Safety of Windshield Wipers
When driving through bad weather, windshield wipers are the best feature you have to provide you with safe driving conditions. Without windshield wipers on your vehicle, you would not be able to see to drive during weather conditions such as rain, snow or sleet. We often use our wipers without even a second thought of how important they are to our driving.
Many people do not check their wipers regularly and it is during the middle of a rain or snow storm that they realise their wipers do not work. This is the worst time to have your wipers stop working because without them there is no way you will be able to see to drive. If you are ever stuck driving during bad weather and your wipers have stopped working, don’t panic as there are some windshield wiper troubleshooting steps you can take to help.
Troubleshooting Help
The first and most important step is not to panic, then you need to pull over and out of the way of traffic. If you cannot see anything, you may have to put your driver’s window down to help you see. Once you are at the side of the road and safely out of the way of traffic, you can evaluate what the problem is with your wipers and try some of the windshield wiper troubleshooting steps. Turn your wipers to the off position and then evaluate the problem.
If your wipers were smearing or streaking the water across your windshield, you should check the blades for any debris that may be stuck to them. Gently shake them to try to release any debris and then run a cloth over the blade to help remove any dirt that you cannot see. Try your wipers again and see if the windshield wiper troubleshooting step helped. If the wipers are still not working properly, you may have to wait until the rain subsides and then go see your mechanic and have him help you.
If your wipers would not come on at all or were making funny noises, you should check the wiper mechanism including the arms. You want to make sure that nothing has become lodged into the wiper mechanism that would prevent it from allowing the wipers to move. If you do find debris, gently remove it trying not to bend the arm of the blade and then try the wipers again.
If after these windshield wiper troubleshooting steps, your wipers are still not working you may have a more serious problem. A fuse that is part of your windshield wiper may have been blown out. The solution is to simply replace the fuse. This is very easy to do and your mechanic can have the new fuse installed in just a few minutes. If you know how to change the fuse, than you may be able to do this step yourself.
If these windshield wiper troubleshooting steps did not help, the problem is most likely with your windshield wiper motor and you should have your mechanic look at it. Wiper motors are also easy to replace and you mechanic should have the wipers back working in no time. |
