97 mirage wiper motor timing

i have a 97 mitsubishi mirage that had the wiper motor go out. i replaced the motor with one from the salvage yard. the motor works all right except the blades park about 1/4 the way above the bottom of the windshield. when i turn them on, they first drop to the bottom of the windshield then back and forth as expected. would like to know how to time the motor or blades properly so they park properly and work as intended. hope i described the problem clear enough and thanks for any help. also, i have tried adjusting the wiper arms but does not help.

 

You need to let the wipers park where they may (1/4 way up) and remove the arm on the motor. Reinstall so the wipers are parked in the correct position.

Caution: test with the wipers pulled up off the windshield so if wrong they don’t damage anything.

 

i thought so too, have tried this over and over. the problem is that when i first turn them on they drop down first, so if i let them park then adjust the arms to the proper parking location, they go onto the plastic "cowling" at the bottom of the windshield. seems to me that when i first turn them on they should go upward from the park position not downward. maybe i am wrong (wouldn't be the first time and surely not the last) but every other auto that i have owned did this. hope this note makes since. appreciate the ideas.

 

The used motor did it have the arm attached? and did you move it?

 

For what its worth I had a similar problem on a Subaru. What it ended up being was a bad ground. Just attached another grounding wire to the outside of wiper motor and it worked great. Something to think about.

 

toyotaman, i think i misunderstood your first thread when your said to let them park where they may then adjust the arm. i thought you were talking about the wiper arm that the blade is attached to but after reading your second thread i think you are refering to the short arm on the back side of the motor itself where the linkage attaches. i have not messed with it, just the wiper blade arms. also, toni, will keep the bad ground idea in mind. this is actually my step daughters car that i bought for her 1 year ago (first car and all), she came home last week and said the motor quit working again (as in just like the other one did). looked at it and sure enough the ground was not good. touched the motor and car body with switch on and it worked. took socket/ratchet and loosened, cleaned and retighted, worked. but still when i first turn them on, the first move the blades make is a downward move which is where i think they should park themselves when shutting off. it is as if they go to park when turning on but not when turning off. the blades currently sit just below eye level on the windshield in the off position. some one told me they have to be timed but not sure how this is done. thanks again.

 

Yes thats what I'm refering to, let the wipers park where they may (1/4 way up) and remove the arm on the motor. Reinstall so the wipers are parked in the correct position.

 

thanks, i'll give it a try and see what happens. will let you know my results. thanks again for taking the time to review my threads. appreciate all the help so far.