annoying wiper issue

[nando]

living in the PNW I use my windsheild wipers a lot so this issue is driving me nuts.

when I have my wipers on intermittent, they will stop at the top of their arc until I push the lever down. if I hold the lever down, they will go through their normal sweep, but if I let go before they reach the top they stop. I swapped in another wiper module that I know works, but that didn't help anything.

wiper switch? bad wiring? they work fine in the medium and high modes but I hardly ever need those.

[Jarvis]

I would guess switch. I've never personally had problems like that, but I've seen other people solve electrical problems by replacing a steering column switch (all on one small harness). You can get an extra to swap in, right?

Just to clarify: by "wiper module" you mean the big, black, rectangular relay in the fuse box, right?

[boom-monkey]

Hmm, I was gonna say relay, but apparently not. Switch doesn't make much sense either. I guess wiring is the next logical step.

[nando]

I would guess switch. I've never personally had problems like that, but I've seen other people solve electrical problems by replacing a steering column switch (all on one small harness). You can get an extra to swap in, right?

Just to clarify: by "wiper module" you mean the big, black, rectangular relay in the fuse box, right?

yeah, I have an extra, but I haven't really had time to dig into that car all that much yet. I was posting to see if anyone else had a similar issue. maybe I'll give swapping the switch out a shot this weekend. and yes, that's the module I'm talking about.

[bimmer8604]

check the ground on the steering colum. take off your steering wheel(be sure to mark it so you put it back on straight) and then check the grounds. you cant miss'em. Two screws. I think the ground on the right is the one for the windows. i had a car that had intermentant wipers, and they would work if i just tapped the bottom of the steering colum. The screw was stripped out holding the ground, so i just grounded them to the same ground as the turn signals.

HTH.

kyle

[Kip]

I have had the same problem, alto on a land rover. My fix was to remove the wiper motor and gearbow, clean all old crust grease up, regrease, and clean motor contacts.

FWIW, I believe that a little circuit logic will direct you away from the switch. Once the switch has made contact, it is out of the loop, so to speak.

If it was switch, or "wiper module", wouldn't problem also appear when wipers were on low or high? Only happens in intermittant, tho...

As others have stated, DO check grounds anyway. My g/f and I argue about who will slam the back door on the Rover in order to make brake light work. Waiting for nice weather to pull it apart, and clean up harness ground.

[silversleeper]

i had an annoying wiper issue once, last week actually, at the carwash. damn thing flew off as soon as the brushes hit it!

[Marky08]

had the same kind of problem in my 85 eta replaced the wiper motor.. problem solved

[Dave]

I am voting switch as described above.

I need to replace my motor - its noisy as hell. I guess I'm lazy enough I'll wait until it quits before I do. I have a spare for when it craps out.