Windshield Wipers Stop working in snowstorms..

So up here in the Sierra we have been getting hammered by storms and the jeep is handling it all but with one prob..my wipers keep stopping while I'm driving. It is intermittent, but if they stop for than a few minutes with all the snow it's real dangerous and I have to pull over and stop. I clean em off, they still wont start for a bit. I am trying to find out if it just the weight of the snow, is something freezing up, or is my motor old and not full-strength or something, and should be replaced. Are there after-market power motors? Sometimes the snow piles up so they aren't reaching the end of the turn, is this bad for them? The other day I couldn't get em going at all, had to stay in the house all day. It could be a combo of things I guess. Also my wiper blades are new but they kinda suck, what are the best blades anyones found for snow/ice/rain. It's all kinda a bummer because Its getting dangerous to drive! thx all I searched already didn't find too much here.. TJ

Sorry It's a '91 xj sport 4.0 5sp. thx..

The wipers are hooked up to a automatic reset circuit breaker in the fuse box, drivers left foot. I pulled the circuit breaker an replaced it with a fuse holder a couple of wires and two spade connectors and a 7 amp fuse instead of the 5.5 amp circuit breaker. The 7 amp fuse occasionally goes out, but not nearly as often as the circuit breaker did in mud, snow or ice. I left enough wire on the new fuse holder so the fuse is easy to change and then tuck it up out of the way.
The circuit breakers have been known to get weak, the linkage for the wipers is known to get worn bushings and bind.

thx for the info 8mud good stuff.

UPDATE: The snow has melted so wipers haven't been a problem lately. Until today, of course, wipers came on randomly and unable to turn off, and smoke began coming out from under the dash on the drivers side, strong burning rubber smell, fun. Just parked it and starting to check . Electrical fire going on somewheres arg..Damn wipers are givin me 'ell. thx


-TJ

truckeejeeper said:

thx for the info 8mud good stuff.

UPDATE: The snow has melted so wipers haven't been a problem lately. Until today, of course, wipers came on randomly and unable to turn off, and smoke began coming out from under the dash on the drivers side, strong burning rubber smell, fun. Just parked it and starting to check . Electrical fire going on somewheres arg..Damn wipers are givin me 'ell. thx


-TJ

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get a new wiper switch and go from there.....hopefully only it melted and not the harness connected to it....... if it melted its JY time and go cut one off another one and solder/splice in.