73' Thing Fuse Box/ Wiper Motor Questions

hollycanon · Samba Member Joined: December 09, 2008 Posts: 51

I just bought my 73' thing and I'm a little green on where everything is located on the vehicle.
The wipers are not working, but I was "assured" by the seller that they did work and that the fuse may have been blown. Where is the fuse box and does it take standard fuses.
If you have other suggestions I would really appreciate the help.
I'll post pics soon.

Captain Spalding

First off, welcome to the forum!

The following is from the owner's manual. The wipers are on fuse 1. If the fuse is the problem, the turn indicators shouldn't work either. It's a good idea while you're playing around with the fuse box to remove all the fuses and clean the contacts, both on the fuses and the fuse box, and then reinstall.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

The fuses you want are sometimes called torpedo or Bosch fuses. They look like this:

ETA: Don't be surprised if the fuse is not the problem. Even if it is, there is a reason the fuse blew. The wiper motor is a recurring topic here. Often times they go bad. Replacements can be hard to find and expensive. The good news is that many in many cases the motor can be disassembled, purged of the thirty-year-old grease, re-lubricated, electrical contacts cleaned, and that will solve the problem.

thinghunter · Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:17 am Post subject:

Also, try taking the posts apart that go through the windshield frame and clean and lube them. These being caked with 35 yr old grime can cause the motor to work harder than it should be.

Rabid Irish · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:02 am Post subject:

Bringing this back form the dead.

Everytime I turn on my wipers the fuse blows. When I first bought the car everything worked great. I removed all the fuses and cleaned the contacts.

Turn signals seem to function just fine with no problems as long as the fuse is not blown. As soon as I hit the switch for the wipers it instantly pops.

Anyone recomend some troubleshooting starting points? I did do a search but can't find anything with the same symptoms as mine. I didn't want to start a new thread because I know how much of a sore subject that can be around here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Semper_Dad · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:13 am Post subject:

Does the fuse blow immediately when you activate the switch? or does it take a couple of seconds? Just in low speed? high speed?
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Rabid Irish · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:40 am Post subject:

I will check next time I head over to the garage. I Think it goes instantly in any setting.

citroen · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:57 pm Post subject:

motor locked, one or both wiper pivots froze,or wire going to wiper motor or switch shorted disconect right wiper arm first to see if it moves next check for bare wires then the motor may be froze

Semper_Dad · Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:19 pm Post subject:

If the fuse blows imediately, then most likely the switch

If it takes a second or two. most likely an issue with the motor or some bound up linkage.

Below is a current flow diagram of the wire system showing the currant path in each of the modes.

The following procedure will check the operation of the wiper motor. It takes the wiper switch out of the equation.
1) Disconnect the moon shaped connector (with 4 wires)
2) Place a jumper wire in the connecter between the Black and Black/Grey wires.
3) Turn on ignition (Wiper motor should move in slow speed)
4) Turn off ignition
5) Move jumper to Black/Yellow and Black/Grey
6) Turn on ignition (Wiper motor should move in fasterish speed)

If motor works using this procedure then switch is most likely the issue
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Rabid Irish · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 12:24 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the tips gents. So if I do determine that it's the switch, would I need to replace the whole column switch unit (wiper and turn signal)?

[email protected] · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:04 pm Post subject:

My guess is the wiper motor you could send to me I could look at it for you or just take the cover off and take a picture of it so I can see what's wrong
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Michael Basso
http://www.thingparts.com
New and Used VW Thing Parts Free advice
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Semper_Dad · Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:17 pm Post subject:

Rabid Irish · Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:15 am Post subject:

I am going to try and get over to the car some time this week to look into the issue a bit more. While I am there I will snap a picture of the motor with the cover off.

Rabid Irish · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:52 am Post subject:

Just wanted to stop back in to thank everyone for helping me with this issue. Turns out nothing was wrong at all. Seems at some point while cleaning up connections I inadvertanly plugged the connector back in and the prong closest to the drivers door did not go back into the connector. It slid along side the outside. So whenever I hit the wiper switch it shorted out blowing the fuse. I still used the jumper method to make sure everything was in good working order. Plugged the connector back in CORRECTLY and the wipers worked like a charm. Very thankfull no harm was caused by this except for a few blown fuses. THANKS AGAIN!!!

Captain Spalding · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:49 pm Post subject:

Excellent news.

@SemperDad: your explanation with diagram above was brilliant. Did you make up the diagram yourself?

Semper_Dad · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:52 pm Post subject:

Captain Spalding · Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:34 am Post subject:

Bbenneyan

Related Question. I just installed a replacement used motor, wired correctly to all terminals. Purchased from know reputable seller and assured it was bench-tested and worked. It was not rebuilt. When I activate it doesn’t move, but tach needle drops to zero ( no change in amp meter or actual running ). No blown fuses, turn signals work fine. I bought Thing many yers ago without wipers, only drive in nice weather. Finally addressing. So I don’t know that switch etc functioned properly previously. Suspecting a short or crossed wire but not sure where to start. Smart electronics folks - any ideas?

[email protected]

The wiper motor is probably the culprit
if it got jarred dropped or just seized somehow, it probably need another rebuild or repair
which i can do for you
https://www.thingparts.com/wiper-motor-repair/

Mike
_________________
Michael Basso
http://www.thingparts.com
New and Used VW Thing Parts Free advice
CALL 518 630 0173


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