Windshield Wiper Motor Failure – 2017 Cutwater 242

[eagerkr]

On our way back from the San Juans we took some spray over the bow and tried to use the starboard wiper. That first attempt tripped the resettable fuse at the helm panel. I reset it and tried again, but nothing happened, so I switched it off and figured the motor had failed.

We motored on for a while and later stopped. That is when I heard the wiper motor running almost silently. I noticed a faint burning smell and touched the housing, which was unsurprisingly hot and burned my hand. Dumb, but instructive. I tried the panel switches again but they wouldn’t turn it off.

At that point we cut the house battery, which finally stopped the motor. Once things cooled down we tried to figure out what fuse behind the helm to pull, which was the 30A labeled 4SW PNL PWR which feeds horn, dock lights, and both wipers. It worked.

We are still making our way back toward our home port and everything else seems fine. I wanted to share in case anyone else runs into a similar issue.

Electrical fire avoided and we know what the first project is upon return.

 

[Eager]

Just as a follow up, the wiper initially moved about 5” of its sweep before failing. Thought maybe I had tried to use it too soon before there was enough water to let it work smoothly, so I tossed some fresh water on the windshield. Nothing.

Also, this thing didn’t just “kinda” warm up. The housing around all four screws that held it on had cracked due to the heat. When I took that housing off, there were small pieces of the red cog that forms the main gear littering the inside. Something went very wrong.

 

[mvldyjoan]

On our way back from the San Juans we took some spray over the bow and tried to use the starboard wiper. That first attempt tripped the resettable fuse at the helm panel. I reset it and tried again, but nothing happened, so I switched it off and figured the motor had failed.

We motored on for a while and later stopped. That is when I heard the wiper motor running almost silently. I noticed a faint burning smell and touched the housing, which was unsurprisingly hot and burned my hand. Dumb, but instructive. I tried the panel switches again but they wouldn’t turn it off.

At that point we cut the house battery, which finally stopped the motor. Once things cooled down we tried to figure out what fuse behind the helm to pull, which was the 30A labeled 4SW PNL PWR which feeds horn, dock lights, and both wipers. It worked.

We are still making our way back toward our home port and everything else seems fine. I wanted to share in case anyone else runs into a similar issue.

Electrical fire avoided and we know what the first project is upon return.

 

[mvldyjoan]

I had the same experience with my starboard wiper in 2018 (2013 RT 31). Temperature at the motor surface was over 300'F! I assumed that with the switch off but the wiper out of position the Park feature was still trying to run the motor. I disconnected power to the motor at the 8-panel switch to disable. After looking at what it would take to remove the motor and with other more pressing projects at hand I started liberal applications of RainX, haven't used the wipers since. Retired now, time to address the issue if only to eliminate the potential hazard. Interested to know how your project progresses. Also looking for the model/part number of the Roca wiper arms, too much wear on mine to find any ID.