my320paid4byMe

recently my wipers stopped working. they are stuck in the up position now and prior to this i was having some problems with them being delayed at times. I would have to turn them on then manually by hand pull the wiper up to get them started. Now they have stopped completely and I was curious if there is a fuse for the wipers and were it might be located. Or if its not that i am affraid it is the wiper motor. the dealership told me 2-3 hundered in labor just to determine the problem. I have found the motor online for $100 and would rather do it myself if at all possible. any help on this issue, fuse location ,wiring diagram etc. will be appreciated. I am fairly new so i am sorry if there is a post out that i did not see. My suv is a 2000 ml320

mihir_d

My wipers used to occassionaly stop working...over the last 2 years the problem just became more and more acute, until recently where they have almost stopped working.

With me, the problem is they now only work on the highest sweep speed setting..all other settings are dead. I am guessing, its not long before they completely stop working, and so it will have to be fixed in the near future.

Yes, there is timing relay in the fuse box for this, and I have tried replacing it, but no help. Dealer has quoted $480 for diagnosis and a possible wiper motor replacement.

Does anyone know of a DIY on the wiper motor?

And yes, what a coincidence...we are both talking about the exact same model year and model..2000 ML320

auto art

i would also check-out the the wiper switch on the steering colum.If the motor was bad i would think it would not work at all,but you say it only works manualy, so thats why im thinking its the switches .I would check some junkyard also in the area for the parts,try car-part.com

my320paid4byMe

my wipers do not work at all .....they are stuck in the upright position and i cant budge them by hand. the wiper spray still works but no wipers. i was trying to take off the wipers from the actual rod near or under the plastic near the hood and i cant get that to budge either. I have used PB and a press puller with no luck.

mihir_d

It seems like a common problem on aging MLs (at least the 98-2001s)...there are plenty of people on this forum who do a lot of complicated stuff DIY...no one ever tried the wiper motor?

my320paid4byMe

any help as far as DIY would be appreciated. My wipers the other night, while the switch was on OFF, decided they wanted to go back to the down position. but the wipers still do not work. Also anyone have information on a Haynes or Chillen book for the ML, i saw one but it was $160 i was wondering if anyone knows where to get one anf if that is the price?

marcelc

My experience of Haynes manuals for other makes (Ford and VW) is that you will probably be more than $160 better off by not buying it - I don't know about Chillen.

My suggestions is either to buy a naughty copy of the WIS on the Internet or or to search http://www.whnet.com/4x4/

There was also a Tekinfo (????) web site from where you could download manuals for a reasonable subscription - but sadly I have lost the url.

fizzle

stupid question, but anyone check the fuse or relay? just a thought before diving in to replace the motor.

my320paid4byMe

Yes the fuse is good. Relay would have to be purchased and replaced, as far as i could see no way to see inside to see if relay is good. I just cant see paying $400 to find a diagnosis and then whatever MB will charge for the motor plus atleast 2 hours labor. We are looking at close to $1000 and i would rather spend the $75<ebay> for the motor and do it myself

fizzle

hmm go to a local repair instead of paying mercedes to diagnose, at least see what the problem is. if its the motor, do like you said and pick one up on ebay. or even the dealer.

mihir_d

My local shop mechanic was honest and adviced me, it was best to go the dealer for such problems. The dealer has the stuff to do the diagnosis right, and might be in fact able to save money, if he finds its not the motor, but something else. My mechanic is doubting if its the motor, since in my case, at least one speed setting works perfectly..all the other speed settings are dead..period.

BTW, me too, I am done with checking and even replacing the relay and the fuse. That hasn't helped.

I have an appointment with the dealer for Saturday Jan 20th...and so, I'll let you all know, what the dealer finds..

mihir_d

Its the wiper motor...I am told, it isn't parking right...the parking circuit seems to have a problem.

Anyways, the motor will have to be replaced....$557..

Its a special order part...will have to reschedule an appointment to have it replaced...

I am still surprised, no one has any idea of how to DIY...if I happen to standby and watch my mechanic do it...I will try and post some instructions on it.

Not a common problem on the ML, I am told...its rare to have the wiper motor fail this way..

my320paid4byMe

I am thinking it is the motor as well but $557 seems like a lot considering you can find the part on the net for $150. Anyone with any information reguarding a DIY or a possible recall on the wiper motor?

mihir_d

Anyways, my private mechanic had quoted me $480 for the wiper motor replacement...I have a 10% discount coupon from the dealer...so from $557, I am probably looking at $500, not very far from the $480 quoted by the private mechanic.

I did a lot of research on the internet on wiper motor problems...and the only other vehicle that seems to have the exact same problem is the Ford F150.

One moment I thought, it might be a common wiper motor supplier between the two that might be source of the problem...but the conclusion on the F150 is that there's nothing wrong with the motor, its the design of the wiper system by Ford engineers on the F150 that is the problem. The motor is installed on a frame member of the truck...which means all vibrations are passed on to the motor.

The motor is not designed to withstand those kind of vibrations...and is not supposed to be installed on a frame member..

The parking circuit is typically the weakest part of the wiper motor...and it just cracks by the vibrations...Ford F150 owners have managed to get to the wiper motor and just re-soldered the parking circuit board to get the motor to work again...

I am wondering if MB made a similar design mistake in designing the wiper system..

carsfastfredi

if you go to www.importeccatalog.com they hace new wiper motors for $179.00 and free shipping. At least thats the cost for 500sl. other might be even cheaper! good luck

mihir_d

With all the discounts it ended up being $408 out the door....I did watch my mechanic do it from the very beginning, but they would not let me take any pictures.

The wiper motor replacement involves more of special tools rather than expertise...the front hood had to be decoupled from the hood struts to let it open further wide up.

The wiper arms were unscrewed using a special MB tool..and the black cover at the bottom of the windshield was snapped out, again using a special tool. I believe it was the power steering pump somewhere right on top near the windshield that too had to unmounted to get to the motor. After that wiper motor is clearly visible.

The wiper motor is mounted wierdly upside down in the center of the 2 wiper arms, screwed to the car body by 3 screws that needed another special tool to unscrew. There is an arm and gear assembly that transfers the motor drive to the wiper arms.

The wiper motor itself is quite heavy (made by Bosch in Mexico) and seems to have its own electronics for sweep speed settings and a gearing mechanism along with an eccentric that converts the rotory motion of the motor into the swing for the wiper arms.

All in all it took the mechanic about 2.5 hours to complete the job and I just noticed today that he has accidently reassembled the hood struts upside down...they are unable to hold the hood even for a second..the hood just drops down. I will have to call in tomorrow, and take it back to have it fixed.

Otherwise, my wipers are back to normal..

Unusual for the wiper motor to fail though...it shouldn't have happened in the first place....

James Black

WIPER MOTOR DIY FIX HERE: