Sprague Devices FAQs
We’d love to discuss your wiper system needs. Start a conversation with us by:
- sending an email
- calling 800.245.7691
- filling out a contact form
You can also find a distributor near you.
Yes. We ship our products to our customers around the world. Contact us today to learn more.
We are known in the industry for our product customization. We deliver application-specific solutions that we tailor to fit your needs at a minimal tooling cost. Learn more.
You can find your vehicle in our system to see which Sprague Devices products best fit your application. You can also contact us today—our skilled engineers can recommend which products are best suited for your commercial vehicle.
Yes. If you already know the number of the part you need, reach out to us by email or by calling 800.245.7691. You can also find a distributor near you.
At Sprague Devices, we rate our wiper motors by stall torque, which is expressed in Newton meters (Nm). The size of your commercial vehicle’s wiper arms and blades can determine the best wiper motor for your application:
- 8 Nm: recommended for small wiper arm and blade combinations of 16” (400mm) and under.
- 12 Nm: recommended for wiper arms and blades in the 16” – 20” (400mm – 500mm) range.
- 30 Nm: recommended for wiper arms and blades in the 20” – 28” (500mm – 710mm) range.
- 38 Nm: recommended for when one motor drives multiple arms and blades or for wiper arms and blades of 28” and longer.
Still not sure? Contact us today and we’ll match you with the right wiper motor.
Your windshield wiper motor is first installed on the firewall. It is then connected to your system of rods, arms and joints known as the wiper transmission. When you switch on your windshield wipers, your wiper motor spins and rotates a crank arm, moving the wiper blades across your windshield to remove rain, dew, snow, dirt, sand, and/or other debris from view.
The wiper park switch, often built into the wiper motor gearbox, controls where your wipers park on your windshield. This park switch ensures that your blades start and stop in the correct resting position when you turn off your wipers. You can activate the switch by powering the wiper motor until the wipers reach their preferred park position.
If your wipers are stopping in the wrong position, this is a sign of your switch going bad. Contact us today to see how we can best replace this part for your commercial vehicle.
Under normal conditions, a wiper motor should last a vehicle’s lifetime. However, there are several reasons why a windshield wiper motor stops working:
- Frequent use during wet or dusty conditions
- Regular use of wipers on a dry windshield or across extremely dirty surfaces
- Switching wipers on to clean a frozen snow and/or ice-covered windshield
- Wipers not starting in park position
- Grease drying up which causes rapid motor wear
- Faulty parts within the motor or wiper system (blown fuse, bad relay, failing connectors, etc.)
If your wiper motor requires replacing, contact us today.
On the surface, a broken wiper motor can appear as problems with your windshield wipers. These signs include:
- Windshield wipers not working
- Wipers moving slower than normal
- Wipers operating at one speed
- Windshield wipers parking in the wrong position
- Abnormal noises from wiper motor.
If your wiper motor requires replacing, contact us today.
If you’re noticing irregular performance from your wiper blades, examine your wiper blades to see if there is any sign of wear, including:
- Cracked rubber: splits and slashes are evidence of a hard wiper life.
- Torn rubber: blades are pulling away from their metal support, causing a slapping motion on each wiping pass.
- Rubber abrasion and wear: look for worn down, ragged edges from winter weather or infrequent rubber element refilling.
- Park set rubber: check for hardened rubber, due to direct sunlight and extreme temperature changes.
- Contaminated rubber: Road film or chemicals adhering to rubber refill surface cause rubber contamination.
- Improperly installed refill: Improper installation or refill to short can result in a scratched windshield.
- Damaged superstructure: ice scrapers and car wash equipment can lead to bent wiper arms or blades.
If your wiper blades requires replacing, contact us today.
Under normal conditions, we recommend changing your wiper blades every six to twelve months. Environmental and seasonal conditions can lead to longer or shorter replacement intervals.
If your wiper blades requires replacing, contact us today.
