My wipers stopped working, caused most likely due to starting the car with frozen blades on window. My fault tracing so far seems to indicate there's a relay, F9 Wiper Motor Module (WMM) that's in a fuse/relay holder under the upper fuse holder inside the engine bay. I cannot seem to figure out how to remove the upper fuse holder (in this -24C cold). Does this seem to be the most likely cause and is there an OEM for the WMM? Thanks... Cam

The good news is the windshield wipers are now working. The 64 thousand dollar question is how? With my 42+ years of Volvo experience, this is indeed strange.

This morning I fired up the garage woodstove, expecting a full day of diagnostics and frusuration. I had already located several sources for a rebuilt wiper motor, but this would delay the repair until later this week.

With the inside temperature still around +5C, I lifted the upper fuse tray and removed the 30 amp fuse. Before figuring how to get at the wiper motor, I decided to swap 30 amp fuses and see if there was any change in the symptoms. F9 is indeed a fuse; Cooper Bussman low-profile, slow-blow:



I once again did the resistance continuity check and it appeared fine, but I did replace it with the identical fuse for the starter motor (F34) in the upper fuse tray. I re-installed the fuse tray, then tried the wipers and they worked. I installed the original wiper fuse into the starter motor fuse location, fully expecting the car to not start, but to my utter surprise it did start and the wipers still are working. Strange eh?

I still don't know if somehow the wiper motor module reset itself, is damaged or the wiper motor itself will fail in the future. I'm a bit suspicious that even a Volvo has not evolved to the point it can self-repair, so I fully expect I have not seen the last of this apparent serious problem. I'll buy extra 30 amp fuses, just in case.

Any comments or ideas?

Not Voodoo, but circuit overload. I suspect that the frozen wipers caused the circuit to overload and cause a shutdown. This is true for power windows and seats, why not for wipers. By pulling the fuse, you might have interupted the circuit long enough to have the error code reset to zero and have the wipers work again.

Something to think about the next time it happens.

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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic

I doubt there is a long term Volvo owner that hasn't been caught by the wipper
frozen to the windshield trick!!!
On all our Volvo's to date, when that happened the friction device (??) where the wipper arm connnects to the motor power drive shaft would loosen. the motor shaft then will turn, but the wippers will not. I then had to lift the plastic cap and slightly snug the friction nut after being sure the wipper and motor alignment was correct, so the wippers did not collide with each other.
Our most recent Volvo's are a 2004, 2003.
Since wippers are a safety feature, I hope your newer volvo is not a more complex fix.

Have you tried unsticking the wipers and just turning them on? The relay may be a circuit breaker.

BTW - Just before I take our new XC 70 for service, I think that i will pull the fuse assemblies to see how hard it will be if I get stuck somewhere!
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'96 855R,'64 PV544 driver, '67 P1800 basket case, '72 Yamaha Rd400, '68 Honda 350-4, '12 XC70, the first 5 are mine, heh, heh, 525,000 miles put on 10 bricks James A Sousa

Thanks James. I made the mistake of starting the car before realizing the wiper blades were frozen to the window. We had a "flash freeze" so I guess the last time I used the car was when the temperature was above freezing and I had left the wipers on, even though they were in the parked position.

I had to scrape the ice from the windshield and that's when I realized they were frozen. I tried the switch and the wipers were unresponsive. Yesterday I move the car into my wood heated garage and was able to pry the upper fuse tray to expose the lower tray where wiper relay/fuse resides. I pulled the 30 amp cube (Wiper Motor Module) and since it only has 2 contacts, I think it does function as a fuse. I did a continuity ohm check and it appears to be fine. One thing I noticed is there's another identical 30 amp relay/fuse in the upper tray, used for the starter motor, so today I'll swap these to see if there's any change. The next step is to expose the wiper motor, that's under the plastic shroud inside the engine compartement, at the base of the windshield. I'll take pictures and post these.

My 2008 has fuses inside the engine compartement, behind the glove box and inside the rear inspection hatch on the driver's side near the tailgate. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with these locations and check the owner's manual if you experience any electrical fault before taking it in for service, once your warranty has expired.

A relay does not go through much stress when your wipers are overloaded, fuses should protect it.

I would look for a fuse or fuses that protect the wipers, or a damaged motor.

The nature of the splines that I have seen on Volvos make me try to be SURE that my wipers are not stuck when I turn them on.
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'96 855R,'64 PV544 driver, '67 P1800 basket case, '72 Yamaha Rd400, '68 Honda 350-4, '12 XC70, the first 5 are mine, heh, heh, 525,000 miles put on 10 bricks James A Sousa

I think the relay is also a fuse. The owners manual leads me to believe that, since it claims it is 30A.
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If you're not driving it "like its stolen," are you really driving?