re: Wiper problems analysis..

TSwede · 05-20-2003, 02:49 PM

Hi Y'all - Been trying to find out why my intermeittent wipers are busted.. done all the usual checks - have diagrams etc. I have a current at 53a when the ignition switch is on - am I right in assuming that this should return the motor to park? - If this is the case and there are no other potential problems I assume the motor needs to be repaired/replaced - just wanted a bit of advice off anyone who knows...

Any Help Truly Appreciated

Tony Swede

RoninLB · 05-20-2003, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TSwede

- just wanted a bit of advice off anyone who knows...
Any Help Truly Appreciated

well Tony, I'm no pro.. but did you open the wiper motor and clean it all out.. and the many contacts in there?............Ron

05-20-2003, 06:51 PM

Do a search for intermitent wipers. Lots of cars have the same prob. It may be that the contacts in the stalk switch have gone out of alignment. You'll have to get the switch out of the column and carefully bend the contacts back.

masraum · 05-20-2003, 07:20 PM

It's my understanding that the switch in the stalk craps out in a manner similar to the headlight switch that affects the intermittent wipers.

Argo · 05-20-2003, 08:30 PM

Steve's right - if the stalk switch doesn't park the blades correctly, the intermittent feature won't work. When I got my '88, the wipers didn't park and the intermittent function didn't work. Thanks to John Walker, I found the problem in the stalk switch. In my switch, there are metal contacts (prongs) that activate the park function when they are pushed together by a small angular plastic piece when the wiper switch is turned to off. Over time, they had flexed to the side so that they were no longer pushed into contact by that plastic piece. I repositioned the prongs and, bingo, wipers park correctly. I also found out that the intermittent feature won't work until the wipers are correctly parked. Once I adjusted the prongs, both my problems were solved.

Argo
88 Targa

RoninLB · 05-20-2003, 08:44 PM

[B] "I have a current at 53a when the ignition switch is on - am I right in assuming that this should return the motor to park?"
--- Yes

" If this is the case and there are no other potential problems I assume the motor needs to be repaired/replaced"
--- repaired Yes, I hope

" just wanted a bit of advice off anyone who knows..."
--- I don't really know because I hardly ever see the problem.. but the 53a wire continues hot to the motor in the lever off position.. [so the lever is working to feed power to the motor].. the 53a power at the motor, on its way to the park position, is turned off by a rotating contact.. so I'm not sure this is your problem, but it's something to consider.. if your wipers didn't turn off at all/kept on going in the lever off position, then that's definately the lever contacts.. the motor housing contacts are probably a little dirty from ionization and grease[B]

Tony/Ron

RoninLB · 05-20-2003, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Argo

I found the problem in the stalk switch. In my switch, there are metal contacts (prongs) that activate the park function when they are pushed together by a small angular plastic piece when the wiper switch is turned to off. Over time, they had flexed to the side so that they were no longer pushed into contact by that plastic piece. Argo
88 Targa

so 53a power to the motor is the lever off position, I think..

TSwede · 05-21-2003, 12:20 AM

My understanding is that I wouldn't be getting a hot 53a at the motor if it was the wiper stalk.. This is why I was asking in case I am wrong about this. Logic (My Logic) seems to dictate that if there is a current getting to 53a at the motor it doesn't matter what the switch is doing - it simply doesn't matter - the current is there but the motor doesn't activate - turn to zero - on the 53a intermittent track - if I fed it from the battery it still wouldn't do anything. I suppose - what i was wondering was is there possibly anything else that can cause this before I dissassemble the motor.. Ie an earth problem - though I thought this is unlikely as if there was a bad earth the motor theoretically shouldn't work at all? or does it get a different earth off the wiper stalk in the intermittent position - so it won't work even if the intermittent (53a) is hot.. You may all need to read this twice - I just had to..

RoninLB · 05-21-2003, 04:43 AM

"My understanding is that I wouldn't be getting a hot 53a at the motor if it was the wiper stalk.."
--- mine also

" This is why I was asking in case I am wrong about this."
--- I don't think we're both wrong

" Logic (My Logic) seems to dictate that if there is a current getting to 53a at the motor it doesn't matter what the switch is doing"
--- I'm figuring 53a is hot only in the lever "off' position, in order to continue motor power till wipers are parked. there is a rotating contact that has a break for the wiper park position. this contact is in the motor housing.

". Ie an earth problem - though I thought this is unlikely as if there was a bad earth the motor theoretically shouldn't work at all?"
--- sounds good to me

TSwede · 11-09-2003, 03:04 PM

Well - after a few months off I've decided to revisit the intermittent wiper problem - as I've mentioned before they don't park... Since deciding to look at this I've had the motor apart (looks fine) and checked most of the wiring - the potentiometer works, the switch appears fine but I've just found a helpful post on checking it with a multimeter Tomorrows job...

The questions for the moment are these..

The potentiometer and relay (or is it a pulse module??) don't match up to any in the Hynes manual and the wires are a different colour (car is a 75 ROW Targa)... So what can anyone tell me about these so I can keep on analysing..Firstly the Pot.. neither these teminal numbers or these wiring colours are in the manual so I don't know what is supposed to be live etc.

Potentiometer number 911 618 147 00

Terminals 87a Br/r
31 Br
31b Br/Bk

Secondly the relay 911 618 149 00

31b Br/Bk - to potentiometer
87a Br/r - to potentiomenter
87 Bk to the wiper motor I think
88a Bl/w to ???????
15 r/w to the motor I think

Is the red and white one supposed to send a pulse to the motor ?? or be a perm live to the motor??

The trouble is like I said these colours and termonals are not in the manual so I'm struggling to check-

Any help is greatly appreciated as the car is off the road at present whilst I have restless nights dreaming that monsters made of twisted up bits of multicoloured wire are trying to kill me with a giant multimeter.......!!

RoninLB · 11-09-2003, 05:44 PM

try this.. it's a maybe some help

intermittent wipers

TSwede · 11-12-2003, 02:47 PM

After all the messing about I dismantled the relay and it had a burned out track which I promptly fixed...

Wahayyyy

Only one more thing to fix on this car - oil leak where the pipe goes into the tank.. and the sender is not working.... actually that's two things...

Thanks everyone