I have that problem on my '87. I think its the switch, not the motor.  If I
am persistent and keep jiggling the switch-try at different front wiper
speeds-I can get it to work.
-Mike

----------
> From: Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Rear window wiper help...
> Date: Friday, January 15, 1999 11:20 AM
>
> There I was, stuck in traffic, snow falling to beat the band, and a
> friendly officer of the law pulls up next to me, rolls down his window
and
> yells for me to clean up my rear window before I ticket you.
> (Hmmmph.  He didn't yell at the Civic two cars in front that didn't
appear
> to have cleaned ANY of the snow off their car.  Was it my bus?)
> Anyway, I hit the wiper switch, and...nothing.  Drove the rest of the way
> to work, uneventfully, and checked the fuse when I arrived.  Intact.
> Q:  Do the rear wiper motors on Vanagons go belly up?  If so, are they
> relatively easy to replace?  Anyone got a spare they'd like to sell,
should
> the need arise?
>
> Alan Bosch
> Forty inches of snow in five days in Rochester, NY
> Remember, drive sideways...
> '88 Wolfsburg, "...slip slidin' away..."