Windshield wipers not returning to lowest position at "rest"

[Rocs]

Hey guys,

Hoping you can help me out with fixing my wipers. When they are shut off, they sit above the normal resting place where we would expect them to be. When they are operating, they move correctly and do the entire movement but when they are at rest, they sit about 3 inches above where they should be.

Does anyone have any idea? Can i recalibrate these?

Pic below for reference.
IMG_0389.jpg

[imnuts]

You need to loosen the nut on the linkage, then adjust the wipers and tighten the nut back down. Test the wipers to make sure they return to the correct spot, and if not, repeat until they do.

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[MacFady]

Just to be clear, I believe the above comment is rightly referring to the linkage nut you'll see under the lower windshield cowl between the battery and the ECU. It can be a bit finicky to do as the linkage sometimes moves while tightening the nut that last little bit, and when the linkage is in the right spot they sort of overlap where the nut is. You're trying to find that sweet spot where the wipers don't momentarily move downward before moving up.

Alternatively, looking at your picture it may be easier to just remove the cap and nut on each arm and position them where you like as opposed to the nut on the linkage. I've done both multiple times for different reasons and I personally would opt for removing the wiper arms first. Especially if there is no issues with them moving one way then the other etc. and it is purely just a high "true" resting position. If you've not pulled the arms off before and find them a bit stuck, try reinstalling the nut a couple of turns and pulling the arm straight upward while tapping the nut with a hammer.

[old guy]

When you activate the wipers do they go straight up and back or do they first drop about an inch and then go up?

If they go straight up you need to adjust them by moving both arms down by resetting the posts. If they dip and then go up you need to adjust the linkage.

[Rocs]

Thanks all for the replies. They go down before they go up so according to Old Guy, i should start at the linkage.

[imnuts]

Alternatively, looking at your picture it may be easier to just remove the cap and nut on each arm and position them where you like as opposed to the nut on the linkage. I've done both multiple times for different reasons and I personally would opt for removing the wiper arms first. Especially if there is no issues with them moving one way then the other etc. and it is purely just a high "true" resting position. If you've not pulled the arms off before and find them a bit stuck, try reinstalling the nut a couple of turns and pulling the arm straight upward while tapping the nut with a hammer.

You couldn't do that if the wipers do the normal sweep but stop at the wrong spot. Putting them at the rest position without adjusting the linkage would cause the wipers to either go down over the cowl under the hood, or over past the A piller.

OP, having a stubby wrench will make the process easier, but it's still difficult if the cowl is in place. I think it is a 13mm nut on the linkage.

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[MacFady]

You couldn't do that if the wipers do the normal sweep but stop at the wrong spot. Putting them at the rest position without adjusting the linkage would cause the wipers to either go down over the cowl under the hood, or over past the A pillar.

If they are simply resting too high and doing their normal sweep the drivers side wiper would already be going over the A-pillar, they aren't traveling any farther by lowering the resting position. You don't need to adjust the linkage unless they travel downward from their resting position before traveling upward as has now been pointed out a few times. Changing the rest position at the post will not all of a sudden make the wipers move in 2 directions.

[imnuts]

If they are simply resting too high and doing their normal sweep the drivers side wiper would already be going over the A-pillar, they aren't traveling any farther by lowering the resting position. You don't need to adjust the linkage unless they travel downward from their resting position before traveling upward as has now been pointed out a few times. Changing the rest position at the post will not all of a sudden make the wipers move in 2 directions.

Based on the picture in the OP, they aren't just resting to high. If they stopped at that location on the windshield and didn't move up or down at the start of the movement, they'd both be over traveling and the driver's side would be off the glass entirely.

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