[DirtyDan]

Driving down the road yesterday in the rain, wipers on intermediate speed..my left wiper fell off. Went to a Mahindra approved shop. They had wiper arms and blades. After inspecting I noticed that both blades had been hitting the hard rubber windshield molding, the thing that is the setting for the windhield. I replaced both wiper arms and blades on both sides. The mechanic mounted the new stuff and adjusted the swing of the wipers....except they would not adjust. No matter what he did the wipers hit the rubber molding. If he moved them up one end of the blade would hit the molding, if he moved them down the other end would hit the molding. A Mahindra approved service center tried to adjust them, a private electrical shop tried to adjust them, and, this morning a full dealership tried to adjust them. They also tried tightening and adjusting from under the instrument panel. Nothing has worked. Five hours, 3 shops later, no solution. I have a trip to Leh coming up. Sure would be nice to have some blades that work!

Anybody else got this problem?
Anybody got a solution?

Don't ask for pictures. Camera is busted, too. It's a Sony, though, and I don't think B.D. put his kiss of death on it .

[kittigadu]

I am not sure if thar has 12" wiper blades. I too had the same problem with my 550 though. Mahindra commander comes with 10" wipers. I got those to get rid of the same problem.

Regards,
Krishna.

[vikram_d]

When you remove the complete wiper arm, you should see a straight knurled piece like the one in the photo below. You will have to fix the wiper on this knurled piece in such a way that the wiper does not touch the beading anywhere.

Is the wiper arm fitting any different on the Thar? If it is then you can you post a photo of it?



Edit: Where exactly is the wiper arm hitting the beading? And, oops I asked for a picture.

Edit 2: If the wiper arm fixing is similar to what is shown in the photo then the fix is a simple one. Remove both the wiper arms completely and the switch on the wipers. When you switch them off you will notice the knurled pins will stop at the wipers lowest position. Now fix the wiper arms in such a way that they do not tough anywhere.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

...
After inspecting I noticed that both blades had been hitting the hard rubber windshield molding, the thing that is the setting for the windshield.
...

Well the problem seems to be the windshield molding. Get rid of it. Now that you got rid of it, the windshield will anyway fall off. So get rid of the windshield. And then why do you need the wipers? You get to drive the rains and get a free face wash.

I think Vikram and Kittigadu have given you two different solutions. Choose your poison Ken.

[DirtyDan]

Has 12 inchers. I will try to find some 10 inchers tomorrow....although the way the monsoon clouds are piling up on the mountains right now I may have to wait until October to be able to drive there...unless I opt for weight savings and ditch the molding and windshield altogether ala pjbiju. Hell's bells, a true off-roader does not want a windshield standing between him and flying mud, other flying brown stuff and nutritional insects!

We should all be men of true grit...in our teeth.

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Driving down the road yesterday in the rain, wipers on intermediate speed..my left wiper fell off. Went to a Mahindra approved shop. They had wiper arms and blades. After inspecting I noticed that both blades had been hitting the hard rubber windshield molding, the thing that is the setting for the windhield. I replaced both wiper arms and blades on both sides. The mechanic mounted the new stuff and adjusted the swing of the wipers....except they would not adjust. No matter what he did the wipers hit the rubber molding. If he moved them up one end of the blade would hit the molding, if he moved them down the other end would hit the molding. A Mahindra approved service center tried to adjust them, a private electrical shop tried to adjust them, and, this morning a full dealership tried to adjust them. They also tried tightening and adjusting from under the instrument panel. Nothing has worked. Five hours, 3 shops later, no solution. I have a trip to Leh coming up. Sure would be nice to have some blades that work!

Anybody else got this problem?
Anybody got a solution?

Don't ask for pictures. Camera is busted, too. It's a Sony, though, and I don't think B.D. put his kiss of death on it .

Hi DD,

The Solution is simple. Get the after market knurling with screw for the wiper blade.

Use the Maxx pick up wiper blade.

Check the wiper motor, under operation, it works itself loose, an additional L-Bracket will reduce the free play and torsional force on the wiper actuating spring loaded arm.

