Cougar

I suggest you do a compression check to see if the valve timing is off. If it is off the problem should show up by checking the results.

This kind of trouble may mean the motor isn't getting enough power to run it properly. Make sure it is getting the full 12 volts to run it before you replace it.

The wires to motor may be blk/red and blk/yel. The relay is a bigger suspect than the motor.

You are most likely correct about the alternator. Check to see that the wires going to the rear of the alternator have close to the battery voltage while the engine is running. If so then the alternator is bad. If a wire doesn't have the correct voltage then you need to check for a problem on that wire. You can also take the alternator into Autozone and have them check it.

Since the trouble code comes and goes quickly I have to think the problem is due to an electrical connection problem, with the rear sensor possibly.

That is normal and they are supposed to do that, just like all cars do also. That is the test mode for the warning lights. As far as the fuel pump working it sounds like the diagnostic plugs are tied together and shouldn't be. They are either under the dash or under the hood near the firewall.

When you get the replacement disty installed check for voltage on the plus and minus sides of the coil with the ignition ON. If you have voltage there then check to see if you have ignition pulses on the minus side of the coil while cranking the engine and using a test light probe. If you have pulses then you may have an ignition amp problem.

This will help a lot of folks. Thanks very much Opus.

Just going by what I seem to remember I believe you are correct about constant power going to the Park lead of the motor. When the cam of the motor gets to the park position it opens the constant power connection to the motor. The dash power switch bypasses the Park power lead connection to the motor so it supplies power to the motor only until it is turned off. The Park power lead then takes over until it is opened by the cam and parks the wipers. For the intermittent position I think the switch supplies power to the module when that is selected but I would have to look at the diagram to be sure of that. Skip, Thanks for your help on this also. Glen

If you didn't notice a problem with the motor while it was working when you removed it from the circuit then perhaps the motor is ok. It would be nice to know what the current draw of the motor is while it is out of the car. I assume you have made sure the wiper arms are not jammed mechanically. It sounds like the wiper motor is wired in series with the blower circuit somehow.

Thanks for the info Skip. So according to the manual there shouldn't be any power lead tie between the two systems but somehow there is. Perhaps then there has been some mods done, as the OP stated in his first posting. If that is the case then it may be best to try and rewire the the power leads like they should be.

You stated in your first post that when you disconnected the wiper motor the blower worked ok when you turned the wiper switch on. To me this would seem to state that the wiring is ok. It is the motor that is the trouble since you isolated it except for one possibility. I suppose there could be a bad connection in the power lead to the blower relay control and wiper motor so when you turned on the wiper motor the voltage to the relay control for the blower didn't have enough voltage to activate the blower relay due to a bad power, or voltage drop, across a connection upstream. Skip, does your wiring diagram show the wiper motor and blower relay control circuit being tied to the same power connection?

The motor should have 12 volts going to it but you may have measured at a point that is beyond the input power. I think the speed switch changes how the motor coils are arranged; either in series or parallel. It appears that the motor is bad from what you stated so you may have to replace it.

My service data only goes back to '83 models but it looks like there may be a bad fusible link causing the trouble.

You stated that you had no spark in the first post so you either changed out a bad part or fixed a bad wire connection somehow.

You're welcome for the help. Glad you got it going and thanks for the feedback.

You can run power directly to the motor. It is just like running it at full speed. Since the fuse has no power to it you are going to have to check the wiring from the battery. The fuse is the first thing in line with the power so it can protect the whole circuit. There may be another fuse under the hood that is bad and be the problem or it may be a fusible link that has blown.

The fuse should be the first thing in line, before the relay, switch, resistors, or motor. There may be another fuse in the engine compartment that is bad.

Thanks for the feedback and glad you got the problem solved.

I think there is a connection you have to make before you can check the timing. You may be aware of that possibly.

The best service manuals are the factory manuals. You can usually find the set of four books on Ebay. They are a real help to have on hand.

Have you tried replacing the high tension coil wire between the coil and the disty? If not, I suggest you do that.

Instead of possibly spending money on a alternator that you may not need I suggest you invest in a digital multimeter. For about 40 dollars you can get a decent meter to test with and find out what the real problem is. If you do get one find a model that will handle up to 10 amps of current measurment. This will allow you to find the current draw problem you having along with checking the charging voltage. Making electrical measurements can seem a bit confusing if you aren't used to doing it but it is really an easy thing to do once you understand some basic electrical fundamentals. Purchasing a book on basic DC fundamentals will get you going on the right road. There are also good books that relate the information to automobile systems which will help you more. For much less than the price of an alternator you will have a meter and reference book that will help you understand things that you can use for the rest of your life. Once you understand these things you will truely wonder how you got by without knowing them.

It sounds like you are gaining on the problem, at least you have spark now where as you didn't have it before. It was running before this problem happened so hopefully it will run now that the ignition is working again. Try spraying some starter fluid into the intake to see if that will get the engine fired up.

If the starter works ok then I don't see how the inhibitor switch is a problem. You really need to find out if the ignition system is working by checking for spark to the plugs. If that is ok then try spraying some starter fluid into the intake and see if the engine tries to fire then.