Wiper Blade Parks too High in the Off Position

[silversurfer10]

Hello everyone,

I recenty noticed on my CLS 219 that the passenger-side wiper blade parks a few inches too high on the windscreen when the wipers are in the 'off' position. I was wondering how I can lower the park positon of the wiper blade? Many thanks in advance.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Take the arm off the spline at the bottom and reposition it.

 

[zipdip]

As above,it is not hard to do,the hardest bit is wriggling the arm off the spline,put a bit of masking tape where the blade is sitting then you have a guide as to how much you are altering it.

 

[MrGreedy]

I would seriously suggest using a puller to remove and a torque wrench to do the bolt up when refitting. I'm pretty mechanically sympathetic, and I've managed to snap a spindle in the past trying to do it without the correct tools. The job then becomes much less fun.


Help in this thread about a puller for the wipers:
w212 washer nozzle missing | Parts, Maintenance & Servicing

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
Though the above advice is excellent and would solve the issue, I would be asking myself why the wiper is no longer parking properly, it would suggest that the wiper mechanism is worn, and something is slipping, you may adjust it at suggested and it could slip again causing the wipers either to smash together, or the wiper to smash into the scuttle.

 

[Petrol Pete]

As Andy says ^^^^ how did it move ? Highly unlikely to have moved on the spline . I would suggest taking it off and re positioning it on the spline is akin to taking your steering wheel off and repositioning it to cure a wheel alignment problem.

I would take the nut off and see how tight the arm is on the spline drive (usually very tight !) I just did mine - removed to paint/tart up a bit - I have a wiper arm pulling tool and it was still a complete swine to get off.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Hi,
Though the above advice is excellent and would solve the issue, I would be asking myself why the wiper is no longer parking properly, it would suggest that the wiper mechanism is worn, and something is slipping, you may adjust it at suggested and it could slip again causing the wipers either to smash together, or the wiper to smash into the scuttle.

Or someone fitted a new arm and did not position it properly....

 

[mersum1es]

Old W220 it meant sliding contacts of wiper motor were not having good contact any more, I have not checked/ can't remember if W219 has still similar structure...

 

[Benzowner]

If the wiper operates normally, ie full sweep, it is not a positioning problem and is probably not easily resolved. If the blade reaches the bottom of the sweep and then goes back up to the incorrect stop position, it is probably mechanism problems.

 

[silversurfer10]

Many thanks all for the most informative input. I took the two bolts off that were connected to the wiper but I was not able to reposition the wiper. Does anybody know of any video or images about the process involved? I tried searching online but couldn't find anything. Thank you.

 

[MrGreedy]

It's really simple (I was going to say easy, but may be that's not the correct word).

Undo and remove the nut from the out of position arm.

Use a puller like the Nielsen one I linked to pull the arm off properly parallel to the shaft.

Push the arm back in again in the new, repositioned position to where you think it should be.

Refit and tighten the nut using a torque wrench.

Wiggling the arm off risks snapping the shaft.

Tightening the nut on refitting risks snapping the shaft.

I wouldn't do it again without the correct tools having had the MASSIVE pain of snapping a shaft off and having to recover the situation. Car with no wipers. New mechanism required. Need to remove scuttle panel.


The repositioning the wipers is a quick thing to do. But also consider the other advice as people have said: (1) the arm might go lower in the wipe cycle than the rest position, and if you reposition the arm it might then back against the scuttle panel, or (2) there might be a fault with the mechanism or motor.

You can check (1) by looking at it in operation whilst on the car before attempting to reposition. If it goes lower than the rest position, just live with it as it is.

For (2) I would just reposition the arm, and keep a very regular and close check on the wipers arm position. As someone else said, you can put a temporary piece of tape (on then inside) of the windscreen as a visual reference for the rest position over a few weeks/months. If no movement in that time frame, I wouldn't be worried about it.

Is it possible you have tried to wipe something heavy like snow that have shifted the arm position on the spindle?

 

[silversurfer10]

It's really simple (I was going to say easy, but may be that's not the correct word).

Undo and remove the nut from the out of position arm.

Use a puller like the Nielsen one I linked to pull the arm off properly parallel to the shaft.

Push the arm back in again in the new, repositioned position to where you think it should be.

Refit and tighten the nut using a torque wrench.

Wiggling the arm off risks snapping the shaft.

Tightening the nut on refitting risks snapping the shaft.

I wouldn't do it again without the correct tools having had the MASSIVE pain of snapping a shaft off and having to recover the situation. Car with no wipers. New mechanism required. Need to remove scuttle panel.


The repositioning the wipers is a quick thing to do. But also consider the other advice as people have said: (1) the arm might go lower in the wipe cycle than the rest position, and if you reposition the arm it might then back against the scuttle panel, or (2) there might be a fault with the mechanism or motor.

You can check (1) by looking at it in operation whilst on the car before attempting to reposition. If it goes lower than the rest position, just live with it as it is.

For (2) I would just reposition the arm, and keep a very regular and close check on the wipers arm position. As someone else said, you can put a temporary piece of tape (on then inside) of the windscreen as a visual reference for the rest position over a few weeks/months. If no movement in that time frame, I wouldn't be worried about it.

Is it possible you have tried to wipe something heavy like snow that have shifted the arm position on the spindle?

Thank you. Yes, I think snow caused this problem as I first noticed it after it had snowed heavily.