Hi, I think I might have some cracks in the solder or pathways on a printed circuit board in my car's wiper motor. I have looked at the PCB from the side that is visible to me, and have not seen any obvious cracks or gaps. Can I remove it safely from its holder, and if so, how? It appears to be mounted on 3 small posts. Will the PCB pop off the posts ? I could then turn it over to look further.
Thanks
I don't know how you can remove it, and you haven't mentioned what year/type of car, or manufacturer of the wiper motor, so I doubt anyone else will know either.
I've found that a high brightness LED on the back side of the board (pointed straight at the board) is a fairly good way of detecting cracks in PCB materials.
-- Cheers, WB .............
Wild Bill,
Thanks for the tip about the LED. The car is a 1988 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA. But I think mounting of PCB's in auto wiper motor applications is pretty standard : A plastic cover on the wiper motor contains the pcb. I bet they are all ( 99 percent) attached to the plastic cover the same way, with these little posts. But I could be wrong. :)
BTW, I cleaned up the pcb a bit by gently scraping the metal contact areas with a clean fingernail, reassembled it on the wiper motor, and most of the functions have returned. But there is still one proble. The off position does not work. May need to find a break somewhere on the pcb.
Even mentioning 1988 and GM car would've been helpful, something to ponder for a future question post.
You might be able to find a wiring diagram of the wiper motor assembly online. You may be able to find a manufacturer's mark on the assembly (Delco, for example) that may be helpful in your quest. There are possibly internal switches in the gearbox (maybe just one).
-- Cheers, WB .............
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