Regards,

Arka

[DirtyDan]

Went to a big Mahindra dealer in Pathankot today. After fooling around for 3 hours they call me to the shop to where they have "fixed" my wipers. They turn on the wipers and the wipers smack the beading just like always.......they look at me, I look at them...I ask them, "So, you want to show me that you have not fixed the wipers?" They look at me. I look at them.....two hours later they take me to the service manager who says that they have ordered a whole new wiper motor for me. Two weeks delivery on that. Meanwhile they have snipped the ends off the wipers so they dont hit quite so hard.

Where in blue blazes are you guys finding 10 inch wipers? Mahindra said it does not have any. They also said Maxx pickup wipers won't fit. It's heavy monsoon here. It's raining like a shower head out there, the Himalayas beckon, Leh, Ladakh beckons AND I AINT GOT NO STINKIN WIPERS!!!!......not that I am upset, mind you. I am adult, a mature individual who takes adversity in stride....

[DirtyDan]

Took my Thar into Pathankot today and they installed the new wiper motor. It did not fix the problem. Then the savvy service manager at Krisna Motors called the factory. Seems that they have now several reports of Thars with wipers that hit the beading and can not be adjusted. It's turning into a known production line problem for Mahindra so at least there may be a fix in the offing for me.

Yet another case of Mahindra either not testing or not listening to their testers.

[condor]

Dan, is it possible to re-position the motor itself, at a higher angle than it is right now ?

But the two arms are most likely connected by a concealed arm. If the re-position is possible, then to make it work, you may have to dis-engage the arm causing only the main (driver-side) wiper to work.


Another question - how about the wiper arm of another vehicle ?
The wiper arm of diff vehicles is at different angles. Is it possible to use a arm that has a more suitable angle ? If this works, You may possibly need to use a shorter wiper blade.

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Took my Thar into Pathankot today and they installed the new wiper motor. It did not fix the problem. Then the savvy service manager at Krisna Motors called the factory. Seems that they have now several reports of Thars with wipers that hit the beading and can not be adjusted. It's turning into a known production line problem for Mahindra so at least there may be a fix in the offing for me.

Yet another case of Mahindra either not testing or not listening to their testers.

THAR CRDe comes with Bolero wiper arms and 10 inch blades (Which is not of Boleros). I have refitted the OE 10 inch blades with Hella Dynapro on same arms for @ 1300rs. absolutely no issues and cleans the glass brilliantly.

Doesnt hit any beeding.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Rajith

THAR CRDe comes with Bolero wiper arms and 10 inch blades (Which is not of Boleros). I have refitted the OE 10 inch blades with Hella Dynapro on same arms for @ 1300rs. absolutely no issues and cleans the glass brilliantly.

Doesnt hit any beeding.

Can't find Hella Dynapro blades here. Will look some more tomorrow.

While I was in the Mahindra shop another new Thar rolled in for service. Mine was an April production and sale. Like me he had 12" blades, not ten. He was having no problems with them. The mechanic took his blades and arms and put them on my Thar. They hit the beading. One weird thing. His wiper arms were almost 1 inch longer than mine but they had the same stock number as mine.....but using his, my wipers still hit the beading.

Talked to a factory rep this morning. They are going to get back to me.

Condor, I will let Mahindra take another whack at it before I get to the point you are suggesting. "Let them break it first." is my motto.

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Can't find Hella Dynapro blades here. production and sale. Like me he had 12" blades, not ten. He was having no problems with them. The mechanic took his blades and arms and put them on my Thar. They hit the beading. One weird thing. His wiper arms were almost 1 inch longer

Sorry sir Thar crde comes with 12inch wiper blades and Boleros are 14.I have replaced OE blades with 12inches hella dynapro.Try Bosh aerotwin in same size.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Ken and all - this time, please permit me to start by LOL.



You guys keep on obliquely mentioning my "Premier Padmini" background in not so good a context, isn't it? Now read this!

