So my 2004 XJR wipers would fail when cold. They would sporadically not return to the down position, instead stopping on the return swipe right in my field of vision until the next swipe was triggered. Manageable but annoying. So I decided to try and get them working better.


Step 1: Remove wiper assembly from car. You'll have to remove the wiper blades and plastic tray covering the assembly and remove the brake booster and possibly the master cylinder. (I already had my master cylinder out cause I am replacing it) to have enough room. If you remove the master then you'll have to bleed the brakes.


Step 2: With the wiper motor out of the car, carefully drill the rivets holding position sensor cover to the wiper motor.



Step 3: Clean and sand off the tarnish on the sensor contacts and make sure they are bent out to keep good pressure on the spinning disc. (see photos)


Step 4: Apply new clean lube that is electrical friendly and reassemble unit with small screws or rivets. I chose screws so I could easily take the cover off again if needed.



Step 5: Install wiper motor Assembly back into vehicle, reinstall brake booster, reinstall plastic cover and wiper blade assemblies.


So after I completed this I tested the system by spraying the car with the garden hose. So far the wipers have worked 100% perfect without fail. We will have to wait and see the next time it rains and how long they will be good for. Time will tell how long this repair will last.

 

Thanks for the photos and write up.

I have never seen that item before and it's a pity it's not more accessible.

 

A very simple repair, in fact more maintenance than repair, but unless one does it oneself, there are several hours of costly labour just to get the wiper mechanism on the bench. I can see why most shops just put a new one in, as it doesn't take long to make a big bill out of the labour hours needed to fix it

 

So we have had a good couple of weeks of on and off rain here in the bay area and I've had lots of opportunities to test the wipers now. I'm happy to report that the wiper have worked perfect since the repair. (Knock on wood) They have not faulted once. The auto function works great. Just turn it on and it does its job all by itself controlling the speed of the wipers. If anyone has a problem with their wipers not returning to the down position I would recommend to try this before buying any parts.

 

This is what we need to try before spending a lot of cash