280SL Wipers Not Working

[rbouch8828]

I can hear the relay clicking in when I slide the stalk in, but the wipers do not budge. I do not see any blown fuses and the washer fluid sprays and the turn signals work.

Prior to this I have had all of the dash instruments out for repainting of the dash and now they are going back in. I don't know if that could have caused a problem.

Not sure where to look?

[66andBlue]

Have you tested whether the plug on the motor gets power when you push the stalk?

[rbouch8828]

Hi Alfred,

Where do I find the plug for the motors?

Thank you,
Roland

[66andBlue]

Engine bay, firewall, passenger side, you'll see the motor housing. The receptacle is next to it.

[rbouch8828]

Got it! Thanks, I’ll check it out.

[mrfatboy]

Even though the relay "clicks" it still should be removed and the contacts cleaned with fine sandpaper or nail file to make sure. Same thing happened to me.

[rbouch8828]

I traced power to the motor connector and it is getting 12 volts there. The motor is hot as hell, so I suspect the motor has fried itself. With power to the motor the spindle isn’t turning.


I have pulled the motor out and I’ll send it to BudsBenz for s rebuild.

[Vintelectra]

Dear fans,I have the same problem,but the motor does not heat up .I opened the back of the motor and checked the carbon brushes and they are good.Motor overall looks good.cleaned with electric cleaner and put it back together and still nothing.Power gets to the terminal when activated,relay cleaned. How do I check for motor continuity at the terminal, ? Thank you in advance ,Martin 64 230 sl

[dirkbalter]

My rotor and stator were rusted together. I needed to apply quite a bit of force just to break it free. That’s likely due to not being used for years. After a lot of cleaning and polishing it came back to life.

[johnk]

I have pulled the motor out and I’ll send it to BudsBenz for s rebuild.

I would highly suggest you send the motor to Classic Wiper. They did mine for half the cost of an exchange with Buds and turned it around in a couple day.
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[Benz Dr.]

I had this happen once and found that the system didn't have any ground. If you have power going to the motor, and you've looked at everything else, you haven't looked far enough.

[ja17]

Possibly the windshield wiper shafts have seized and are stalling the motor and causing the motor to heat up. Test by temporarily disconnecting the linkage and see if the motor runs. Caution be careful working on the linkage. Have ignition OFF when working with the linkages!

[Benz Dr.]

Possibly the windshield wiper shafts have seized and are stalling the motor and causing the motor to heat up. Test by temporarily disconnecting the linkage and see if the motor runs. Caution be careful working on the linkage. Have ignition OFF when working with the linkages!

I'd go one step further and disconnect the battery. Wipe motors are very powerful and could easily cut your finger off if you had one in the wrong place.