Wiper has to manually be lifted before working – 1996 Chevrolet Beretta

ANSWER : You will have to replace the "wiper arm shaft" and/or wiper arm for the side which isn’t working. Both of these components have very small splines which interlock when the nut is tightened. A heavy snow or ice load can cause the splines to break down, or strip, rather than damage the electric motor. A certified technician from YourMechanic can replace the windshield wiper arm at your home or office.

ANSWER : The problem you are describing likely stems from an intermittent electrical fault in the wiper circuit. The windshield wiper system uses a small electric motor to move the wiper arms that you see on the windshield. That electric motor is controlled through a switch, relay, fuse, and wiring. One, or more, of those electrical components has failed although it is also possible that the mechanical arms are binding (seized, if the lubricant has dried out) thus causing the electric circuit to the motor to overload. Regardless of the underlying fault, if you request a non functioning wiper diagnostic/repair, the responding certified mechanic will get this taken care of for you. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.

ANSWER : Hi there – the lack of slow or intermittent motor speed can be caused by 2 issues: failure of the switches on the steering column stalk, or within the motor pulse control inside the motor housing. You’re going to need a voltmeter to check power to the motor for low speed to isolate this one to either the motor or the switch. I recommend an electrical inspection by a mobile, professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, who will come to your location, diagnose this problem, give you an accurate assessment of damage and cost estimate for repairs.

ANSWER : As unfortunate as it is, your vehicle would be considered flood damaged. Diagnosing electrical problems in a flood damaged vehicle is nearly impossible. This would take many hours or even days to determine which wiring harnesses and circuits have been affected. Then nearly all of the wiring under the dash would likely require replacement as well as many sensors and switches. On a BMW vehicle, the amount of wires and switches are likely more than that of a lower end vehicle. Due to the inefficiency in cost, you would likely be able to purchase another BMW like yours for less than what it would cost to fix your car. Many insurance companies would consider this type of damage to total out the vehicle unfortuantely.

ANSWER : Hi – the sudden nature of this failure would suggest a fuse or other electrical link, but you have checked the obvious. Further diagnosis is needed to determine which component in the electrical power chain has failed – switch, electrical wiring, or the wiper motor itself. I would suggest an electrical component failure by a mobile, professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, who will come to your location, diagnose this problem, give you an accurate assessment of damage and cost estimate for repairs.

ANSWER : Hi there. Most of the time when a manual transmission is hard to shift into an individual gear, it’s caused by the linkage being ’twisted’ or not aligned correctly. However, it is also possible that internal damage has occurred inside your transmission that is causing this problem. In most cases, a clutch issue would cause shifting issues on all gears. Before you spend money on repairs, it’s probably a better idea to have a professional mechanic complete a car is hard to shift inspection, so they can isolate the source of this problem and provide you with the correct repair advice.

ANSWER : You can try to use a heat gun (REALLY carefully though, unless you intend to scrap your car) to melt any ice on the linkages to ensure that the linkages are not mechanically binding anywhere (due to ice; they can, of course, bind due to other causes). Of course, if it’s REALLY cold out, even that strategy is going to be problematic because whatever you unfreeze could instantly re-freeze. You just have to judge your circumstances or put the car in a warm garage for a short while. Heat gun or no heat gun, if you judge that there are no mechanical blockages, and you can SEE the motor turning, and yet the wipers aren’t moving, you could have stripped (broken) linkages.
If you cannot see what the motor is doing, the noise you are hearing could be the "humming" of a stuck motor, as opposed to an actually functioning motor. If you desire that the issue be diagnosed and the root cause(s) repaired simply request a non working wiper diagnostic and a certified mechanic will come right to your location and get this resolved for you. Please let us know if you have additional or followup questions.

ANSWER : Hi There,
It sounds like you may have a faulty blower motor resistor. The highest speed setting may still work because in most cars in the highest fan speed settings the current bypasses the blower motor resistor. In some cars, if the resistor is failed, the fan may stop working completely. Another reason a blower motor resistor may fail is when the blower motor has a mechanical problem or when a foreign object jams the blower motor fan blade and prevents it from spinning freely. This leads to increased current through the resistor and causes it to overheat and fail. I would suggest having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your system to determine what may be causing the fan not to work properly.