Parasitic battery drain that is related to rear wiper

Tiny
KTHEBUM
  • MEMBER
  • 2010 FORD ESCAPE
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
Previous mechanic pulled the fuse out for the rear wiper and that solved the drain problem (but rendered rear wiper non-functional). I put the fuse back in recently just to see what would happen and it of course drained the battery. Then after jump-starting the vehicle I pulled out the electrical cable bundle going into the rear wiper motor, thinking that would solve the drain problem even with the fuse still in. It did not - the battery drained again. Prior to that happening I assumed I just needed a new rear wiper motor, but now I wonder if the drain is happening somewhere else between the battery and the wiper motor.
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 AT 6:46 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,758 POSTS
Hi,

The rear wiper wiring isn't real complex, but anything is possible. I attached two pics below. It is the wiring schematic for the entire wiper / washer circuit. (pics 1 and 2) When you disconnected the motor, did you check to make sure there is no damage to the connector pins? I have seen them short internally. How many wires were on the connector to the motor?

Also, if you look at pic 3, is that the plug you disconnected?

Here are a few links you may find helpful:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-wiring

Let me know.

Joe
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Thursday, April 2nd, 2020 AT 7:19 PM
Tiny
KTHEBUM
  • MEMBER
  • 16 POSTS
Thank you for your help. Turned out I just hadn't left the engine on long enough after jumping to charge the battery enough to start the next day. The new wiper motor wasn't draining the battery after all, and everything works now. Thank you!
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 AT 5:49 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,758 POSTS
You are very welcome. I'm glad it was something simple. Take care of yourself and let us know if you have questions in the future.

Joe
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 AT 6:50 PM

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