My Xterra has two (hopefully minor) problems which I'm trying to fix. Any help would be appreciated. 1. The left wiper stopped working. Last week there was a freeze and in the morning the windshield got iced up a little bit. So I poured some water on it and started the wipers. But the left one was still stuck in ice and didn't wipe, only the right one. Now the left wiper no longer works. 2. My two brake lights in the rear don't work, but the brake light on the hatch door does. Is it possible that a switch or a fuse somewhere is to blame, or that both bulbs blew at the same time? MTIA
1. You won't like my answer - you either broke the linkage or stripped the splines on the arm and/or shaft. I would assess what is broken and look for salvage parts if you are on a budget. 2. I think it is common for both rear bulbs to go out in succession because on some vehicles, they are wired in series - when the first one goes, then more current goes through the remaining bulb (which is just as old as the first one). I would try replacing the bulbs as the first step.
Took the car to a mechanic and he was able to fix the wiper problem. He said it was a minor and common problem with European style wipers. I couldn't understand all what he was saying, but something apparently slipped out of its groove. So all they had to do was remove the contraption, clean the grooves and place things back in their proper place. (The rear brake lights problem was simply blown bulbs. Thank goodness.)
