now you've already figured out that I'm mechanically challenged). Is it possible that I pulled out a connection so that just one of my windshield wipers got disconnected? Or is this a bigger problem? If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'm going to take it to the Volvo shop but it would be oh so much better if I could just fix it myself! Volvonians, any advice?
posted by lois1950 to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Sounds familiar.. Very good chance that it's a loose nut. Check out this thread for details...
posted by rajbot at 12:56 PM on November 13, 2005

Also, I bent in the little metal tab on the gas cap door, so that it never latches. You can just bend it in with your thumb.. It's much simpler than debugging the locking mechanism.
posted by rajbot at 1:01 PM on November 13, 2005

There's only one wiper motor. It moves a rod back and forth, which is connected to both wiper blades. Since the right wiper works, the problem is therefore that the left wiper is no longer properly connected to the rod which moves back and forth. Open the hood and explore - turn the wipers on, see what moves so you know where to look, then examine this rod and the connection to the left wiper. Once you figure out what is wrong (nut loose? tighten it. nut fell off? replace it. rod broke? wiper broke?) you can figure out how to fix it. This should be a trivial repair.
posted by jellicle at 1:04 PM on November 13, 2005

My thanks to all of you...
posted by lois1950 at 4:13 PM on November 13, 2005

For future volvo questions, check out the forums at http://www.brickboard.com - they're chock full of friendly folks with a wealth of volvo knowledge to share.
posted by sluggo at 5:21 PM on November 13, 2005

Is it possible that I pulled out a connection so that just one of my windshield wipers got disconnected?

Not in the trunk, it's not. Cars are a complex collection of mechanical and electrical systems. It is not at all uncommon for two completely unrelated problems to surface at about the same time, especially in older cars.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:56 PM on November 14, 2005