Thar CRDe wiper motor is exactly same as that of MM540 which derives its ancestry from the Premier Padmini, which in turn derives its ancestry from the original Lucas 1950s vintage design from England. There are no linkages. There is a cable core on which a wire is wound. This cable oscillates to run what are known as "wheel boxes". There are three conduit pipes fitted inside the dashboard through which this cable operates. The angle of operation of both wheel boxes is same by design because the linear distance travelled by the wire is constant.

There are four variables. The first variable is the offset of the worm wheel, which is the driver of the cable. If this linear dimension is increased (it is like a crank throw), the angle of operation increases. Standard Premier Padmini had 120 degrees offset system with RH side parking, longer RH arm and smaller LH arm. When LH parking was introduced in 1991 (yours truly was the designer, by the way), for using longer blades (from the 118NE) on both sides, the offset was reduced to 110 degrees. This was required to meet the 1991 CMVR for wiping systems to meet what is known as "A,B,C" areas! I am not very sure on this but as far as I can remember, Thar needs 105 degrees. The second variable is the number of teeth on the wheel boxes. Original Premier Padmini had 22 teeth wheel boxes (single speed motor). New ones had 32 teeth wheel boxes (two speed motor). The third variable is the parking position. There is a small cam pressed inside the worm wheel end, which meets this requirement. The fourth variable is the wiper motor mounting bracket. If this thingy flexes, (in MM540, the mounting is not too good), you will have uncontrolled movement. There are two numbers M6*1.0 screws on the cowl RH which holds this bracket.

Dear Ken - please open the wiper motor and take out the worm wheel. "120 / 110 / 105" etc will be punched on it. There seems to be some mix-up of what we call "child parts" as the other vehicle was OK and yours was not! Nothing new, these things happen! Also, please do not fiddle around with the "knurled driver" of the wheel boxes (the part on which the wiper arm sits), or the knurled driver will get spoilt. Check that the wiper motor mounting bracket is rigid enough, it's a "vendor part" after all! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

PS1 - next time, please use the words "Premier Padmini - aka - Fiat 1100" with slightly more restraint! It is the only car where I have not come across a single design issue! And the drawings were made in 1953, when most of us (me included) were not born and "windows" were opened to let the wind in!

PS2 - in 1977, we had used a Premier Padmini wiper motor to turn a small rubber wheel attached to the worm wheel, friction contacting inside a vertically mounted LCV brake drum, on which a wooden base was made, on which a Premier Padmini weighing 890 kg was put for rotating through 360 degrees in an auto exhibition at that time. Wiper motor torque is tremendous! Never thought that a puny wiper motor could do this, did you?

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

......

Dear Ken - please open the wiper motor and take out the worm wheel. "120 / 110 / 105" etc will be punched on it. There seems to be some mix-up of what we call "child parts" as the other vehicle was OK and yours was not! Nothing new, these things happen! Also, please do not fiddle around with the "knurled driver" of the wheel boxes (the part on which the wiper arm sits), or the knurled driver will get spoilt. Check that the wiper motor mounting bracket is rigid enough, it's a "vendor part" after all! .


PS2 - in 1977, we had used a Premier Padmini wiper motor to turn a small rubber wheel attached to the worm wheel, friction contacting inside a vertically mounted LCV brake drum, on which a wooden base was made, on which a Premier Padmini weighing 890 kg was put for rotating through 360 degrees in an auto exhibition at that time. Wiper motor torque is tremendous! Never thought that a puny wiper motor could do this, did you?

Amazing stuff, B.D. and I do thank you. I will get after them with my "expertise" on worm wheels. It's always great fun to quote technical stuff I learn from Team-bhp to service managers. They blink at you and go slack jawed...and commication improves dramatically as does the integrity.

Behram, I still think you should set up your own shop, rebuild and make better than new Army MM550s. Offer 2 models only, regular and deluxe, to keep customer nagging to a minimum. And, laugh all the way to the bank.

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Behram, I still think you should set up your own shop, rebuild and make better than new Army MM550s. Offer 2 models only, regular and deluxe, to keep customer nagging to a minimum. And, laugh all the way to the bank.

So it will ensure a chance for a new thread cropping "Why I wont buy Mr BDs Jeep"