[oahu]

The wipers on my 96 Grand Voyager won't work. When I turn them on I can hear a sound like power is getting to them but they don't move. I am thinking it isn't the multi function switch since i can definitely hear something when i turn the wipers on. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[chuzz]

Check under the cowl and make sure you don't have some linkage binding, Jamie.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Any warning or did this just happen one day? What happens if you grasp a wiper arm and pull it up the glass?
I have found the arm nuts loose. The motor will run and the pivots will oscillate, but the arms sit still.
Either that or as mentioned, the linkage may have disconnected under the cowl screen or the motor nut-to-linkage has loosened.

 

[oahu]

I took the cowl screen off and there doesn't seem to be anything binding the linkage. When I turn the wipers on there is no movement anywhere but you can definitely hear that something is engaging or turning on. Yes they stopped working without warning...however they were doing a couple of ghost swipes after I would turn them off...there are 2 relays in the fuse box under the hood, could it be one or both of those gone bad?

Where is the motor nut to linkage that might have loosened located? Sorry but I am a novice at this and want to try to fix it with some ideas from here so I don't have to take it to a garage. I appreciate any help very much

 

[chuzz]

The motor to linkage nut is where the linkage to both arms is connected to the wiper motor under the cowl. Check the nuts on the wiper arms themselves too, although I've never seen on of these come off in over 40 years of driving. You can simply swap the relays with one another. They should be the same # and interchanging will let you know if that's the problem or something else. Oh, I forgot to mention that the nuts holding the arms onto the pivot studs are probably under a plastic cover.

 

[ImperialCrown]

If you hear the wiper motor turning, it does sound mechanical and not electrical. Like a linkage disconnect or stripped gear in the wiper gearbox.
The wiper linkage assembly is held into the tray with nuts and the whole thing should lift out with the wiper bucket unbolted and pulled forward.