And then you have the times where you can't even get in the car until you clear some snow This pic was taken after the blizzard of 1996. I made it home from skiing in PA and parked the car at the top of the dirt driveway, and this is what I came out to the next morning. This was my '94 T-Bird SC, and I had remote start, which came in handy.

 

So what happens to the windshield wiper motor if the wiper control is left in the automatic position, your car is not in a garage and you get a snow or freezing rain storm?
When the engine is given the command to start either remotely or from inside the car I believe the wiper motor will try to make a swipe across the windshield but will be unable to move the wiper blades because they are frozen solid to the windshield.
Or maybe the wiper switch was left in the on position, either way the motor is going to try and make a swipe across the windshield and won't be able to unless defrosted and cleaned before the engine is started.
Is the wiper motor impedance protected from burning up, or will a fuse open or will nothing happen?

All this could have been prevented with a Snow position for the wiper blades.
Thanks all, just thinking out loud.

 

propcop - That is Ed Zachery why, the wipers are pulled up off the window overnight. I think it would definitely try to take a swipe. Hopefully the only thing to get damaged would be the rubber part of the blade.

As far as I know, nobody "up in here" has reported an incidence of getting the wipers stuck on the windshield from an overnight freeze, and therefore no knowledge of what might happen.


Jason

 

The articulating style driver wiper blade in the LS (which is not present in other Lexus models) keeps it from being able to have a snow mode.

 

The first thing most New Englander's do after or during a storm or freeze and before getting into the car to start it is to free up the wiper blades from the windshield and slap them against the glass to break up the built up ice. I realize some people get in the car first to start it and then go outside to clear the ice and snow but I prefer to get into the car one time instead of twice.
None of my cars over the last 50 plus years ever had a wiper motor strong enough to free up a pair of frozen wipers to the glass. I have accidentally applied power to the wiper motor in my truck but only for a brief second or two after realizing the wipers were stuck to the glass.
I'm wondering for example if the vehicle was remotely started and the wipers were frozen to the glass and the wiper switch was left in the automatic wiper position for say 5 minutes or longer what would happen to the electric wiper motor.
I'm sure it's happened to someone at one time or another?
Frozen wipers or buried wipers in the snow is a frequent occurrence in the North East.

 

I clean all snow off the glass first so even if the wipers are not frozen they don't push the snow down.