Home position for wiper linkage?

[CoreyRS]

anybody know the correct position of the linkage in the wiper arm transmission?

I have spent more than 3 hours fucking around with this thing and am really frustrated. Any help or links would be greatly appreciated.

[BCsniper]

You posted in another thread about this exact same topic.

And I showed you how to do it

and linked to the original DIY it came from....


This bolt is the one you need to loosen and adjust: (the top one, bolt #1)


and here is how to adjust them to the correct "park" position:

Now, without allowing the electric motor to turn, install the wiper motor crank arm almost parallel to the brace, but 2 degrees further back from being parallel. This is actually one "spline" rearwards from the parallel position to the brace. See the pic.



With the crank arm just 1 spline or roughly 2 degrees rearwards from parallel to the brace, hold the crank arm and tighten the 13MM nut. If the motor moves from its rest position, simply run the wiper through another cycle via the interior wiper lever with the ignition switched on, again. Once the 13MM nut is tightened, the crank arm MUST be referenced back to the motor's rest position.




Another write-up is over on EA: http://www.euro addiction.net/forum/b6-b7-s4-diy-how-section/2234-audi-b6-b7-s4-a4-diy-slow-wipers-fix.html
just take the space out in Euro Addiction

[dantm]

anybody know the correct position of the linkage in the wiper arm transmission?

I have spent more than 3 hours fucking around with this thing and am really frustrated. Any help or links would be greatly appreciated.

Hey, I'm about to replace mine tomorrow as the linkage seized up a few weeks ago. Long story short, I removed the wipers and replaced the transmission linkage that was seized.

Now I'm about to put the assembly back into the car, and I thought that to line up the wipers all I have to do is to cycle the wiper lever to go through one cycle and then (assuming it stops in the 'down' or 'bottom' position) just put the wipers back in a horizontal position.

Are there more issues than this? What are you experiencing?

Thanks!

[CoreyRS]

BCsniper...I have never asked about this before.


But thank you for answering my question.

[CoreyRS]

to line up the wipers all I have to do is to cycle the wiper lever to go through one cycle and then (assuming it stops in the 'down' or 'bottom' position) just put the wipers back in a horizontal position.

This is incorrect....and exactly the problem I ran into. Look at the pictures and make sure to put the linkage in the position shown in the second picture before you tighten nut number 1.

PM me if you have any questions.

[dantm]

Very interesting ** I read this carefully and now I understand my mistake with what I assumed previously. I failed to see that using my logic what would happen is that the resting place of the motor would not (by default) coincide with the extreme turning points on the linkage.

[bennyanthejets]

I was able to remove the gold nut from the wiper control arm (#1) but was unable to remove the gold control arm from the wiper motor pin in order to reset it at it's home position. Can someone tell me how it is connected to the wiper motor pin and how on earth to get if off?

My problem is that it's home position of offset (maybe 15 degrees) from where it should be so the home park position of the wipers are higher up on the windshield. They then go down before wiping up the windshield then back to the park position. Just want to reset this.

Thanks.

[CoreyRS]

Mine was tough to get off of the spindle too...I tapped it with a rubber mallet in several directions and sprayed PB blaster several times. Give that a shot.


Sent from my rotary dial home phone

[bennyanthejets]

Did you take the whole linkage assembly out and take it apart or were you able to get that control arm off while the motor and everything was still attached to the mounting bracket?

[CoreyRS]

I have had to do this twice now, the first time I was replacing the whole linkage with a new unit, so I removed the assembly. The second time, I accidentally tried to clear my window of about a foot of wet snow (accidentally being that I left the wipers on used my remote start). When I did that, the linkage kept turning but the wipers were stuck so it got misaligned and I fixed it in place (without actually removing the gold arm under nut #1).

You may not have to remove it, depending on what your problem is...post some pictures if you have them.


Sent from my rotary dial home phone

[bennyanthejets]

At the moment the wipers park about 4" up from where they should. When the motor cycles the wipers they go down to the bottom of the windshield, then back up to wipe then back to park. It looks as though the gold control arm parks roughly 15 degrees or so towards the back then where it should be according the pictures (almost parallel to the windshield etc.)causing the issue. By reading this forum I figured I had to remove the control arm, reset the motor to it's natural park position then re-attach the control arm (parallel) where it should be, then re-attach the wipers at the bottom of the windshield. I am I on the right track? Also, is it necessary to unplug the wiper motor and plug it back in or something? Problem happened when I couldn't get that damn control arm off the spline and didn't want to take out the whole linkage to do so.

I'll post a pic if I can't get it solved the next time I take it all apart again. Did you find a short cut to fixing this issue??

[CoreyRS]

You are on the right track, but all you should have to do is move the gold "control arm" is little bit toward the front of the car (since yours seems to be 15 deg clockwise of the 9 o clock position. It should be about 2 or 3 degrees clockwise past 9 o clock.

[bennyanthejets]

Thanks for the feedback CoreyRS. Next attempt I will douse it in WD40 and try to work the control arm off in order to reset it. I'll take some pictures if I have any problems.

[bennyanthejets]

Gonna take a shot at it tomorrow. You said that you fixed this problem once on the spot after all the snow on your windshield. How did you do that?

[bennyanthejets]

Doused the wiper motor control arm in WD40 and finally got it off by wedging a flat head screw driver under it and lightly tapping it with a hammer until it popped off the spline. Kind of like taking off the wiper arms. Thanks for advice, problem solved! Reset the park position and reattached the wipers at the bottom of the windshield.

[fudolimr]

The pics referred to here are inaccessible. Anyone have those? I am needing to clearly identify the "parked/home" position of the transmission. I can see that actuating the wipers without the transmission at the "gold tab" will return the motor shaft to its "home" position, but I am unsure of the home position/orientation for the "gold tab" when the motor shaft has been cycled to its home position. Is it in fact all the way to the left, lined up in a straight line with - and directly underneath - the top two connected transmission rods? Thanks!

[shurur9]

I think the two wipers can get out of sync with each other because they may be cammed.

I got tired of reading and did this:

With wipers off (windshield was replaced),
I opened my driver door and switched the wipers until I was sure the motor splines were in sync.

I installed the passenger side wiper only.
I made sure that I did not move the shaft as I installed the arm and as tightened down the nut by holding down the arm as I tightened.

When I was happy with adjustment of the passenger side wiper, I then did the driver's side the same way.

If you ever have to readjust the arm and pull the wiper arm off, it is a good idea to cycle wiper/motor spline to make sure everything is home/synced before trying again. You need to keep the spline in place when you install the arm and then as you tighten the nut.

[Gosser]

This is the home position of the gold tab:

[john_gonzo]

As long as you're in there, seems like a good time to mention the rubber washers that prolong the linkage. Details in Heads-up-on-the-windshield-wiper-linkage.