Driver Wiper Chatter Help

[Jerome10]

Wondering if it is possible my actual wiper arm may be defective?

I don’t recall my factory Motorcraft blades and if they had a problem. They started streaking so I got Costco Michelin. Those have this skipping or chatter on the driver side. They also started streaking so now I have brand new PIAA Aero Vogue silicone blades on and this skipping or chatter is even worse than the Michelin. Brand new just put them on.

mainly on the down swipe more than the up.

Flipped driver and passenger blades and same thing regardless of blade. Passenger side is totally fine.

I clay my windshield. I followed the PIAA instructions for cleaning before use etc. I tried some silicone or 303 on the Michelin blades. Always this stuttering. Cannot get rid of it.

When I move the wiper on the arm the driver one seems to have more play than the passenger one, which seems snug. Could it be that my driver side wiper arm is just a little out of spec (narrow) and so the blade isn’t attaching snugly?

Is there any adjustment to either get the blade to apply a little more or less pressure downward onto the glass? Snug up the connection between the arm and the blade?

It kinda is driving me nuts and I’m at a loss what to do.

EDIT: just did some experimenting. Pulling away from windshield slightly seemed to help, adding pressure didn’t. Little harder to test but holding the area where the arm and blade clamp also seemed to reduce the stutter.

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[jhelrey]

It's usually blades.

 

[Davexxxx]

Usually a fresh set of blades takes care of it but you've already tried that ...

Rain-x?

 

[Ricksc]

Looks like a dry blade. I change mine every winter

 

[Mancerator]

You used a clay bar and switched the driver and passenger blades which didn't solve the problem. You also mention loosness where the wiper attaches. It could be that the problem is in the attaching point or mechanical linkage under the hood is worn or loose. Not sure how the wiper mount is attached but maybe that can be tightened.

 

[Nassau]

Check to see if the blade arm has the blade at 90 degrees to the windshield. Sometimes ice/sticking can cause the arms to twist slightly, resulting in the blade not being at 90 degrees to the glass when it wipes. So when it’s pushing against the bend, it chatters, but when its wipes the other direction it doesn’t. A careful twist bend with an adjustable wrench to get it square can fix it.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

Looks like a dry blade. I change mine every winter

Every spring and fall

 

[Mancerator]

I misunderstood that you swapped the entire L & R wipers (blade and arm) at the base which maybe wasn't the case. The video shows the blade wobbling where it attaches to the wiper arm. If that's how your's are it may be the "U" in the arm is spread too far apart allowing the blade to wobble and you can just squeeze it a little more closed.

 

[bandyrdk]

Wondering if it is possible my actual wiper arm may be defective?

I don’t recall my factory Motorcraft blades and if they had a problem. They started streaking so I got Costco Michelin. Those have this skipping or chatter on the driver side. They also started streaking so now I have brand new PIAA Aero Vogue silicone blades on and this skipping or chatter is even worse than the Michelin. Brand new just put them on.

mainly on the down swipe more than the up.

Flipped driver and passenger blades and same thing regardless of blade. Passenger side is totally fine.

I clay my windshield. I followed the PIAA instructions for cleaning before use etc. I tried some silicone or 303 on the Michelin blades. Always this stuttering. Cannot get rid of it.

When I move the wiper on the arm the driver one seems to have more play than the passenger one, which seems snug. Could it be that my driver side wiper arm is just a little out of spec (narrow) and so the blade isn’t attaching snugly?

Is there any adjustment to either get the blade to apply a little more or less pressure downward onto the glass? Snug up the connection between the arm and the blade?

It kinda is driving me nuts and I’m at a loss what to do.

EDIT: just did some experimenting. Pulling away from windshield slightly seemed to help, adding pressure didn’t. Little harder to test but holding the area where the arm and blade clamp also seemed to reduce the stutter.

 

[Jerome10]

Appreciate the feedback. I tried another isopropyl alcohol wipedown and I think it made it worse. It was almost like the windshield is too grabby. Blade started basically hopping across the glass.

After claying, I had used my Griot's Ceramic 3-in-1 Spray Wax on all the windows in September, including the windshield. So was wondering if maybe that is the problem. I've noticed that while it seems to last a very long time as far as water beading, it does not maintain that super-smooth feel when you drag your finger across the paint like other waxes I've used in the past (Turtle Wax Graphene Flex Wax... which was discontinued)

Anyway, bought a bottle of Invisible Glass Glass Stripper (about $10) and used it on the entire windshield. Says it strips off basically anything stuck on the glass and has a very mild abrasive in it I think.

Rained yesterday.... wipers are probably 95+% improved. Only thing I'm getting now is a split second of haze after the wiper swipes, but I think I read this is pretty normal for silicone blades like the PIAA I installed and really not a big deal. The chatter or skipping is basically gone.

So my guess is waxing the windshield 6 weeks ago actually made this situation worse. I like having some sort of coating on the glass, particularly in the winter, so I might give the Griots glass treatment a try or some Rain-X. But at least with Griot's Ceramic 3-in-1 spray I probably wouldn't suggest using that on your windshield.

The PIAA Aero Vogue appear to work fine after this and I like that you can buy separate refills with them next time I need to replace wipers.

 

[Jpp993]

@Jerome10 any new updates on this? I’m having the same issue and driving me nuts.

 

[Jerome10]

@Jerome10 any new updates on this? I’m having the same issue and driving me nuts.

Yup that glass stripper seems to have completely solved my problem. The Aero Vogues are working superbly for me now. No chatter. No skipping. Exactly as you want a blade to work. And that light haze I mentioned seems to have gone away as well.

Other things I’ve read but did not try are to clean your blades with a little alcohol. Can also try some silicone spray on a rag and wipe the blades. Or 303 some people used too. I think makes the blades a bit less sticky. I’d give that Invisible Glass Glass Stripper a shot though. For $10 might be worth a try.

Of course if you have a bent wiper arm that could also be a problem.

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