Hyundai Repair: Hyundai Accent 1.3: was a smell of burning, cable loom, hyundai accent

Question
QUESTION: Hello HT,    Hyundai Accent 1.3: was a smell of burning.
Could I have burnt out my wiring to the wiper motor?
We had lots of snow and the temperature fell below freezing.
I left the car running for 10minutes while clearing the snow off  and around it.
It seems likely that I pushed down stem-switch for the wiper motor - as now, a warmer day later - neither the wiper or the windscreen motor work.
I've checked the fuses with an ohmmeter (visually seem ok) with the help of the owners manual.
kind regards,
RGoulden
Portsmouth, UK

ANSWER: It's possible the wiper motor has been damaged.  

First, check to be sure the wipers are securely bolted to their pivots.  This will guarantee the wipers aren't moving simply because they've come loose.

Next, check the wiper motor for proper inputs from the switch.  If the wiper motor is receiving proper input and power and ground, then the problem is in the wiper motor itself.

If you can tell me the year of your vehicle, I should be able to tell you which wires to check.  I only have access to wiring diagrams for U.S. models, but I expect the colors will be the same.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello HT,
My Hyundai is a year 2005 hatchback model.
Thank you for your quick answer and your time.
The wipers appear to be 'solid' and not loose: moving one (slightly) moves the other.  There is no mechanical noise when the stem switch is on/slow or fast speed/intermittant wiper (with ignition switch on - engine not running).
Inputs: When I unplugged the cable loom to the wiper motor I found 5pins - so I thought I would not be successful in doing a continuity check of the motor with my multimeter. I have an electronics back-ground but confused by vehicle wiring!
It would be very helpful to know which wires to check; thank you.
kind regards,
Robert G.


Answer
Your follow-up reminds me of something I forgot to tell you to check.  It's possible the linkage has come loose from the wiper motor.  If you can easily move the wipers back and forth through their full stroke by hand, this is a good indicator that has happened.  If so, you may be able to simply remove the cowl panels and snap the linkage back into place on the wiper motor.

If you do need to test the electrical inputs to the wiper motor, you can test as follows:
Pin 1-- green wire-- should be grounded with wiper switch in low position
Pin 2-- yellow wire-- should be grounded with wiper switch in high position
Pin 3-- black wire-- should be grounded at all times
Pin 4-- pink wire-- should have power with key in on position

Hopefully your wire colors and positions are the same.