I have a 2000 VW Cabrio and I just replaced a wiper motor. When I turned the wipers on they went the wrong way and stopped.

I tried removing the wiper arms and turned the wiper switch on and off to locate the "home" position. I reinstalled the wiper arms where you would expect them to be when the wipers are off. Once again, the wipers went in the wrong direction. I realized I must be missing an important step. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong?

First off, try just simply retracing your wiring. If you spliced, they could be reverse polarized. If it was a harness, trace the wires back from it to make sure something is not crossed.