Burned Up Wiper Motor?

Well we got hit last night with a fair amount of snow and tonight it started to refreeze, So i go to drive home about 20 min. ago and there is ice all over my windshield, So i go and spray the window with washer fluid but the wipers moved about only half an inch and stopped. So I turned them off and then tried them again as the jeep warmed, but nothing, they didn't move. Then i started to get this weird unfamiliar smell, then as i drove, the smell got worse and stronger. My first thought is that i burned up my wiper motor, so i get home and get out and smell around the car and the only place i smell the smell is above the drivers side vent below the wiper. Is there a chance i did burn it up and is there a chance that it will still work?

There is a circuit breaker for the wipers. If you look at the fuse panel, its the big metal thing at the bottom. It should just kick off until it cools down, but maybe it toasted instead.

Is it under the hood or inside the kick panel?

My later model is in the PDC under the hood, so likely yours is the same.

Now, Will it continue to smell if i leave it alone for a couple of days untill it warms up? if i just don't use the wipers? because the smell is pretty nausiating to me, but tis just SO cold outside to mess with it.

the wiper motor is under the cowl on the drivers side. if this is where the smell is coming from, make sure the wiper linkage and motor dont have ice build up.

what year? i know on my 89 the bushings in the linkage wore out causing the wipers to get sloppy. it may be possible for the bushing to fail and jam up the linkage which could cause the motor to burn up.

Well i just went outside to see if i could still smell it, I smelt nothing like I did last night. So i got in my jeep and started it up and just flipped the wiper switch on to see what would happen and they worked fine, no sloppiness, no delay, and no smell. Im guessing from the freezing rain we had and then the snow, it just froze around the wiper motor.

In the winter, I always make sure the windshield wipers are free before I get in the car. If they are frozen and you turn them on, even if you turn them off, they may be trying to return to park until something burns out.

winterbeater said:

My later model is in the PDC under the hood, so likely yours is the same.

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I wasn't sure what year, so I was guessing 88 from his username. 88 doesn't have a PDC.