1988 Cherokee REAR WIPER DOESN'T WORK

The rear wiper assembly squirter works in the switch in the dash. But when I press up on the switch for the wiper to actually move, all I hear is a clicking noise from the area where the rear wiper motor is. I checked the wiring and I believe it's all correctly connected. How can I test that this is wired correctly and getting power? And how will I know if it's the motor that's bad? Thanks!

The rear wiper motors fail a lot. I had the same problem on my 88 XJ. I found I could get a rebuilt one at the auto parts store. I installed it and has worked great!

Be careful, I broke the nipple for the rear washer hose and had to get that piece from the dealer, lucky I was doing it on Friday and not Saturday.

I did change my motor in conjunction with installing new rear speakers. I recommend you get one of the trim removal tools to get the fir trees out of the holes in the hatch. There are also two screws holding on the panel. You will find them in the upper left and right corners. take your time and that rear panel comes off just fine.

Second what Martin said. If you find that the "fir trees" don't hold the panel in place well, you can simply get some screws with washers for interior parts at the auto store and put them in the bottom edge. It is an easy solution to a panel that rattles from speakers or driving.

They clicking you are hearing is the relay for the wiper. Chances are your motor is frozen due to crap / rust in the gear box. This was the case with my rear wiper. I pulled it out, and there is a little maintence panel you can pull off to take a peak. I spent a good 2 hrs clearning mine up, spraying it with pbblaster until I could get the movement free. After that I lubed it really well and put everything back together. It worked great for two weeks and froze back up. :gonnablow

Needless to say a new one is about $85, and i dont need to wipe my rear window THAT bad.

-Scott

I too tried to "fix" mine. The problem was the the gear stripped, which is catastrophic. I happen to use mine a lot, so I replaced it .

Another thing that you might check is the ground for it. That was my problem about a month ago.


Mike

Thanks all I'm off to check it all out and see if it's clogged/rusted up with "crap" checking the ground and if all else fails getting a new one. No worries about the rear panel thankfully. The XJ is completely stripped down to the bare metal everywhere. Jobs like a new headliner, fiberglassing the holes in the floor, herculining, changing the interior colors and adding a sound system (there are no speakers anywhere or a radio) are all on the things to do list. I'm still working on getting all the right hoses for the engine bay first. UGH!

Yup, it was just about the most disgusting display of not giving a S!%$ that the previous owner could have done. The rear wiper gear is stripped, the gear box is corroded so badly it's almost unusable. I did get it to move a bit, so I know the relay and wiring is all good. I'll get a new motor off of ebay and we'll go from there, thanks all!